Researched by: Kylie Chin, Rebecca Fuzaylov, and Selina Zheng.

The making and the designs behind the lanterns hung across Chinatown.

The 250 lanterns hung up on Mott Street are a part of the “Light Up Chinatown Project”, a project aimed to help illuminate Chinatown in order to promote local businesses, especially after the ramifications of the pandemic and rising xenophobia. Patrick Mock, who first had the idea of hanging the lanterns, had noticed how dark and gloomy things were around his neighborhood. He partnered up with Joanne Kwong, president of Pearl River Mart, to manage the layout and patterns of the lanterns. In order to brighten up Mott Street, Kwong decided to use colors that gave her an “almost tropical” feel. These colors were gold, orange, pink, and violet. The gold and orange were to Kwong a way to signify “warmth and brightness” while the pink and violet colors made the array more whimsical. To personify the lanterns, Kwong sought the help of the New York Chinese Cultural Center and Think!Chinatown’s artists. Each lantern is customized with the names of people who supported the initiative and Chinese Calligraphy. About 60 lanterns were customized with images spanning from emojis, handprints, kawaii cartoons, and other playful patterns. The characters on the lanterns themselves provide for a more passionate picture. Some lanterns were painted with the character Fu, which stands for blessing and good fortune. More lanterns were painted with the character He for peace and other lanterns had characters for wealth, happiness, love, and endurance. It’s beautiful to see how the lanterns themselves and the art painted on them can create such a beautiful message that spreads the light and hope of Chinatown.