Dancing dragons, bright lights greet the Rabbit in Samut Prakan
Samut Prakan’s Wat Dhammakatanyu (Xian Lo Dai Tien Gong Temple) burst into colour, light and sound on Friday evening to mark this year’s Lantern Festival.
The province has been holding this extravaganza as part of the Lunar New Year celebrations every year for the past 10 years. The Chinese New Year falls on Sunday, while the Lantern Festival runs until February 19.
The festival saw 5,000 lanterns of different shapes, sizes and colours decorating the temple’s central shrine that houses five Chinese gods carved from stone. The lanterns were specially imported from Taiwan for the occasion.
Wat Dhammakatanyu is also famous for its twin lions carved from jade guarding the gates. These are the largest in Thailand.
Entertaining visitors on Friday was a dragon show, the lion dance show and a variety of Thai-Chinese traditional stage performances. The devout also stopped at the shrine to pray for a healthy, wealthy and happy Year of the Rabbit.
