Eight million visitors are expected to flock to Taichung over the next 10 days, with the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival opening yesterday.
The main exhibition area near the high-speed railway station in Wuri District (烏日) features the main lantern, a golden bighorn sheep, which is about 23m tall. It is complemented by other lanterns, including a phoenix, a carp and a ship navigated by the Tourism Bureau’s mascot Ohbear (喔熊).
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and other dignitaries are to attend the opening ceremony tonight, when Ma is scheduled to turn on the main lantern.
Photo: Yu Po-lin, Taipei Times
This is the second time that Taichung has hosted the Taiwan Lantern Festival, the first time being in 2003.
According to the Greater Taichung Government, the main lantern used in 2003 has been made the main feature at Taichung Park.
Many of the lanterns in the festival this year drew inspiration from tourist attractions in Taichung, from the crown on the statue of the goddess Matsu (媽祖) in the Dajia Jenn Lann Temple, pastry shops in Fengyuan District (豐原) and the Confucius Temple.
Tourism Bureau director-general David Hsieh (謝謂君) said that the festival has become a must-see event for tourists, adding that the bureau has collaborated with travel agencies in Japan, Hong Kong and other countries to make the annual event a stop on package tours to Taiwan.
Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the festival has set a precedent by having four exhibition areas this year.
They include the main exhibition area in Wuri, one in the business zone of Fengyuan, one in Taichung Park and another in Donghu Park in Dali District (大里).
Lin said there could be more than 8 million visitors to the event this year.
The bureau added that about 60,000 international visitors could attend the festival.
Meanwhile, a parade is to be held this morning along the Calligraphy Greenway (草悟道) in Taichung, featuring various performances by young artists from Taiwan and Japan.
Aside from the festival in Taichung, similar events are also to run in Taipei and Kaohsiung.
Other counties also have events traditionally held on Lantern Festival — which falls on the 15th day of the first month on the lunar calendar — including the Sky Lantern Festival in Pingsi District (平溪), New Taipei City; the “Bombing the Dragon” event in Miaoli, the Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival in Tainan and the “Bombing Han Dan” event in Taitung.
People interested in visiting the Taiwan Lantern Festival are encouraged to take a high-speed train if they live a long way from Taichung. Those living near Taichung are advised to use Taiwan Railways Administration trains.
The Taichung Government has arranged shuttle buses to run between the exhibition areas.
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