Colorful lanterns made with melon seeds have been highly praised in Foshan City of southern China's Guangdong Province.

Newspaper Guangzhou Daily reported on Wednesday that these special lanterns were made by a female handicrafts master Yang Yurong.

Different from normal lanterns, Yang used plant fibers and seeds of Hami melons, a kind of sweet melon grown in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

With her skillful hands, Yang can turn a pile of materials including metal wires, silk clothes and small wood pieces into beautiful lanterns.

Yang joined Foshan folk arts association in 1962 and learned a variety of art forms there, but colorful lanterns have always been her favorite.

After mastering lantern making skills, Yang started designing lanterns herself and her very first design turned out to be a success in 1975.

With continuous efforts, Yang's designs were not only welcomed in the lantern market, but also adopted as stamp patterns in both the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

The city of Foshan is famous for its lanterns. The most characteristic lanterns are autumn lanterns, which are decorated with various materials such as sesame seeds, melon seeds and other plants with the great imagination of the artists.

(CRI February 14, 2008)