HONG KONG, Dec. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — On the evening of 15 December 2023, local time in France, the Festival Dragons et Lanternes, the Chinese intangible cultural heritage event first being held overseas, officially opened to the public at the Jardin d’Acclimatation in Paris, France. Meanwhile, 9,300 kilometers away from the Jardin d’Acclimatation, Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai is ablaze with the Ninghui Road-themed lantern installation "A Night of Fish and Dragon Dance", sending New Year’s greetings to the Chinese and French people. The cultural dialogue between the two cities and two gardens also kicked off the 72-day world tour of Fosun Family Season.
From 15 December 2023 to 24 February 2024, the 4th Fosun Family Season will partner with more than 60 brands at home and abroad to host thousands of events, with the theme of "Celebrating Chinese New Year with Fosun", in more than ten countries including China, France, the United States, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Japan. Centering around the seven Chinese New Year’s traditions of "enjoying lanterns", "drinking wine to celebrate the arrival of spring", "wearing gold jewelry", "having reunion dinner", "getting new clothes", "getting glowing skin" and "sending gifts", the 4th Fosun Family Season offers festive activities and immersive experiences with oriental lifestyle aesthetics for families worldwide.
"We should get festive for Chinese New Year, and more importantly, return home to celebrate the joy of family reunion." On 15 December, Xu Xiaoliang, Co-CEO of Fosun International said at the global launch of Fosun Family Season at the Haishang Liyuan in the Yuyuan Tourist Mart in Shanghai, "15 December also marks the founding anniversary of Fosun. Over the past 31 years, we have remained committed to the vision of ‘Self-improvement, Teamwork, Performance and Contribution to Society’ with families worldwide as our target audience. Fosun’s industrial ecosystem resembles a concentric circle centering around families. With a focus on the household consumption industry, we have been working diligently to create healthy, happy and prosperous lives for families."
Eric Jing, Chairman and CEO of Ant Group, attended the global launch as an important partner and introduced the cooperation between Alipay and Fosun during the Fosun Family Season.
Yuyuan lanterns illuminate Yuyuan Garden in China and Jardin d’Acclimatation in France
Fosun Family Season is a major annual event for Fosun and its affiliated brands to give back to their customers. This year, Fosun Family Season is being held during the New Year period for the first time with lantern viewing as the highlight of the event. The lantern festival will take place in Shanghai and Paris this year.
The Festival Dragons et Lanternes in France has officially opened to the public. With the theme of "Spirit of the Mountains and Seas", it draws inspiration from Shanhaijing, also known as The Classic of Mountains and Seas, a collection of Chinese mythology and geography written more than 2,000 years ago to present various fantastical creatures of the mountains and seas, such as the vigorous longma, the soaring kunpeng, the powerful dragon, and the elegant white deer, with 60 light installations and more than 2,000 lanterns to send New Year greetings with oriental spiritual elements.
As the first overseas lantern festival presented by Yuyuan Garden, the Festival Dragons et Lanternes showcases Shanghai’s culture and presents the landmarks of Yuyuan Garden, the Nine-turn Bridge and the Huxin Pavilion as well as the eight scenery of Shanghai familiar to old Shanghainese, such as "Phoenix Tower", "Lotus Ponds, Reed Marshes and Fishing Villages", "Sea and Sky at Sunrise" and "Longhua Pagoda".
Echoing the Festival Dragons et Lanternes in Paris, Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai is ablaze with the Ninghui Road-themed lantern installation "A Night of Fish and Dragon Dance". The colorful schools of fish gathered into the shape of a swimming dragon, interpreting the ancients’ imagination of "fish turning into a dragon" and serving as a preface for the upcoming Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival in Shanghai.
The 2024 Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival schedule was announced at the launch of Fosun Family Season. Hu Tingzhou, (Rotating) President of Yuyuan Inc. said the Year of the Dragon Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival will return for its 29th edition in mid-to-late January 2024, interpreting the wonderland of the Dragon, a magical creature, living in harmony with the ocean kingdom, leading the way to unveil the mystery of the future. The 2024 Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival will continue the theme of "The Magical Adventure of Mountains and Seas" in the Year of the Rabbit and embark on a new chapter of "The Classic of Seas".
It is worth mentioning that the year 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. The Festival Dragons et Lanternes has been designated as part of the opening festivities celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations and China-France Year of Culture and Tourism. It is also poised to be a highlight celebrating the bilateral cooperation between China and France in 2024. Using lights as a medium, Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai and Jardin d’Acclimatation in Paris will jointly present a cultural feast blending Eastern and Western aesthetics in celebration of Chinese New Year.
Centering around seven Chinese New Year‘s traditions, Fosun Family Season partners with 60+ brands to offer diverse range of products in celebration of Chinese New Year
Starting with the Festival Dragons et Lanternes in France, Fosun Family Season will host thousands of events in the next 72 days. The world tour will cover more than ten countries and regions including China, France, the United States, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Japan. By lighting up Fosun landmarks, it will connect Fosun’s ecosystem industries in different time zones to celebrate Chinese New Year with families around the world.
