Another futuristic light installation featured at this year's festival is the one located on the surface of the central pond under the popular zigzag bridge in the garden. Consisting of some 3,000 polarized plastic cut-outs of fish, the light installation was also designed by a team from Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design.

Wang Zhigang, the leader of the team, says the design was inspired by how water is a symbol of culture in water towns on the Yangtze River delta, and how the "fish" is pronounced the same way as "abundance" in Chinese.

According to Wang, the team spent almost six months designing, crafting and setting up this lighting installation, which will be showcased throughout the year.

As 2020 is the Year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac, the animal has been featured in a variety of lanterns, with some taking the form of Disney mice.

Lanterns featuring some of China's most notable projects, such as the 55-kilometer Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the country's first passenger jet C919 and the Fuxing high-speed train, will also be displayed during the show.

The lantern show at Yu Garden will last through Feb 11. Admission to the event is free, except between Feb 7 and 11 when tickets will cost 50 yuan ($7.2) for adults and 30 yuan for children. The fee will be raised by another 20 yuan on the day of Lantern Festival on Feb 8.