Massive Chinese lanterns light up Zoo Atlanta

ATLANTA - You already know Zoo Atlanta is home to some very big animals. But this holiday season, the animals are bigger than ever — not to mention glowing!

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IllumiNights at the Zoo: A Chinese Lantern Festival is a new holiday event happening now through Jan. 16 at Zoo Atlanta in Grant Park — and this morning, we got a first look on Good Day Atlanta. 

Presented by Georgia Power and designed by Hanart Culture (a producer of Chinese entertainment and festivals around the world), the festival lights up the zoo after dark with more than 80 LED-lit lanterns, each created and hand-painted by Chinese artisans. The lanterns all represent animals — many of which are also represented in live form at the zoo! — and some stand up to 20 feet tall.

IllumiNights at the Zoo: A Chinese Lantern Festival runs nightly at Zoo Atlanta from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with the last entry at 8:30 p.m. each night. General admission tickets start at $20.99 for adults and $17.99 for children ages three to 11 and seniors 65 and over. Zoo staffers stress this is a separate ticketed event from regular daytime admission to Zoo Atlanta.

Of course, we couldn’t wait to get a look at these massive lanterns, not to mention snap some Instagram-worthy shots — so, we spent the morning at Zoo Atlanta doing a little exploring. Click the video player to check it out!

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