Free yukata and torches for all—A thousand people to explore Dongpu Hot Spring Street in Nantou at night

By MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network, Reported by Chen Guanxin

 

As autumn arrives and the weather gradually cools down, warm hot springs and delicious food are set to replace water activities and cold treats as the top travel choices for the fall and winter seasons. The Nantou Hot Spring Festival, which boasts three major hot spring areas—Dongpu, Puli, and Beigangxi—will kick off on October 20. A series of events, including a food carnival, a cycling hot spring tour, and hot spring music and dance performances, will be held in the three hot spring areas respectively. Among them, the Dongpu Hot Spring area will distribute a thousand free yukatas and torches during the October 20 event, allowing visitors to experience the unique evening of a thousand people holding torches and parading in yukatas. Additionally, during the event period, there will also be a “temperature discount battle” and lucky draw activities. Not only will the hotter the temperature, the cheaper the hot spring entry, but those who spend over NT$999 will also have a chance to win the Taiwan Hot Springs Lucky Card, which allows free hot spring stays for you and a companion at partner hot spring hotels across Taiwan.

The Taiwan Hot Spring Food Carnival, organized by the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, is held annually in 17 hot spring areas across Taiwan. This year’s Nantou Hot Spring Festival events will take place on October 20, November 4, November 10, and November 17 in the Dongpu, Puli, and Beigangxi hot spring areas. The Dongpu Hot Spring area’s food carnival, which kicks off first at the Dongpu Visitor Parking Lot, will not only offer indigenous snacks unique to the Bunun tribe of Dongpu, such as mountain boar meat, millet rice cakes, and millet wine for visitors to taste, but will also host a thousand-person yukata and torch street parade, a fireworks show, and performances by artists such as Show Luo and Wang Hong-en.

 

Puli Hot Spring, known as the “Hot Spring of Flowers,” will hold an “i Slow Play” event on November 4 at the Tianshuan Hot Spring Club in Lianhua Pond Scenic Area, and from 09:00 to 15:00 on the day of the event, outdoor spa pools will be open for free to visitors. On November 10 and 17, at the Atayal Resort in the Beigangxi Hot Spring area, events such as a Hot Spring Goddess Parade, a Seediq dance performance, a fireworks show, and a coffee exhibition from Xingye Township are planned.

In addition, this year, hot spring businesses in the Nantou area will jointly launch a “Temperature Discount Battle,” where the hotter it is, the cheaper the hot spring. During the hot spring festival, at 15:00 every Wednesday, based on the temperature in the Taichung area, as long as it exceeds 28 degrees Celsius, the public can download an 80% discount coupon for hot springs and meals from the official website of the Nantou Hot Spring Festival for a limited time. If the temperature exceeds 30 degrees, 50% discount coupons will be offered. In addition, during the event period, visitors who go to partner businesses in the Nantou area to soak in hot springs can receive a limited-edition commemorative postcard from the 2012 Nantou Hot Spring Festival and enjoy free mailing services.

 

The Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications has also launched a grand lucky draw for the Hot Spring Food Carnival. The grand prize is a “Taiwan Hot Springs Stay Card” worth NT$500,000, which allows free hot spring stays and accommodation at partner hot spring hotels across Taiwan for you and a companion. The second prize is the “Taiwan Hot Springs Lucky Card,” which allows free hot spring soaking everywhere. There are also other great prizes such as 3C products, accommodation vouchers, and hot spring vouchers. As long as you spend over NT$999 at participating merchants in the Hot Spring Food Carnival passport during the event, you can join the lucky draw. For more details on the event, visit the official website at travel.nantou.gov.tw/2012hotspring.

 

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