River lantern festival kicks off in China's Guilin (1/5)

Performers carrying river lanterns float on the Zijiang River in Ziyuan County of Guilin, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 30, 2012. The river lantern festival falls on July 14 in the Chinese lunar calendar, which is a traditional praying activity in Ziyuan County. Tens of thousands of people participated in the blessing ceremony and river lantern floating activities on Thursday. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)