The Pingtung County Government on Monday said the symbol for next year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival would be the ouroboros, marking a departure from the three-decade-long practice of using Chinese zodiac signs for the festival.
Visual designer Joe Fang (方序中), who designed the stage for last year’s Golden Horse awards ceremony, said that he wanted something unique for the event, which is to be held in his hometown of Donggang Township (東港).
The ouroboros is a symbol of infinity and the blue, green and red color scheme represents the ocean, the land and the people that make up Pingtung, he said.
Photo: Ashley Chiu, Taipei Times
He was inspired by Pingtung’s closeness to the sea, the importance of farming and fishing to the local way of life, and the county’s diverse community of Aboriginal people, as well as native Taiwanese, Mainlanders and new immigrants, Fang said.
The ouroboros would be used on directional signs, badges worn by event staff, souvenirs and collectible cards, the Pingtung County Government said.
Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said an average of 11 million people visited each of the previous festivals, and that the county expects more visitors next year.
To ease traffic, the county plans to open 11 bus lines and the central government has agreed to coordinate rail, highway and high-speed rail services, he said.
The county government has also obtained permission to launch a ferry service between Kaohsiung and Dapeng Bay (大鵬灣) for the duration of the festival, Pan said.
The county has recruited 2,000 volunteers for the event, he said, adding that he is confident that it will meet its recruitment target of 10,000 staff before the event begins.
To mark the 30th anniversary of the festival, the county government is planning an event different from previous ones, he said, adding that a theme-park layout would be used.
“We hope that the lantern festival will increase the value of the county’s tourism industry and resources, and make Pingtung a brand name,” he said.
The festival is to be held from Feb. 19 to March 3 next year.
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