The “Fu” Character Sky Lantern Makes Its Debut at Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival; Shuttle Buses from Taipei Zoo Operate Every 5 Minutes

▲ Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival in New Taipei City. (Photo / Provided by New Taipei City Government)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

The traffic control and shuttle bus information for the “2015 New Taipei City Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival” were announced on the 11th. Among them, shuttle buses departing from Taipei Zoo run every 5 minutes, and due to the first-ever full traffic control on the Jifu Highway, which opened at the end of December last year, the organizers have added additional shuttle routes to serve visitors. The two designs of the “Fu” character on the 20TN giant paper-cut sky lantern, set to appear during the Lantern Festival, were also unveiled today, with each “Fu” character carrying deep meaning that showcases the exquisiteness and beauty of traditional culture.

This year’s 20TN “Fu” character paper-cut sky lantern for the Lantern Festival includes one “Fu” that is a collage of 500 paper-cut works submitted by the public during the warm-up event “Everyone Join In, Gather Great Happiness” on February 8. The other “Fu” character combines imagery representing both New Taipei City and Taipei City, created by emerging paper-cutting artist Cheng Ruohan and titled “Fu Gathering in Both New and Taipei.” Within this single “Fu” character, you can see famous landmarks such as the Pingxi Sky Lanterns, Taipei 101, and the Queen’s Head rock formation at Yehliu.

▲ Group photo from the press conference on 2/11, featuring paper-cut artist Cheng Ruohan. (Photo / Provided by New Taipei City Government)

This year, the organizers have specially collaborated with Chunghwa Post to design limited-edition sky lantern festival postmarks and commemorative stamps. On 2/27 and 3/5 between 2 pm and 7 pm, a temporary post office will be set up at the sky lantern festival venue, launching the “Send Happiness to the Future” campaign. For a special price of NT$100, the public can “write a letter to the future,” with offerings including sky lantern blessing postcards and future mail envelopes, plus a complimentary 2015 New Taipei City Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival limited-edition happiness piggy bank.

The three events of the New Taipei City Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival will be held on 2/22 (the fourth day of the Lunar New Year), 2/27 (the ninth day), and 3/5 (the fifteenth day, the Lantern Festival). On these three days, full traffic control for cars and motorcycles will be in place from 9 am to midnight. To accommodate the traffic control, the organizers have arranged shuttle buses. In addition to existing routes from Taipei Zoo and Ruifang Railway Station, new shuttle services have been added this year from Keelung Railway Station, Qidu Railway Station, and Nuannuan Sports Park, running approximately every 5 to 20 minutes. The one-way fare for shuttle buses is NT$50 when boarding from Taipei Zoo; NT$30 when boarding from Keelung, Shiding District, or Ruifang District; and NT$10 when boarding within Pingxi District. Return trips on the shuttle buses are free of charge.

The Pingxi Line train schedules on festival days differ from regular schedules.Please check theTaiwan Railways Administration websiteor station announcements for details. For more detailed event information, please visit the “New Taipei City Tourism Website” and the “New Taipei Travel Facebook Fan Page”.