On the opening day of the Taiwan Lantern Festival, Disney attractions drew huge crowds

Travel Center / Taipei Report

The 2013 Taiwan Lantern Festival, held in the HSR Hsinchu Station Special Zone in Zhubei City, Hsinchu County, kicked off on the night of the Lantern Festival with President Ma turning on the lights to officially begin the 15-day event. On the opening day, over 1.2 million visitors came to admire the lanterns. The day featured eye-catching parades and main stage performances by Disney and various domestic and international performance groups, drawing continuous crowds of spectators from the afternoon onward.


▲ On the opening day of the lantern festival, eye-catching parades and main stage performances by Disney and various domestic and international performance groups drew crowds, with visitors streaming in from the afternoon. (Photo / Provided by the Tourism Bureau)

Under the traditional lantern-lighting ceremony featuring the beating of drums and gongs, President Ma joined hundreds of thousands of lantern viewers in a countdown to light up the main lantern “Soaring Dragons, Prospering Times.” The site was illuminated with laser lights and fireworks lighting up the Hsinchu night sky, drawing endless admiration from the crowd.

This year marks the 24th edition of the Taiwan Lantern Festival. The highlight of today’s opening ceremony, which delighted the on-site audience, was the second visit of Disney Resort to Taiwan. Collaborating with the marching band of Taipei Municipal First Girls’ High School and students from Guangming Elementary School in Hsinchu County, Disney delivered a unique performance that dazzled the public, making them feel as if they were in a theme park.

The Taiwan Lantern Festival continues to innovate. This year saw several groundbreaking features—for example, the main lantern “Soaring Dragons, Prospering Times” was outfitted internally with over 200,000 state-of-the-art energy-saving LED lights and 2,000 lighting control circuits, aligning with the global trend of energy conservation and carbon reduction. In terms of overall exhibition landscape design, traditional lanterns were combined with technology and low-carbon elements to create three welcoming lantern zones: Yingchun Gate, Jingcai Gate, and Feiteng Gate, all showcasing dazzling light displays that captured the festive joy of reunion. The lantern-lighting platform broke away from its previous role as just a stage backdrop, instead featuring a nearly 100-meter-long giant light wall themed around “Taiwanese Hakka Festivals,” incorporating mountain-inspired designs. Large LED screens and dynamic lighting effects were added on both sides of the backdrop, presenting an alternative vision of the 2013 Taiwan Lantern Festival as one oriented toward a sustainable future.

The Taiwan Lantern Festival will continue its festivities until 10:45 PM on March 10. During the festival, since this year’s venue is conveniently located right next to HSR Hsinchu Station and TRA Liujia Station, visitors are encouraged to use public transportation to get there. For detailed event information or transportation details, please visit the 2013 Taiwan Lantern Festival websitehttp://taiwan.net.tw/2013TaiwanLantern/