The world’s second-largest festive carnival—Curved Line’s Colorful Pingxi Sky Lanterns Shuttle Bus

Reported by You T-Ru / Taipei




▲ The Pingxi International Sky Lantern Festival, known as the “world’s second-largest festive carnival,” draws huge numbers of tourists each year. (Photo / Provided by New Taipei City Tourism Bureau)



The New Taipei City Taiwan Tourist Shuttle—Muzha Pingxi Line is based on the existing Taipei Bus Route 795. It starts from Muzha Metro Station and travels through Shencheng, Shiding, Jingting, Pingxi, and all the way to Shifen Visitor Center. The 80-minute bus route connects seven popular tourist spots: Shuangxi Intersection (Shiding), Girl Temple (Temple of the Five Directions Wealth God), Jingting Old Street, Pingxi Old Street, Shifen Old Street, and Shifen Visitor Center.




To design the unique livery for the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle Muzha Pingxi Line, the city government specially invited the popular local blogger “WanWan,” also a New Taipei City resident, to collaborate on painting the bus with illustrations of local landmarks. This shuttle bus runs approximately once per hour on weekdays, and 12 additional trips (24 trips in total) on weekends and holidays—about once every half hour—to offer visitors another public transit option to explore Shencheng and Pingxi. It is expected to help ease the current congestion on the Pingxi branch railway line.