Shanghai lantern show lights up Spanish celebration

A dialogue between traditions

Wang Jing, an official with the Fengxian District Culture and Tourism Bureau, said La Merce was a particularly fitting setting because the Barcelona celebration and the rolling lantern both have deep roots in popular festivities.

"This is not a one-way cultural showcase, but a dialogue between folk traditions on an equal footing," Wang said.

The performance was specially adapted for Barcelona, she added, incorporating elements intended to connect with the atmosphere and traditions of the local festival.

For Wang, taking the rolling lantern overseas is also a way of showing that Shanghai's identity extends beyond its familiar image as a modern metropolis.

"Modernization and traditional culture are not opposites in Shanghai. They coexist," she said. "Modernization is Shanghai's face, while intangible cultural heritage and folk traditions are its underlying character."

The reaction on Barcelona's streets appeared to underline that ability of folk culture to travel across borders.

Trang Bui, a tourist from Vietnam, said the performance allowed her to "feel the spirit of Chinese people", while British newlyweds Vince and Amanda from Folkestone, who came across the festivities during their honeymoon, described the rolling lantern as colorful, unexpected and "absolutely amazing".

Carames said that despite their geographical distance and different traditions, Shanghai and Barcelona share characteristics as major coastal cities, and both attach importance to culture.

"We feel like we are close in our traditions and our ideas of how important culture is," he said.