Since Tang and Song dynasties, the lantern culture with unique charm and style has come into being and grown colorful in Zigong area. Zigong Lantern Festival was initiated in Tang and Song dynasties and developed in Ming and Qing dynasties. It has been prosperous now featuringstrong localstyle and national feelings. The deep deposit of lantern culture has been formed.

    Since Zigong Municipal People’s Government held the first lantern festival after the founding of NEW China in 1964, twenty Lantern Festivals have taken place in Zigong. From 1988 till now, Huateng Lantern has been to such two hundred big cities and regions as Beijing, Shanghai. Wuhan, Guangzhou, Hongkong and Macao. It was invited to make over sixty shows respectively in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Germany, Australia and Canada and attracted a hundred million domestic and foreign people. It has been praised to be “high taste art”, “walking tourist source”, “the number one lantern show under the Heaven” and the pride of national culture. Therefore, Huateng Lantern has become one of two national folk entertainment activities and Zigong has been entitled “Lantern City in South China”.

    In the 21st century, the annual Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festivals is praised to be “the biggest highlight of Spring Festival Tourism in west China”. Huateng Lantern has been listed in the guiding catalog of exported cultural products of China and approved to be the national “excellent cultural product and project”. The lantern shows in foreign countries and regions account for a half of the total exported cultural products. The development zone of China lantern culture in Zigong has been approved the “national demonstration base of cultural industry”.