Paper boat houses set ablaze on water lantern night at Keelung Ghost Festival — massive waves heighten drama

Reported by Chen Ziying / Keelung

The annual Ghost Month festival held in Keelung, known as the Keelung Ghost Festival, is the most vibrant and bustling annual event in the region. This year’s “2014 Jiayin Keelung Ghost Festival” was presided over by the Lin clan as the chief celebrants. At 7 p.m. on the 9th, a grand street parade kicked off, with the procession stretching approximately 2 kilometers, transforming Keelung into a city that never sleeps;As midnight approached, clans and spectators gathered at Wanghai Alley in Badouzi to release water lanterns, where surging tides and towering waves made the scene especially thrilling.


▲ Coinciding with the 15th day of the lunar month and high tide, massive waves at the shore added difficulty to the water lantern release. (Photo / Reporter Xu Wenbin)

The Keelung Ghost Festival, which has been held since the fifth year of the Xianfeng reign during the Qing Dynasty (1855 AD), boasts a history of nearly 160 years and is the oldest such celebration in Taiwan. Each year, the festival showcases the unity and harmony of different family clans through ceremonial events.The “2014 Jiayin Keelung Ghost Festival,” presided over by the Lin clan, featured ten elaborately themed floats led by the Lin family. These included not only electric-powered "San Taizi" (deity statues), but also energetic dance performances by glamorous "Pretty Warrior" girls dancing to the hit song “Sister.”Lin Jiangwei, CEO of the Lin Clan Association, explained that this year being the Year of the Horse, the lead float was themed “Gallop Ahead,” symbolizing the clan's ambition. Other floats, such as “Two Dragons Competing for the Pearl,” “Three Yangs Usher in Prosperity,” and “Ten Perfections,” combined traditional folklore elements with local vibrancy. The parade, starting from Ocean Plaza, stretched for several kilometers as 13 major clans — including the Jiang, Zheng, He-Lan-Han, and Lai families — showcased their own floats.



▲This year, under the leadership of the Lin clan, the street parade turned Keelung into a city that never sleeps. (Photo / Reporter Xu Wenbin)

The highlight of the entire event — the seaside “water lantern release” — drew nearly a thousand people to Badouzi Beach. With the 15th day of the lunar calendar coinciding with high tide, today’s rough seas and powerful waves made the lantern release particularly perilous. Led by the Lin clan, who carried the foremost “lead lantern,” representatives from various clans walked into the sea to light and release their lanterns. Lin Wenxian from the Lin Clan Association said that this year’s specially crafted lead lantern, measuring 6 meters in length and 2 meters in width, was a paper boat house meticulously handmade by a master artisan, featuring traditional yet exquisitely ornate design.True to form, the Lin clan’s lantern sailed bravely over the waves and was successfully released, drifting far out to sea with the tides. However, some lanterns from other clans were no match for the fierce surf — some extinguished, capsized, or scattered across the waters.A clan association member commented, “According to tradition, the farther the lantern drifts, the better — it signifies prosperity for the year. But if a lantern doesn’t drift far or capsizes, it suggests that the corresponding clan may face a less fortunate year.”

View more stunning photos of the Ghost Festival lantern release >>> Click hereYou won’t want to miss it!


▲ The Lin clan’s “lead lantern” boasts exquisite craftsmanship, with its massive boat body built to withstand turbulent waves. (Photo / Reporter Xu Wenbin)

 
▲ Water lanterns from various clans. (Photo / Reporter Xu Wenbin)

 

▲%剂中兆谇字酱?菟?扑忱?俺朔缙评恕薄＃ㄍ迹?钦咝煳谋蛏悖┘br />