Hundreds of thousands of tourists are expected to flock into the Chung Hsin New Village (中興新村) in Nantou County over the weekend as the Taiwan Lantern Festival is scheduled to officially open today.
Hosted by different counties each year, the festival was lauded by the Discovery Channel in its series Fantastic Festivals of the World.
The Nantou County Government estimated the 10-day festival could attract 100,000 tourists on a regular day and could potentially top 500,000 tourists per day on weekends.
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
The Tourism Bureau estimated that 30,000 international tourists would attend the festival.
The county government held a rehearsal yesterday, which drew more than 110,000 visitors from around the nation
Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時), Tourism Bureau Director-General David Hsieh (謝謂君) and Hollywood actor and comedian Rob Schneider attended the rehearsal.
Photo: Chang Hsun-teng, Taipei Times
“It gave me the feeling of Disneyland, and it really demonstrated the artistry and creativity of the Taiwanese people in different ages,” Schneider said. “People from all over the world should come and see it and would be blown away by it. It’s better than the Disney or Pixar movies. You can bring your kids and family and see the amazing lights and characters at the festival.”
Schneider said he may soon announce plans to shoot a film in Taiwan to help promote the nation as a tourist destination, adding that the movie would be funny and action packed.
Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) as well as other dignitaries are to attend tonight’s opening ceremony and switch on the main lantern at the festival.
Visitors can watch a two-hour street parade featuring shows presented by local and international performers.
As 2014 is the Year of the Horse according to the Chinese zodiac, the main lantern at the festival is a 23m-high horse lantern that is lit up by more than 200,000 LED bulbs.
Visitors can enjoy a five-minute show featuring the main lantern every half hour from 6pm to 10pm.
Aside from the main lantern, visitors can also see peacock, fruit, butterfly and cartoon character lanterns.
Couples can celebrate Valentine’s Day today by taking pictures in front of a Cupid lantern and a heart-shaped lantern.
In addition to the activities in Nantou, there are other traditional events scheduled around the nation for Lantern Festival, including the Pingsi Sky Lantern Festival, the Bombing Dragon Festival in Miaoli, the Beehive Crackers event in Yenshui (鹽水) in Greater Tainan and the Bombing Handan event in Taitung.
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