More than 110,000 fireworks lit up the sky at the Dajia Riverside Park and Dadaocheng (大稻埕) last night in celebration of the opening of the Taipei International Flora Expo, dazzling spectators with an hour-long long display that included Taiwan-inspired patterns and the expo’s official logo.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and first lady Chow Mei--ching (周美青) opened the show at Dajia Riverside Park at 9pm with a display of the expo’s official name in Chinese.
Subsequently, designated spots along the Keelung River (基隆河) and Tamsui River (淡水河) set off fireworks, lighting up the sky with displays of red lantern shapes, the national flower (plum flower) and the expo logo.
PHOTO: PATRICK LIN, AFP
The show featured fireworks designed by five teams from the UK, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan.
The highlight of the show, an 18m high outline of Taiwan with patterns of flowers drawn inside its borders, wowed the spectators when it rose from the riverbanks.
Thousands of spectators crowded the sites at Dajia Riverside Park and Dadaocheng, as well as nearby Dazhi Bridge, to view the show despite the rain.
The heavy smoke induced by the fireworks, however, led to complaints by some spectators that they couldn’t enjoy the show as their view was covered by a blanket of white smoke.
Another apparent glitch was the confusion over transportation arrangements at the shuttle bus stops and the resulting congestion, which drew another wave of complaints from members in the crowd. Impatient with the shuttle bus no-shows, which appeared to be delayed, some spectators reluctantly opted to return to the pavilions on foot instead of waiting for the buses.
The show has also run into some protests, with a group on Facebook earlier urging the Taipei City Government to use the budget to promote social welfare instead of spending it on expensive fireworks displays.
Taipei City Government spokesperson Chao Hsin-ping (趙心屏) brushed aside the criticism, saying it was an “international convention” to warm up an international event with a fireworks show.
“The budget was listed specifically for fireworks, and it did not affect the budget for social welfare, education and other municipal developments,” she said.
According to Taipei City’s Department of Tourism and Information Commissioner Tuo Tzung-hua (脫宗華), the city government budgeted NT$12 million (US$390,000) for the fireworks show, while the opening ceremony cost NT$17 million.
Taiwanese dancer Sheu Fang-yi (許芳宜), pop sensation Lin Yu-chun (林育群) and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre also performed at the expo last night after the grand opening in the morning.
Earlier yesterday during a meeting with foreign envoys at the Presidential Office, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) described the flora expo as a manifestation of the integration of Chinese culture and state-of-the-art environmental protection and biotechnology.
“We hope that in addition to displaying a sense of beauty, the event will point us in the developmental direction we should promote in the future by showing the relationships and interactions between people and the environment, “ Ma said.
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