A range of "rainbow sightseeing bus tours" are to be launched in Taipei next month as part of Pride month celebrations, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday.
The rainbow bus tours, part of a series of Pride month events themed "2024 Color Taipei," are to feature drag queens as tour guides, tourism officials told a news conference.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Government
The bus tours would be offered on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Oct. 5 to 25, on three routes — Cultural, Music and Film.
On the Cultural tour route, the history of Taiwan's LGBTQ+ rights movement is to be highlighted, and it would include stops at landmarks such as Ximen Red House and the Rainbow Iron Gate of 228 Peace Park, the officials said.
The Music tour is to take passengers on a scenic ride through Taipei, with the bus playing pride music by Taiwanese pop stars A-Mei (張惠妹), Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) and Elva Hsiao (蕭亞軒).
The stops would include Ximen Red House and Taipei Xia-Hai City God Temple, officials said.
Passengers on the Movie tour would visit the film locations of Taiwanese LGBTQ+ themed movies such as Crystal Boys, Eternal Summer and Blue Gate Crossing, the officials said.
The Cultural bus tour is to cost NT$600, the Music tour NT$520 and the Film tour NT$680, with tickets available via Klook, the department said.
The celebrity tour guides on the buses would include drag queens Nine² Boo², Elja Heights (Ellery) and Queen, as well as Quarterback vocalist Ashan and P!sco guitarist Rachel, tourism officials said.
At the news conference, Queen said he had served three times before as a guide on Taipei's rainbow sightseeing bus tours, and it was joy each time.
She thanked the Taipei government for its vocal support of pride, and Taiwanese for their respect and kindness.
Department Deputy Commissioner Shiue Chiu-huo (薛秋火) said that the Taipei government has long been committed to making Taipei the most friendly and equitable city in Asia, by continuously promoting gender equality and inclusive policies.
The department would continue to work hard to make Pride tourism a signature brand of Taipei, giving domestic and international visitors a chance to experience the city's friendliness, inclusivity and diverse charm, he said.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
RSS