It’s going to get bright next month in Guangzhou (and really crowded, if previous years are any indication), as the eighth annual Guangzhou International Light Festival kicks off on November 5. The highly-anticipated yearly event will run until November 19, according to GDToday.
The well-lit event is a world-class showcase of light, rivaling light festivals in France’s Lyon and the Vivid Sydney festival, the Guangzhou International Light Festival’s Australian counterpart.
More than 30 bright displays were staged last year, all of them using environmentally-friendly lighting. Seven bridges crossing the Pearl River were lit-up for the festival in 2017, and a lighting photography exhibit was also held, according to the Straits Times.
Watch highlights from the 2016 Guangzhou International Light Festival below (VPN off):
While last year’s light festival was indeed memorable, for many it was for the wrong reason: uncool, super-massive crowds. On the second day of the seventh annual Guangzhou International Light Festival in 2017, over a quarter million people (270,000, to be exact) descended on Zhujiang New Town’s Huacheng Square. At one point during the night, 120,000 people were crammed in a 50,000 square-meter area.
Police were forced to halt the event at only 7.30pm and, as you’d expect, transit mayhem ensued.
READ MORE: 270,000 People Flooded Guangzhou’s Intl. Light Fest on Saturday
Additionally, over four days last year during the festival, 16 children were reported missing.This year, Shenzhen’s 40th Anniversary of Opening Up light show saw similar crowds, with 218,000 visiting the event on October 1. The government closed off certain metro exits and tightened traffic control to prevent congestion.
If you do plan to visit this year’s festival (which we do encourage, as it is spectacular), plan ahead how you are going to get out of Zhujiang New Town or be prepared to spend the latter half of your evening urban hiking home.
[Cover image via Guangzhou International Light Show/Weibo]
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