A Guinness World Record Peony Lantern, Built Against the Clock and the Cold

In 2024, Hualong Technology created a giant upright peony lantern for the Peony Pavilion Thousand Lantern Festival in Luoyang. It was awarded the Guinness World Record for the “Largest Upright Lantern.” Behind this honor was a team effort under extreme winter conditions and a tight deadline, merging intangible cultural heritage lantern craftsmanship with modern lighting engineering.

Measuring 45.03 m long, 19.7 m wide, and 24.84 m high—about eight stories tall—the lantern replicates a fully blooming peony. A high-strength heavy steel frame provides both stability and elegance. Tens of thousands of light sources are evenly arranged inside; at night, the petals become translucent and luminous, blending classical Chinese lantern aesthetics with an immersive visual experience.

The biggest challenge was the schedule and winter construction. With Chinese New Year as the fixed unveiling date, the team had only about ten days for design, fabrication, assembly, and commissioning. Dozens of precise processes—drawing refinement, frame construction, hand shaping, light installation, silk covering and painting, and high-altitude lifting—left little margin for error. The team worked round-the-clock shifts and parallel workflows to stay on schedule.

The outdoor winter environment was even tougher. Work took place in the depths of Luoyang’s winter, with biting winds and freezing temperatures. More than 200 Hualong craftsmen worked outdoors, handling welding, shaping, wiring, and fixing while overcoming numb hands, high-altitude risks, and other constraints. From hand-carving petal textures to precisely positioning tens of thousands of lights, and from erecting the main steel frame to fine-tuning proportions, every detail reflected the team’s professionalism and craftsmanship.

Just before Chinese New Year 2024, the lantern was unveiled on schedule and passed Guinness World Records’ rigorous verification, officially setting the record. This world-class peony lantern stands as proof of our team’s ability to push limits and pursue excellence, and as a benchmark project where traditional intangible cultural heritage empowers urban cultural tourism—bringing thousand-year peony culture and Chinese lantern aesthetics to the world stage.