Kite enthusiasts from around the world will flock to Shihmen Township (石門), Taipei County, this weekend to celebrate this year’s Shihmen International Kite Festival.
The festival will see a host of competitors from home and abroad displaying their kiting skills in competition against each other.
The event has been hosted by the North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area Administration since 2000.
This year, the event has drawn the participation of kite fliers from Australia, the UK, the US, Japan, Korea and Malaysia as well as from several local kite fliers associations.
HOME
The Tourism Bureau’s deputy director general Steven Kuo Su (郭蘇燦洋) said Shihmen is now known as the home of kite fliers, as it has the Shihmen Kite Park, which is probably one of the best places to fly kites in the region.
Shihmen Mayor Liang Yu-xue (梁玉雪) said that although the Shihmen International Kite Festival clashes with the kite festival in South Korea this year, the South Korean Kite Association is still sending four representatives to attend the Shihmen festival.
Many kite fliers from other countries still have chosen to come to Taiwan as well.
At the press conference yesterday, the organizers also invited local kite makers to demonstrate special kites, such as Frisbee and parachute kites. These kites can be flown both indoors and outdoors.
MORE THAN KITES
In addition to kites, the festival now includes other wind-related activities, such as windsurfing and sailing, to highlight the various recreational activities available on Taiwan’s Northeast Coast.
Visitors can take the Taipei MRT Red Line to Hongshulin Station (紅樹林站), where a free shuttle bus service heading to Shihmen will be provided every 20 minutes.
The Shihmen International Kite Festival is held every year in September and October.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
The presence of Taiwanese politicians at China’s military parade tomorrow would send the wrong message to Beijing and the international community about Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy, a national security official said yesterday. China is to hold the parade tomorrow to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. By bringing together leaders of “anti-West” governments such as Russia, North Korea, Iran and Belarus, the parade aims to project a symbolic image of an alliance that is cohesive and unbending against Western countries, the national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu
ENHANCING DETERRENCE: Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and China’s coastal areas without any logistical difficulties Japan is to deploy extended-range anti-ship missiles at a Ground Self-Defense Force base in Kumamoto to bolster its defenses, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Saturday. The upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile, with a range of more than 1,000km, would be capable of striking targets in the Taiwan Strait and along China’s coast. Originally limited to a few hundred kilometers, the Type 12 was recently modernized ahead of schedule. Deployment, initially slated for next year, has been accelerated after the upgrade was completed sooner than expected, the newspaper said. Stationing the missiles in Kyushu would allow Japan to cover waters near Taiwan and
RSS