Festival of the 'launching lanterns'

I went to Pingxi (a village in the nearby mountains) today with Meng Yao and her friends to celebrate a lantern festival. You write your wishes on the paper lanterns, then light a small piece of inflammable material under the lantern, making it light up and slowly rise like a hot air balloon. Since we arrived in the afternoon to avoid the crowds, we took the opportunity to visit a defunct coalmine (now a museum) in a nearby town. We even got to ride in a small train which used to be used to transport coal from the mine to the refinery. Some pictures...

On the coal train...Off we go!

People wrote their wishes on the lanterns...

...as did I.

Light the lantern...

...and let it fly!