An 8-meter-tall imitation yellow rubber duck floats into Jiji’s Wuchang Temple, staying until next year’s Lantern Festival

▲Wuchang Temple in Jiji Township, Nantou County, was rebuilt over more than a decade and completed in October 2013 (this year). The photo above shows the new temple. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

The healing power of the yellow rubber duck shows no signs of fading—the adorable yellow duck has now made its way to Jiji Township in Nantou County. The Jiji Wuchang Temple, which has been preserved in its post-921 earthquake collapsed state and become a local tourist attraction, is now home to this “only inland” yellow duck in all of Taiwan.

The original Wuchang Temple site in Jiji Township collapsed during the 921 earthquake and was later preserved in its original form as a memorial park, becoming a new tourist attraction. However, since the temple is a spiritual center for local residents, the new structure took over a decade to rebuild and was finally completed in early October this year. Now, beside the new Wuchang Temple, an 8-meter-tall imitation yellow rubber duck has quietly arrived, becoming a “land-based” duck that will keep Jiji company until next year’s (2014) Lantern Festival.

%The original Wuchang Temple, which collapsed during the 921 earthquake, is now part of Jiji’s 921 Earthquake Memorial Park. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The arrival of the yellow rubber duck in Jiji also comes with a little legendary backstory. According to the temple, after the new temple was rebuilt and consecrated, a yellow duck was spotted swimming in a nearby stream for over a month before mysteriously disappearing. Coincidentally, this was around the time the yellow rubber duck exhibition in Kaohsiung attracted large crowds of tourists, and with the upcoming Taiwan Lantern Festival in Nantou County next year (2014), the temple began considering how to ride the duck-themed craze to attract more visitors.

Thus, the temple commissioned an advertising agency to create a scaled-down, 8-meter-tall yellow rubber duck. Yesterday morning (December 24), it was officially unveiled beside the temple, paired with real ducks swimming in the pond, creating a cute scene of “big duck with little ducks.” Even foreign tourists who visited exclaimed, “So cute!”

%The yellow “land” duck (as of December 24) standing beside Wuchang Temple will keep Jiji company until the 2014 Lantern Festival. (Photo credit:Wuchang Temple’s Facebook page))

When asked whether the recent heated “yellow rubber duck copyright dispute” would affect them, the temple stated that their duck has a pointed tail, differing from the original’s smooth shape, and they are not selling any merchandise, so there should be no copyright issues.