The second Taiwan version of the giant Rubber Duck inflatable sculpture debuted in Taoyuan County yesterday, drawing a large crowd of viewers.
The trail along the pond was scheduled to open to visitors at 9am, but the organizers decided to bring it forward to 8am because by then the line of fans flocking to the exhibition site was already 3km long.
The number of visitors grew to 10,000 within the first two hours and continued to increase rapidly after that, the organizers said.
The Taoyuan version of the floating duck is 18m tall, 18m wide and 25m long.
As part of the Taoyuan Land Art Festival, Dutch conceptual artist Florentijn Hofman’s Rubber Duck is sitting in one of the many ponds in Sinwu Township (新屋). The township’s various ponds are normally used for aquaculture or irrigation.
The sculpture is expected to highlight Taoyuan County’s unique pond-dotted landscape, county officials said.
Many other art installations are also on display at the festival. They include a series of pink polka dot inflatables, called Footprints of Life, by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and a giant pink Lotus by South Korean Choi Jeong-hwa.
The landscape festival, the first of its kind in Taoyuan, is expected to attract more than 1.5 million visitors before it concludes on Nov. 10.
The first Taiwan version of Hofman’s inflatable duck made a big splash in Greater Kaohsiung, attracting 3.9 million visitors during a month-long display that ended on Oct. 20.
According to the Greater Kaohsiung Government, the duck helped generate more than NT$1 billion (US$33 million) in business for the southern port city.
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