Prepare to walk into a wonderland of lights and lanterns.

The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival in Franklin Square is set to wow crowds starting on May 9 with 1,500 lantern sculptures built with more than 13,000 LED lights. The lanterns are all brand new to the festival this year, with the exception of the giant 200-foot-long dragon (who gets a mini makeover). Most of the lanterns were created in China specifically for the festival and were assembled by a 30-person team of Chinese artisans.

Tickets for the festival are $17 for adults, $12 for children and $15 for senior citizens and active members of the military. There are timed tickets for Fridays and Saturdays. You can purchase tickets at historicphiladelphia.org/chineselanternfestival or by calling 215-629-5801.

While one marvels at the lanterns, there will be performances by folk dancers, Chinese acrobatics, contortionists and plate spinners. Artisans will be selling their wares (including sugar paintings, dragon-themed items and light-up novelties.)

Take a break from the display in the Dragon Beer Garden, which will include a grill serving chicken wings, pork ribs and veggie skewers in addition to a selection of draft and bottled beers. There will also be wine and themed cocktails (including "Fire Breather," "Mandarin Mule" and "Jasmine Lychee.")

There will be Asian food options available as well, with SquareBurger offering Chinese salad dumplings and a Fortune Cookie Shake in addition to its standard fried oreos, cake milkshakes, burgers and french fries. There will also be a stand for Roe Thai and Japanese which will serve up Thai tea with boba (bubbles), Korean meatballs, Beef bao (buns) and soba noodle salad.

The lanterns at the festival are made by hand-painting on silk fabric, which is then stretched over frames and lit with LED lights. And it took a lot of silk to make all of them; 50,000 square feet of the material was used.

Last year's event was the first of its kind in Philadelphia. More than 90,000 people visited, coming from all 50 states and 10 foreign countries.

For those coming in from out of town, there is parking at the PPA AutoPark by Independence Mall (underneath the Independence Visitor Center). There is a flat rate of $7.50 Sunday-Thursday at the garage and a $2 discount if you show your Lantern Festival ticket to the garage's office, provided you arrive at the lot after 5 p.m. and exit before 3 a.m. On Fridays and Saturdays the parking rate is $5.

DETAILS: 6-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 6-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays at Franklin Square, 6th and Race streets, Philadelphia. Cost: $17 adults, $12 children, $15 seniors and active military. historicphiladelphia.org/chineselanternfestival.

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This story has been updated to include photos and videos from the 2017 event.