Dream-like lights painted beautiful pictures on the shimmering surface of the vast lake, while fire dragons dancing in a shower of molten iron sparkling like fireworks, illuminating the night sky like countless stars, pushing the holiday atmosphere to its peak… Tonight, the main venue of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2024 Chengdu (the EXPO) was bustling with visitors from all over the country who immersed themselves in a stunning visual feast.

As night fell, more than 30,000 visitors remained at the EXPO's main venue. In addition to the 3D light show, the EXPO organizers also presented a thousand-year-old intangible cultural heritage performance, Fire Dragon Dance (molten iron fireworks show) . After 8:00 PM, amidst the cheers of the crowd, lasers and lights were used to throw colors and images onto the water screen, through holographic projection and light-shadow imaging technology, presenting stunning local cultural and natural wonders and adding radiance to the rising waterfalls, as well as surrounding rocks, trees, and flowers.

"It’s fantastic. We came from Beijing for tourism, and we had heard that the water screen light and shadow show at the EXPO is a must-see. Today is our last night in Chengdu, so we came here. It truly is a brilliant display that takes our breath away," said Ms. Tian, a tourist from Beijing.

The 3D light and shadow show consists of two parts. The first titled Chengdu in the Picture Scroll, features dance performances projected on a giant water screen, which combines traditional and modern dance. Visitors can enjoy both elegant art and technological performances, as well as the beautiful fusion of modernity and tradition, virtuality and reality, shadow and horticulture.

"Located in heaven, Chengdu is a bustling and prosperous city, where people live peacefully and happily." Accompanied by melodious music, a musical named Old Chengdu was put on. “Li Bai (701-762),” a legendary poet of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), who is known as a poetic genius in China, showed up in a small boat gliding across the lake. Holding a book, dressed in white, he recited an ancient poem, instantly bringing the audience back to the glorious days of the Tang Dynasty…

As an intangible cultural heritage item passed down for more than a thousand years, Fire Dragon Dance is one of the must-see folk performances during the National Day holiday at the EXPO. At 8:50 PM, the show officially began. The molten iron heated to over 1,500 degrees Celsius was struck by skilled artisans into molten iron fireworks in midair, before falling harmlessly like fiery raindrops. After a brilliant display, the molten iron fireworks disappeared like shooting stars, enabling the audience to savour the beautiful poetic imagery of the fiery raindrops.

"Tonight, we not only experienced the awesome high-tech water screen light and shadow show, but also watched the fantastic musical. The famous verse of Li Bai is really emotional. The molten iron fireworks was the highlight of the show. Incorporating intangible cultural heritage with the cultural tourism market, this new consumption scenario created by Chengdu is truly worth it," said Mr. Qian, a tourist from Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province, excitedly.

According to the event organizers, the visual feast presented during the National Day holiday is aimed to let the audience travel through the vast river of history and explore Chengdu's thousands of years of historical heritage. Amidst the dazzling fireworks and shadows, the people fully indulged themselves in and got a better understanding of the unique charm of Chengdu.