Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns. If visitors have solutions to the riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the lantern owners to check their answer. If they are right, they will get a little gift. The activity emerged during people's enjoyment of lanterns in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata.

猜灯谜也是元宵节的一项重要活动，花灯的主人会将谜面写在灯笼上，挂在门口，如果有人可以猜中，就能得到小小的礼物。这项活动最早起源于宋朝，因为谜语能启迪智慧又饶有兴趣，所以流传过程中深受社会各阶层的欢迎。