Something new was made in Taiwan yesterday: a world record for the largest gathering of twins. Creating a surreal scene, 3,961 pairs of twins converged on the square in front of Taipei City Hall, shattering the previous world record of 2,900 set last year in Twinsburg, Ohio, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"I've never seen so many twins in my life," Ma said to the crowd, after proclaiming that the world record now belonged to Taiwan.
Tai Sheng-yi, president of the Guinness Book of World Records' Asian headquarters, said the new feat was officially recognized and will be recorded with the London-based organization.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
The twins were of all ages: toddlers in strollers, businessmen in dark suits and elderly sisters in long, red Chinese-style gowns.
All waited in steady drizzle for most of the morning as officials checked their identification documents and pictures.
Most of them were from Taiwan, but several foreigners living in Taipei also brought their twins.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Martin Wurster, a missionary from Germany, held his two-year-old twin daughters to prevent them from running around in the crowded square, where several children were already reported lost.
Wurster said he has lived in Taipei for the past 12 years and would like to help it break the twin-gathering record.
The city sponsored the activity because twins could best share their joys and misfortunes -- a spirit needed in Taiwan where many are rebuilding their homes destroyed in the 921 earthquake -- the mayor told reporters.
Trying to calm his fidgety 18-month-old twin sons, Cheng Chung-hsin discussed the joys and difficulties of twins. He said his sons share the same taste in toys, and often fight over the same one, despite the fact they have plenty of other things to play with.
"They're fun, but annoying sometimes," he said.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
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