The Taiwan International Balloon Festival ended on Monday evening, having attracted 1.23 million visitors since its opening on July 2, the Taitung County Tourism Department said yesterday.
The festival was held in the county’s Luye Highland.
It featured 20 hot-air balloons from abroad that appeared in Taiwan for the first time, including two shaped like the Japanese mascots Yakultman and Kumanon, and one from the US in the shape of Elvis Presley, the event organizer said.
Photo: Chen Hsien-yi, Taipei Times
The festival also featured nearly a dozen balloons from Taiwan, such as the Tourism Bureau’s mascot OhBear and the Taipei City Government’s mascot, Bravo Bear.
Taitung County Commissioner Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴) said the annual festival, which was held for the 12th year, featured drone light shows for the first time.
In related news, an international skydiving event began yesterday at the Luye Highland and would run until Wednesday next week, the Taitung County Government said.
The event is to feature jumps by 10 professional skydivers from Taiwan, Russia and Ukraine, it said.
Three jumps would be conducted each day — in the morning, at noon and in the afternoon — the county said.
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