If you have plans to visit Taiwan this week, you still have a chance to catch its lantern festival, a visual spectacle with over 300 pieces on display.
The Taiwan Lantern Festival, now on its 35th edition, is hosted by a different city each year. Tainan finally gets its turn again after 16 years, and it has pulled all the stops to make sure the event is memorable for both locals and international visitors -- especially since it coincides with the southern city's 400th anniversary. Organizers said the festival not only aims to showcase Tainan to the world, but also to exchange lantern-making techniques with this year's participating countries such as Japan and Indonesia.
Until March 10, lantern art pieces of different shapes and sizes light up ICC Tainan and its surrounding areas -- from animals and popular characters to bullet trains and even bubble tea, which is Taiwan's iconic drink.
But the highlight of the festival is a giant rotating luminescent dragon designed by renowned Taiwanese artist Peng Li-chen. Called "Dragon Comes to Taiwan," it has a height of 18 meters (22 meters if we include the base) and incorporates solar energy materials. It is an ode to the Chinese zodiac of 2024 -- the event, after all, is celebrated every 15th day of the lunar calendar.
Aside from ICC Tainan, this year's Taiwan Lantern Festival has another exhibition area at the Anping Recreational Wharf. Here, you can check out 30 artworks including "Goddess Mazu" presented by the Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group, which brings to life the Chinese deity of the sea. There are also performances at night that integrate drones, and fireworks, among others.
For international visitors, make sure to present your passport at the lantern festival's on-site redemption centers to get freebies from the Taiwan Tourism Administration (TTA) such as a 2024 Year of the Dragon lantern, a limited-edition souvenir, and a ticket valid for watching the main lantern area performance.
According to TTA director general Chou Yung-hui, the Taiwan Lantern Festival is one of its biggest draws. Just at the testing demo, a whopping 220,000 visitors already showed up in Tainan, he said through a translator during a press conference.
He also shared some of their post-pandemic strategies to attract more visitors to Taiwan, placing focus on eco tourism, tribal tourism, cruises, and promoting food and cultural tours to business travelers.
ANCX visited Taiwan as part of a familiarization tour organized by the TTA. More details about the Taiwan Lantern Festival are available here.