crown

Subscribe Now

FOLLOW US

Sign in

Photos: French town spends winter decked in Chinese lanterns

Gaillac, a small town in the south-west of France, has lit up with a thousand Chinese lanterns for the second consecutive year. At a time when most French stores are adorned with Christmas decorations, Gaillac abounds with red lanterns and dragons. Inspired by the lantern festival in China’s Zigong, extra footfall from the festival, which runs from December 1 until February 6, is a huge boost for local hotels, restaurants and shops. The festival, while giving a visual treat to the visitors, has also aided in the spread of Chinese culture in France, in the form of novels and tourist guides that are a part of the bookshops in Gaillac now.

Updated on: Jan 01, 2019 11:09 AM IST

Share via

Copy link

1/8

A visitor takes pictures of giant lanterns installed at the Foucaud Park in Gaillac, southwestern France. As darkness falls each winter night in the little town, the glow of dusk is replaced with another -- that of a thousand silk lanterns. The thousand-year-old town in the southwestern Tarn region, known for its wines, was not the most obvious place to launch what it trumpets as “the biggest Chinese event in France.” (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

Updated on Jan 01, 2019 11:09 AM

A visitor takes pictures of giant lanterns installed at the Foucaud Park in Gaillac, southwestern France. As darkness falls each winter night in the little town, the glow of dusk is replaced with another -- that of a thousand silk lanterns. The thousand-year-old town in the southwestern Tarn region, known for its wines, was not the most obvious place to launch what it trumpets as “the biggest Chinese event in France.” (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

2/8

Gaillac happens to be twinned with Zigong, a city in China’s Sichuan province which is famous for its lantern festival. For the second winter running Gaillac has transformed into a miniature version of its Sichuan twin, lighting up nightly with a dazzling array of giant lanterns in the form of dragons, flowers, birds and pandas. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

Updated on Jan 01, 2019 11:09 AM

Gaillac happens to be twinned with Zigong, a city in China’s Sichuan province which is famous for its lantern festival. For the second winter running Gaillac has transformed into a miniature version of its Sichuan twin, lighting up nightly with a dazzling array of giant lanterns in the form of dragons, flowers, birds and pandas. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

3/8

Gaillac’s Mayor Patrice Gausserand was on a trip to China in February 2017 when the idea of twinning with a Chinese town was born. “I naturally turned towards Sichuan province, which is twinned with our Occitanie region,” Gausserand said. “And that’s how I found Zigong.” Bringing the famous lanterns to Gaillac was “a mad gamble”, he said. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

Updated on Jan 01, 2019 11:09 AM

Gaillac’s Mayor Patrice Gausserand was on a trip to China in February 2017 when the idea of twinning with a Chinese town was born. “I naturally turned towards Sichuan province, which is twinned with our Occitanie region,” Gausserand said. “And that’s how I found Zigong.” Bringing the famous lanterns to Gaillac was “a mad gamble”, he said. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

4/8

Zigong’s own festival, in February, has been running for centuries and attracts millions of visitors each year. In Gaillac, a town of 18,000, Gausserand had to find private sponsors to cover the costs, and he wasn’t even sure if people would come. But 250,000 people attended last year’s inaugural edition -- an “enormous surprise” to town authorities which brought a windfall of one million euros. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

Updated on Jan 01, 2019 11:09 AM

Zigong’s own festival, in February, has been running for centuries and attracts millions of visitors each year. In Gaillac, a town of 18,000, Gausserand had to find private sponsors to cover the costs, and he wasn’t even sure if people would come. But 250,000 people attended last year’s inaugural edition -- an “enormous surprise” to town authorities which brought a windfall of one million euros. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

5/8

This year the mayor expects even more to flood in -- by December 15, the town had already sold three times as many tickets than at the same time in 2017. “The festival creates a strong bond between town staff, volunteers and about 80 Chinese workers who come to Gaillac for two months to put up the lanterns,” he said. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

Updated on Jan 01, 2019 11:09 AM

This year the mayor expects even more to flood in -- by December 15, the town had already sold three times as many tickets than at the same time in 2017. “The festival creates a strong bond between town staff, volunteers and about 80 Chinese workers who come to Gaillac for two months to put up the lanterns,” he said. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

6/8

Shop windows, hairdressers, bars and residents’ balconies all have red lanterns and dragons on display at a time of year when most French stores sport Christmas decorations. Chinese fever has also reached the bookshop, which has filled its window with fiction, graphic novels and tourist guides on China. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

Updated on Jan 01, 2019 11:09 AM

Shop windows, hairdressers, bars and residents’ balconies all have red lanterns and dragons on display at a time of year when most French stores sport Christmas decorations. Chinese fever has also reached the bookshop, which has filled its window with fiction, graphic novels and tourist guides on China. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

7/8

Extra footfall from the festival, which runs from December 1 until February 6, is a huge boost for local hotels, restaurants and shops. For Marion Duclot, a senior official in the Gaillac Graulhet local authority, the visitors are especially welcome in a season when the regional economy is “usually flat”. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

Updated on Jan 01, 2019 11:09 AM

Extra footfall from the festival, which runs from December 1 until February 6, is a huge boost for local hotels, restaurants and shops. For Marion Duclot, a senior official in the Gaillac Graulhet local authority, the visitors are especially welcome in a season when the regional economy is “usually flat”. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

8/8

And local landlords are celebrating too -- the Tarn villa rental association is delighted by a doubling in winter bookings over the past two years. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

Updated on Jan 01, 2019 11:09 AM

And local landlords are celebrating too -- the Tarn villa rental association is delighted by a doubling in winter bookings over the past two years. (Eric Cabanis / AFP)

Related Photos

Home/Photos/News/Photos: French Town Spends Winter Decked In Chinese Lanterns

© 2026 HindustanTimes