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February 11, 2009 |
China's Lantern Festival, and an unfortunate ending
Marking the end of the Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival takes place on the 15th day of the year - during the first full moon. People across Mainland China and Taiwan celebrate the festival in many colorful ways, from fiery folk traditions to firework displays and laser shows. Unfortunately, this year's festival ended on a somewhat sour note as an unauthorized fireworks show set an unoccupied skyscraper on fire in downtown Beijing, and one firefighter lost his life fighting the blaze. Collected here are 27 photos of the festival, and a handful from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel fire in Beijing. (27 photos total)

A folk stuntman sprays molten iron against a concrete wall to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Nuanquan town of Yuxian County, Hebei province February 8, 2009. For over 300 years, the village has carried out the tradition of spraying molten iron at 1,300° C (2,372° F) against a cold concrete wall to form sparks like fireworks during Lantern Festival, local media reported. (REUTERS/Jason Lee) #

People light and hold sky lanterns, readying them for release, to celebrate the traditional Chinese Sky Lantern Festival in Pingsi, Taipei County, Taiwan on February 7, 2009. Believers from Taiwan, Japan and Thailand gathered on Saturday to release sky lanterns as a form of prayer for good luck and blessings. (REUTERS/Nicky Loh) #

Sky lanterns float into the night during the Chinese Sky Lantern Festival in Pingsi, Taiwan on February 7, 2009. According to the elders of Pingsi, the tradition of releasing lanterns began during the Ching Dynasty when bands of outlaws frequently raided villages around Pingsi, forcing local residents to seek refuge in the mountains. The lanterns were signals used by the village watchmen to inform the refugees that their houses were safe again. (REUTERS/Nicky Loh) #

A building in the new China Central Television (CCTV) complex, still under construction, is seen on fire in Beijing February 9, 2009. The fire, started inadvertently by an unofficial fireworks display for the Lantern Festival staged by CCTV officials, destroyed the unoccupied building, designed by Rem Koolhaas, which was meant to house the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. (REUTERS/China Daily). #

Firemen prepare to fight a fire at a building that would have housed the soon-to-be-opened Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Beijing February 9, 2009. One person was killed in the fire, firefighter Zhang Jianyong, age 30. He was among the first on the scene and died from smoke inhalation. (REUTERS/Paul Zhang) #
More links and information
Lantern Festival - Wikipedia entry
Fire Ravages Renowned Building in Beijing - NYTimes.com 2/9
Fireworks and fire at the CCTV complex - YouTube video