In ancient times, farmers or fishermen who lived in cold areas often filled buckets with water to freeze into ice covers when feeding horses or fishing at night when water dripped into ice, and used oil lamps or lamps to make up for the lack of lighting equipment. Candles are placed between them to prevent them from being blown out by the wind. Later, some poor families, unwilling to be lonely and unable to afford lanterns, made some ice lanterns and placed them in front of their doors during the Spring Festival or Lantern Festival night. Therefore, ice lanterns are also called "poor stick lanterns". The ice lanterns made and used by "Qiongbangzi" lack written records because they are difficult to see in an elegant hall. The first poem that mentions ice lanterns is "Ode to Ice Lanterns on New Year's Eve" written by Tang Shunzhi of the Ming Dynasty: "I pity the burning trees for the spring beauty, and suddenly I see the clear light reflecting the night. The shark beads still carry water when they go out to the sea, and the sleeves in the hall are filled with coldness. The candles do not block the shadows in the sky, and the faint air seems to be seen from the moon. In order to borrow the east wind for a while, there will be more joy in the coming night. "At the Lantern Festival with colorful flowers and colorful flowers, I suddenly saw the flashing ice lanterns reflecting Shen Shen. In the night sky, when I looked closer, I saw water droplets gathering on the body of the ice lantern. It seemed to be melting, but it was gentle and gentle, like the tears of a shark, with a kind of luster. After watching it for a long time, the surrounding spectators all felt cold. Although the cold air was not urgent, it was indeed intimidating. The production of ancient ice lanterns requires very particular skills. The raw materials used include ice and snow. In order to extend the life of the display, some also "mix alum into ice" or "sprinkle snow with alum water to form ice", so that the ice lanterns made "will not dissolve until February or March". Fang Guancheng of the Qing Dynasty wrote in the preface to his poem "Ice Lamp": "Tie thin strips into the shape of a lamp and condense them with water." This explains the general practice of ice lanterns in ancient times. From Fang Guancheng's two sentences, we can know that because it is water-drenched, very low temperatures are needed to form ice lanterns. Therefore, ice lanterns are usually popular in the north, and only occasionally appear in the south when the temperature is extremely low. As for the shapes made, they are all kinds of strange and ingenious. "The Jinling Poetry of the Kingdom" states that the ice lantern in Barkol, Xinjiang is "more than ten feet long, with mountain plains, pavilions, jade screens, stone walls, tables, and figures all made of ice and illuminated by candles." "Jilin Chronicles" records that the local ice lanterns are "engraved with images of the Eight Immortals and Guanyin on thin sheets, cut out to make lamps, and burned with candles at night to emit light. It is almost as if the carvings were real, and its ingenuity is incredible." Because of this, ice lanterns Attracted many viewers. The ice lanterns in Barkol, Xinjiang attracted "gentlemen and women from urban and rural areas to gather together, and the spectators felt like they were seeing each other". "Jilin Tongzhi" records: "The 15th day is the Lantern Festival... Lanterns are put up in the city for three days, golden drums are played, ice lanterns are lit, and fireworks are set off... On that day, men and women go out and fill the alleys." In the late Qing Dynasty, Beijing City Ice lanterns were also exhibited here. According to the "Old Beijing Trivia" written by Xia Renhu of the Qing Dynasty, at that time, various lantern festivals were always held in the capital during the first month of the year, and lanterns and colorful lanterns were also put up in the Liubu Yamen, which was called "Liubu Lanterns". Among the six lanterns, "there is an ice lantern, which is carved with ice and flies away in all kinds of ways. It is a poor workmanship and is extremely skillful." From then on, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the workers of the Shichahai ice cellar also used the natural ice of Shichahai to make hollow three-dimensional oval ice shapes, lit candles inside, and placed them on the streets at the west entrance of Yiliu Hutong east of Shichahai for people to watch.