Lantern shows light up Shanghai, Tianjin ahead of Spring Festival

The Chinese metropolises of Shanghai and Tianjin have put on lantern shows in their respective popular tourist sites, adding to the festivities of the Spring Festival which falls on Wednesday.

In Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden, a historic commercial and tourist destination, thousands of lanterns have lit up the night, drawing crowds despite a recent cold snap.

The annual Yuyuan Garden Lantern Show, a must-see event for locals and tourists alike, offers visitors the chance to admire intricate displays, explore lively markets, and savor traditional Chinese snacks.

The 40-day event, which kicked off on Sunday, features a huge collection of snake lanterns to herald the Year of the Snake.

This year marks the 29th edition of the show, which was inscribed on the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2008.

This year's highlight is a 9-meter-tall golden snake lantern, surrounded by a lush jungle of exotic flowers and plants.

In addition to lantern displays, visitors can wander through the Spring Festival market, where they can purchase everything from traditional Spring Festival couplets and lanterns to creative products inspired by the Year of the Snake.

After taking in the lantern displays and markets, visitors can savor authentic Shanghai cuisine at Yuyuan Garden.

Elsewhere, in Yangliuqing Ancient Town of north China's Tianjin Municipality, a similar lantern festival is enchanting visitors with a blend of local history and cultural elements, including Yangliuqing New Year woodblock prints and paper-cutting.

The festival, now in its 28th year, features over 40 lantern displays spread across four themed areas.

This year's event, which began on Jan 22, will go on for 22 days, offering a variety of designs and artistic themes.

To elevate visitor experience, the town has undergone renovations, including updates to its streets, courtyards, and shops, to create a more immersive festive atmosphere.

The Spring Festival market in the town also offers local crafts, such as Yangliuqing paper cuttings, lanterns, and New Year woodblock prints, along with regional specialties like Yangliuqing tea soup and cooked pear cakes.

Lantern shows light up Shanghai, Tianjin ahead of Spring Festival

Nicaragua's co-foreign minister Valdrack Jaentschke has warned that militarism must never be allowed to rise again, as Japan's recent moves to lift its arms export ban and revise the pacifist Constitution continue to draw international concern.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials, where Japan's Class-A war criminals from World War II were brought to justice.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Valdrack Jaentschke voiced his concern that today's world order is being undermined by interventionism and other challenges.

"It is necessary for us to remember that after the end of World War II, countries worked hard to build a new international order based on international law. However, regrettably, more than 80 years later, we are seeing that this once explored and attempted order is being challenged by interventionism, a confrontational mindset, and tendencies like 'might makes right.' These are precisely the conditions that gave rise to fascism and militarism in the past, which ultimately led to the tragedy of World War II," he said.

He said the international community has a responsibility to pursue a new international order -- one fundamentally grounded in peace.

"Looking back at the history more than eight decades ago and comparing it with today's reality, it is our responsibility to recognize that the world should, and must, build a new international order that is more just, fairer, rooted in international law, based on a logic of mutual benefit and shared success, and fundamentally grounded in peace," said the minister.

"Today, as we revisit the Tokyo Trials, it is meant to remind the world that such a tragedy must never be repeated -- and that we must do everything in our power to prevent it from happening again. We must stop that dark world -- born from militarism, interventionism, and fascism -- from ever returning," he said.

Nicaraguan FM warns of militarism revival