The BFC Fengjing Weekend Market presents a not-to-be-missed Christmas photo spot serving mulled wine, "peace apples" and Patchi chocolate at the fairytale-like Christmas market. The 4th Yuyuan Gifting Festival is hosting a Chinese New Year market on Jiujiachang Road in the Grand Yuyuan to attract consumers to experience the lively festive atmosphere through "passing the Dragon Gate", "receiving the Dragon gift" and "hanging the Dragon scales".
Ice and snow are an important theme to celebrate the New Year and a key tourism feature for Fosun. Club Med has kicked off the New Year ice and snow season. Club Med Kiroro Grand, which just opened its doors in December, boasts rare powder snow and is located in an area with the highest snowfall in Hokkaido, Japan. This resort is the perfect destination for winter sports, scenic walks and hot spring vacations. Club Med Kiroro Grand, together with more than 20 Club Med snow resorts worldwide, brings warmth and comfort to guests around the world. Taicang Alps Resort has launched the first Alps Winter Purple Ice and Snow Festival, allowing families in Yangtze River Delta to enjoy the ultimate winter sports; "Climbing the first snow mountain in life – Haba Snow Mountain", Geminid Meteor Shower Stargazing Festival, Snow Mountain New Year Electronic Music Festival and the New Year Carnival in Lijiang Club Med Resort continue to offer customized outdoor interactive experiences.
On the first day of Chinese New Year, the Molineux Stadium, the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers ("Wolves") in the Premier league, will be transformed into a festive stage with dragon lanterns and dragon hats, Chinese New Year decorations and stunning fireworks. Wolves players will don jerseys with traditional Chinese New Year greetings to celebrate Chinese New Year with 30,000 fans at the stadium and Chinese fans around the world.
Chinese New Year is the most important festival to Chinese people, and the Year of the Dragon is especially important to the descendants of Yan Huang Zisun. Having reunion dinner, visiting families and friends, enjoying lanterns and strolling down gardens are all indispensable customs of Chinese New Year. A large number of "Dragon gifts" contain great expectations for the coming year.
This year’s Fosun Family Season has brought together more than 60 brands, including tourism, gold jewelry, fashion, catering and other industries, and debuted more than 80 products in celebration of the Year of the Dragon. Yuyuan Creative Hub has launched Lantern Festival-themed products such as the limited-edition hand-held lanterns and intangible cultural heritage dragon hats for the Year of the Dragon; Lanvin’s New Year collection has incorporated Chinese festive elements and will be available at Lanvin stores in France during the period. In addition, Shede’s Year of Dragon Spirits, Laomiao’s Guyun Prosperity collection, and "Reunion Dinner Gift Boxes" from four time-honored brands, namely Lu Bo Lang, Dexing Hall, Shanghai Classical Restaurant, and Songhelou will offer a diverse range of products for New Year gatherings.
"The annual Fosun Family Season will give back to customers with high-quality products, services and experiences, pioneering a happy lifestyle," Wang Tao, Co-CGO of Fosun explained the "Fosun-style" New Year.
Join hands with Alipay to enhance digital exploration through global cooperation
Fosun has hundreds of consumer brands covering a wide range of offline scenarios. During Fosun Family Season, five business districts including the Bund Finance Center (BFC) and Yuyuan Tourist Mart, as well as tourism landmarks such as Atlantis Sanya and Club Med will collaborate seamlessly.
As a global innovation-driven consumer group, Fosun has also been committed to improving the efficiency of industry operations through digital means. Following this year’s in-depth cooperation on 515 Fosun Family Day, Fosun Family Season once again joins hands with Alipay to further deepen the exploration of digital operations.
Eric Jing, Chairman and CEO of Ant Group, said, "Ant Group and Fosun will continue to create a newer, more convenient and more diversified consumer service experience based on mutual trust and sincere cooperation, helping Fosun to become a new benchmark for global digital consumption."
The 2024 Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival will adopt the same "AR interactive + digital human" technology as the Asian Games opening ceremony through Alipay to create a Metaverse Lantern Festival and enhance the interactive experience. The first digital lantern lighting ceremony of Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival will be the highlight. Tens of thousands of tourists will light up auspicious lanterns virtually. The entire Lantern Festival will be broadcasted through Alipay AR live to allow users across the country to explore the "Magical Adventure of Mountains and Seas" at home. It is worth mentioning that the Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival will also partner with Ant Forest to promote carbon neutrality and release the Year of the Dragon exclusive non-fungible tokens on Topnod.
In addition, Fosun Family Season will bring together Laomiao, the Grand Yuyuan, the catering industry, the liquor industry, Fosun Tourism and other industries and brands under Fosun using the Alipay Fosun special interactive platform, brand live broadcast and Alipay Five Fortunes, to present the good products, services, and benefits of Fosun all at once.