Lanterns at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park are a highlight of the Spring Festival holiday celebrations for the people of Zhongshan in Guangdong province. [Photo by Xu Fan/China Daily]

Zhongshan's lanterns illuminate the local culture during Spring Festival, Xu Fan reports.

Zhongshan, South China's Guangdong province, is best known as the hometown of political and revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), known as the Father of Modern China.

The city is also worth a visit to witness how Lunar New Year is celebrated in Cantonese culture.

For many families in parts of the country it has become a sort of custom to watch China Central Television's Spring Festival Gala on the eve of Lunar New Year since the early 1980s. But for the residents of Zhongshan, it is more a time to stroll in the flower markets and appreciate festive lanterns, after eating nian ye fan, a meal for family reunions on Lunar New Year's Eve.