A job that “transcends language”

There are unique jobs all over this economy. In our ongoing series “What’s That Like,” we explore those jobs and the people behind them. For this edition of the series, we take things to Zigong, China — a city in southwestern China’s Sichuan province. It’s a place known for its salt industry and lantern festivals.

We’ll be exploring the lanterns (although China’s salt capital does sound fascinating). Traditionally, lantern festivals were used to celebrate occasions like Lunar New Year.

But lantern festivals have been growing in popularity in the U.S. Tianyu Arts & Culture has brought lantern festivals to the country for more than a decade and attracted some 14 million visitors, often hosting events at botanical gardens and zoos across the country.

Now, while they’re called “lanterns,” the displays are more like massive, sprawling figures made up of colorful lights — depicting everything from animals and plants to mythological figures.

So what is it like to be a master artisan of Zigong lantern art? We posed that question to Jiang Guanghong.

For more, click the media player above.