Text by the MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel & Lifestyle Network Editorial Team
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Taiwan’s annual Kaohsiung Lantern Festival will kick off on January 28. (Image source / from the Kaohsiung Lantern Festival Arts Festival Facebook page)
The Kaohsiung Lantern Festival is ranked alongside the Taiwan Lantern Festival and Taipei Lantern Festival as one of the nation’s three major lantern festivals, drawing crowds each year with continuous innovation. This year, the Kaohsiung Lantern Festival has introduced some new highlights.From the lighting ceremony on January 28 until February 23, in addition tothree mountain lantern areas — Qishan, Gangshan, and Fo Guang Shan —scattered across different locations, various fun-themed lantern displays will also adorn areas in downtown Kaohsiung such as the San Duo Commercial District, Wu Fu Commercial District, and both banks of the Love River. Moreover, the trees lining Xinguang Road, Zhongshan Road (from Xinguang Road to Formosa Boulevard Station), Wu Fu Road (from Lin Sen Road to the Love River), and Cheng Gong Road (from San Duo Road to the Exhibition Center) will be decorated into a sea of festive lights.
Among these, four sets totaling 11 grand lamp gates in the Baroque classical art style, standing at the key north-south traffic hub at the intersection of San Duo Road and Zhongshan Road, along with tech-savvy, parent-child fairy tale, peace-praying, and fashion-forward floats and lanterns — such as the auspicious and peaceful Fo Guang Shan lantern, Transformers, the whimsical duo of Alice and the rabbit, the world’s tallest Kaohsiung Song Jiang Battle Array lantern, the global return journey of purple crow butterflies to Kaohsiung, schools of migratory fish, romantic light displays for couples, and the dazzling fireworks over the Love River — are integrated through street lamps, technology, light projections, and fireworks to showcase Kaohsiung’s tourism, cuisine, commercial districts, industries, lifestyle fashion, child-friendly traditions, street scenes, architecture, transportation, accommodations, and local characteristics.
Mayor Chen Chu stated that the Kaohsiung Lantern Festival uses lights to guide the way, leading people to discover more new perspectives of Kaohsiung’s mountains, seas, rivers, and harbor. For example, strolling past the “bar street” food stalls along Xinguang Road toward the 85 Sky Tower and Xinguang Pier, you’ll witness the maturing vision of Kaohsiung’s Asian New Bay Area, with the World Trade Exhibition Center gleaming like silver waves before your eyes.
Mayor Chen Chu also unveiled this year’s mini lantern, the “Happy Life Horse.” For the first time in Kaohsiung, the mini lanterns are designed as a pair of horses in pink and powder blue, adorned with Hakka floral fabric and cute paulownia flowers, exuding a playful retro charm. They convey the two core spirits of the Kaohsiung Lantern Festival — “love” and “happiness” — advancing hand in hand. The cheerful and adorable Happy Life Horses will be distributed at designated locations for the public.Mini lantern collection times: 5:00 PM on February 8 at the Zhongshan-San Duo Service Desk, Hedong-Wu Fu Service Desk, Gangshan Riverside Park, and Qishan Train Station for queueing and pickup; 5:00 PM on February 14 at the Zhongshan-San Duo Service Desk for queueing and pickup.During the two collection periods, each person can collect up to 2 lanterns, while supplies last.
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