Before the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1981-85), Zigong's economy, dominated by the salt industry, exceeded the national economic growth rate and made it the province's third largest industrial city.

But, over-reliance on a single product became a problem by the late 1980s. Salt output in Central China's Hunan and Hubei provinces rose sharply and some other cities and counties in Sichuan started producing their own salt.

This growing competition had an impact on the revenue of Zigong's salt enterprises, and the city's economic growth rate lagged behind that of newer industrial cities in Sichuan.

During the Spring Festival in 1987, Zigong held a 40-day lantern show. The city of some 3 million people attracted 2.3 million tourists.

The success prompted Zigong's decision-makers to treat lantern shows as a new economic growth point.

In the summer of 1988, Zigong held a large lantern show in Beijing's Beihai Park, which lasted 46 days. In addition to being a great financial success, it made Zigong's lanterns known to the rest of the country.

In the autumn of 1990, Zigong was approved by the former Ministry of Culture to hold a 17-day lantern show in Singapore, which was the first time the city had held a lantern show overseas.

"Since then, Zigong has held shows in 76 countries and regions around the world. Despite COVID-19, shows were held in 30 cities in more than 20 countries in 2020," says Yang Bin, head of the Zigong municipal government information office. "Visitors are impressed by the lanterns made of china, glass and medicine bottles," he adds.

Opened to the public in 1994, the China Lantern Museum in Zigong, built with earnings from the lantern shows, is China's largest museum of its kind.

With 151 modern and contemporary Chinese lanterns, and 12 contemporary foreign ones, it has attracted 740,000 visitors since 2017, said curator Dai Yanling.