Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) presided over a series of activities yesterday evening in Kaohsiung as a prelude to Lantern Festival, which starts tomorrow.
Twenty-seven vehicles dec-orated with lanterns drove down Kaohsiung City's main roads for the celebration.
The vehicles were sponsored by 15 schools and 11 enterprises. Schools bands, honor guards and a police Harley-Davidson motorcycle squad were also featured in the parade.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Other big lamps will be in the shapes of fishes, horses, dragons and phoenixes. There will also be a laser show.
During the Lantern Festival, most temples are illuminated by colorful lanterns of all shapes and sizes.
Riddle-solving contests are held at temples, parks and public places and glutinous rice dumplings are eaten.
Tens of thousands of lanterns will be installed along the two banks of Kaohsiung's Love River, while others will be hung at the wharf of Kaohsiung Port.
Kaohsiung City Government officials suggested that visitors walk to Kaohsiung Port or travel there by ferryboats to view the shinning lantern scenery from the water.
The Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications is co-sponsoring Lantern Festival-related festivities in Kaohsiung so the city's tourism sector is supporting the programs and hopes that the colorful activities will attract more visitors to the city.
RSS