The USR project team of STUST’s “Local Creation and Dissemination of Cultural Heritage—Fucheng vs Yuejin” has changed its mode since the end of the lantern show in the year of the tiger. It turned to the mode of street lantern and held a closing ceremony a few days ago. Surrounded by students holding a small 6-word rabbit lantern for each household, the 2023 Shennong Street Lantern Festival in the Year of the Rabbit, which had lasted for more than a month, finally came to a successful conclusion.

【STUST Cultural Heritage USR Project team was having a group photo to close the Year of the Rabbit Shennong Street Lantern Festival.】

The Shennong Street USR team of STUST has created many unique features in the country over the past six years of running the Shennong Street Lantern Exhibition. Some lanterns, for example, tell family stories that were turned into painting on the lanterns after a three-month mutual discussion starting from an online group and ending when the lanterns were hung. Another example is that if anyone wanted to guess lantern riddles at the Lantern Festival, he or she would come to Shennong Street. If anyone guessed right at the lantern riddles of the household, he or she could get a postcard specially designed by the students for the Year of the Rabbit. At the start, there were people eager to guess lantern riddles, which showed that the activity of guessing lantern riddles was loved by the public. This year's lantern riddles guessing activity was very popular. Residents said that the lantern riddle prize- postcards on the whole street were exchanged on the second day of the Lunar New Year. In addition, this time the lanterns will be hung for 365 days, waiting to be replaced with new ones at the next year's lantern show. Residents have expressed that this is a characteristic of Shennong Street and a unique street light in the country.

【STUST teachers and students were watching the Year of the Rabbit Lantern Exhibition together and reviewing the documentary.】

This year is the sixth year STUST hosts the Shennong Street Lantern Festival. The team uses the theme of the six-word rabbit, hoping that the lantern show will be smooth and every household will be prosperous. After reviewing the ups and downs of the 133-day Sky Lantern Exhibition at the closing ceremony, the project team specially arranged for each student who participated in the lantern painting course to write and draw blessings and pictures for the residents and participants on the six-word-rabbit small round lantern. Finally, the team members walked to the households and fields where they were in charge of painting lanterns, waiting for the VIP team of Vice President Rui-shing Chang of STUST and Director Ming-shian Chiu of Tainan Cultural Association to go to each household with rabbit fluorescent sticks, light up the six-word-rabbit small round lanterns in the hands of each student, and finally go to the entrance image lighting group to turn off the lanterns, saying goodbye to the lanterns and turning on the street lights of the Year of the Rabbit Shennong Street under the bright fireworks.

【Director Ming-shian Chiu (left) of Tainan City Cultural Association, on behalf of the association, thanked STUST for successfully holding the Year of the Rabbit Lantern Festival and presented a gift. Vice President Rui-shing Chang (right) of STUST received the gift on behalf of the university.】

Cheng-wen Wu, President of STUST, said that the cultural heritage USR team has successfully managed the Shennong Street Lantern Festival. This year’s lantern show has a rough estimate of at least 130,000 people, especially when the street is full of people at night. The local residents clearly express their appreciation to the working team for their hard work. This lantern show is a concrete manifestation of STUST's efforts to strengthen the connection between environmental sustainability education and local characteristic culture. It is hoped the team will continue to work hard and meet again at the Lantern Festival in the Year of the Dragon for a full implementation of STUST's social responsibility for local creation.

【Students of STUST were writing and painting blessings and patterns on the 6-word rabbit lanterns.】

【The chief executives of STUST and Tainan City Cultural Association were leading teachers and students to waving goodbye to the lanterns.】

【STUST Cultural Heritage USR Project of the Year of the Rabbit—Shennong Street Lighting Exhibition—was showing lanterns using bright fireworks to carry out the closing ceremony of the lanterns and the debut of the street lights.】

【A group photo of STUST Cultural Heritage USR Project of the Year of the Rabbit—Shennong Street Lantern Festival】

【A group photo of Shennong Street lanterns in the Year of the Rabbit.】