Bao Jiqin displays a fish lantern. [Photo/Xiangshan County Media Center]

With Chinese New Year approaching, an 82-year-old folk artist in Ningbo is racing against time to light up both his hometown and Hangzhou with hundreds of handcrafted fish lanterns.

In a modest workshop in Xiangshan county, master lantern maker Bao Jiqin sits at a long table, brush in hand, painting delicate blue scales onto a white fish-shaped frame. Around him, half-finished lanterns are stacked neatly, their bamboo-and-fiber skeletons already wrapped in silk. Each medium-sized piece measures more than 70 centimeters and is designed to be both eye-catching and durable.

Bao is preparing more than 200 lanterns this season. About 150 are bound for restaurants in Hangzhou, ordered by a long-time client who decorates his dining spaces with Bao's work. Another 60, shaped like the famous East China Sea large yellow croaker, are being made especially for the traditional lantern festival in Shipu fishing town, a major local celebration that draws crowds every year.

What sets Bao apart is not just his age but his quiet innovation. Traditional fish lanterns rely solely on bamboo, which is flexible but can crack or burn during shaping. Bao now combines optical cable with bamboo strips, creating frames that are lighter, stronger and easier to teach to apprentices.

Recognized as a city-level intangible cultural heritage inheritor, Bao has exhibited his lanterns on Shipu's old street for years. This coming festival, his glowing fish will once again swim through the night — carrying Ningbo's coastal culture into Chinese New Year.