By ANNE BESTON

After the rough and tussle of her visit to Waitangi, it must have been a relief for Helen Clark to know that the fierce-looking dragon and ear-shattering fireworks in Albert Park were just for show.

The Prime Minister opened Auckland's fifth annual Lantern Festival yesterday, the traditional three-day closing ceremony to mark the end of Chinese New Year festivities and the beginning of the Year of the Monkey.

In contrast to her reception at Waitangi, Helen Clark was greeted with cheers and applause when she addressed the crowd.

Afterwards, the Prime Minister went on an impromptu walkabout, jostled only by smiling onlookers wanting to shake her hand.

Thousands of Aucklanders thronged the park, wandering beneath a sea of brightly lit hanging lanterns and buying from dozens of stalls selling everything from Chinese dumplings to boxing gloves and, of course, lanterns.

The festival, which ends tomorrow, is traditionally held on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar to search for the celestial spirits which ancient Chinese believed appeared in the light of the first full moon of the year.

Kevin Woodward, 53, of Pt Chevalier, said he came every year and the celebrations just kept getting better.

"It's more important than that show up north," he said, referring to events at Waitangi.