Several lanterns showcased at the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Pingtung County’s Dapeng Bay (大鵬灣) this year would soon be exhibited in Denmark, Japan and Malaysia, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday.
The festival, which was held from Feb. 19 to Sunday last week, attracted 13.39 million visitors.
Local Chinese-language media called it the “most beautiful” lantern festival ever held.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung County Government
It also helped Dapeng Bay emerge as a popular scenic spot.
Three lanterns created by Taiwanese, Danish and Swedish artists would be displayed in the Kronborg Castle and Maritime Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen in August, the bureau said.
One of the lanterns, named “Wind Nest in Hengchun” (恆春風巢), was created using wood and 2,800 beer bottles.
The second lantern, “The Light of Time Being” (屏安時光), tells a homecoming story in a big spinning lantern, the bureau said, adding that the creation of “The Chronicle of Jutien” (竹田記事) was inspired by a Paiwan myth.
Lanterns featuring images of the old town gate in Hengchun (恆春) and a Double Ten National Day parade float as well as lanterns of Mango Pig and Pig Warriors would be exhibited at a festival in Japan’s Amori Prefecture this summer, the bureau said.
“Wind Nest in Hengchun,” “The Light of Time Being” and “The Chronicle of Jutien” would be placed on permanent display at Tobu World Square in Tochigi Prefecture after the summer festival, it added.
Malaysia would display two lanterns from the Pingtung festival at its own lantern festival, the bureau said.
One of them features images of protected species, such as Formosan sika deer, green sea turtles and gray-faced buzzards, and the other features the diverse cultures of ethnic groups in Taiwan, it said.
The bureau said that six lanterns would be put on permanent display at Dapeng Bay: The festival’s main lantern, “Giant Tuna Brings Fortune” (巨鮪來富), “Sea Goddess” (海之女神), “Coral Heart” (珊瑚之心), “The Book of Ecology” (生態之書), and the lanterns featuring the images of the Hengchun town gate and the wind pig god.
Created by new immigrants to Taiwan, the “Sea Goddess” lantern was built by using 5 tonnes of steel and 300,000 oyster shells.
“Coral heart” was nominated for the A’Design Award event this year.
Hsu Chu-lung (許主龍), the director of the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area Administration, said that the administration has asked the company managing Dapeng Bay to make plans to maintain the tourism momentum created by the lantern festival.
The company should find ways to showcase the lanterns at the Sailboat Festival this year, he said.
“The Oyster Shell Island” (蚵殼島), formed by oyster shells discarded by farmers over the years and a tourist attraction in the bay, would be repaired and opened to the public by the end of this year, Hsu said.
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