Every year, people are mesmerized by the bright light of lanterns.

The strong flavor of Chinese New Year has not yet faded away, and we have ushered in the traditional Chinese festival of Lantern Festival. To promote Chinese culture, create a festive atmosphere, let international patients feel the charm of Chinese culture, and personally feel the celebration and joy of the Chinese Lantern Festival, on February 23, 2024, St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou organized a colorful Lantern Festival celebration for international friends.

At 3:00 p.m., patients and their families from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries came to the Sky Garden on the 4th floor of the hospital, where they guessed lantern riddles, DIY soup dumplings, DIY lanterns, and tasted soup dumplings, making the scene a happy one.

Toss Mandarin Orange For Blessing

International Cultural Integration

At the beginning of the program, international patients and their families who entered the park would write their blessings on oranges (mandarin) and bananas, and then put them together, waiting to leave the park before taking their respective blessings back with them.

This session is based on the Malaysian Lantern Festival custom of "Tossing Mandarin". During the Malaysian Lantern Festival, girls throw mandarin oranges with their messages and wishes written on them for good love and marriage. In the event, the element of "tossing mandarin" was incorporated, and we could see oranges and bananas with wishes written on them.

A patient from Malaysia said, "I saw the mandarin orange written with blessings and felt both affectionate and touched, the hospital is very attentive to us, and this Lantern Festival was very happy."

Guess the Riddle

winning the Grand Prize

Having a Hearty Laugh

The corridor of the Sky Garden has long been hung with lanterns with riddles, integrating knowledge, fun in one of the riddles for everyone to guess, riddles with a wide range of content, covering word puzzles, idioms, general knowledge of life, as well as knowledge of Chinese and Western cultures, etc., interesting and rich riddles attracted everyone to join in the guessing riddle "army". The 100 or so riddles, whether in Chinese or English, did not overwhelm our international friends. One by one, the answers to the riddles were guessed, the prizes were claimed, and the smiles blossomed. The king of the lanterns won a burst of cheers and applause.

Many international patients said that they felt the lively atmosphere of the Chinese Lantern Festival during the event, which was very novel and interesting, and not only enriched their inpatient life but also experienced different cultural knowledge.

Handmade Soup Dumplings

Tasting Soup Dumplings

Talking About the Lantern Festival

Eating soup dumplings at the Lantern Festival is an indispensable custom. A bowl of soup dumplings carries the expectation of family reunion and happiness, and at the same time, represents the hospital's good wishes for international patients and their families. They came from different countries but sat together, experienced the fun of making soup dumplings, learned about Chinese Lantern Festival customs, and made and tasted soup dumplings together, which was a harmonious and beautiful Lantern Festival picture of an international family.

DIY Lanterns

Exorcism and Hope for Good Health

Doing lanterns has always been a traditional Lantern Festival custom, delicate, festive lanterns in the hands of the staff to complete, attracting one after international patients and families, some of them have seen, some do not know at all, are very novel, have joined the ranks of DIY lanterns, although some clumsy, some confused, but under the guidance of the staff are perfect to make the first one of their own! The lanterns were made perfectly under the guidance of the staff. A Thai patient said, "This is the first time I come into contact with lanterns, they are wonderful, and it's a great sense of accomplishment to make your lanterns with your own hands."

At the same time, from February 23 to 25, the 4th floor Sky Garden will also continue to carry out three days of lantern night tour, international patients and their families can bring their own Lantern lanterns to the garden to enjoy the beautiful lanterns and night scenery.

The exquisite lanterns also express the hope that the patients can drive away their illnesses and regain their health. It is hoped that the warmth from the hospital can light up their road to fighting cancer.

This Lantern Festival activity is rich in content, not only fully demonstrates the various customs and culture of the Chinese Lantern Festival, but also integrates the cultural content of other Southeast Asian countries, which further enhances the relationship between medical care and patients, and is also the embodiment of the hospital's respect for each patient and his/her country's culture, and is a vivid embodiment of the hospital's efforts to optimize the quality of service, strengthen cultural construction and humanistic care. Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou will make continuous efforts to improve the service quality and diagnosis and treatment level, provide high-quality medical services for more international patients, improve the quality of life, and prolong the survival period for more tumor patients.

*Surgery, in addition to the appropriate chemotherapy and radiotherapy, are effective in treating early cancer, but certain patients in late stage of cancer may not be tolerate surgery well as they can be relatively weak. A combination of carefully planned minimally invasive therapy, chemotherapy or radiotherapy can effectively reduce the side effects and discomfort of treatment and may help patient get better efficacy.