Nantou Lantern Festival Combines Tongliang Fire Dragon, Sand Sculptures & Dinosaur Exhibition to Captivate Visitors

By MOOK Scenic Spots Editorial Team, compiled and reported

The Lantern Festival is one of Taiwan’s three major traditional holidays, marking the first full moon night of the new year and celebrating the arrival of spring. The 2017 Nantou Lantern Festival has planned a series of rich themed activities, combining sand sculptures and a dinosaur exhibition, with exciting performances and lantern displays available from day to night.

The main lantern design of the Nantou Lantern Festival features “Auspicious Dawn Chorus” as the theme for the Year of the Rooster, complemented by Nantou’s iconic landscape Yushan and floral embellishments. Crafted with exquisite traditional lantern artistry and cutting-edge technology, the lantern creatively combines light, form, and shadow to highlight its majestic and extraordinary presence.

This year, the internationally renowned performance troupe from Chongqing, China — the Tongliang Fire Dragon — has been specially invited to make its first-ever performance in Taiwan. The fire dragon show not only includes traditional dragon dancing but also features molten iron being poured from burning furnaces, scattered into the air to create fiery sparks. The dragon dances amid brilliant flames, delivering a stunning and powerful performance that ushers in an auspicious new year for all.

The lantern festival also incorporates a sand sculpture art exhibition, now open at the “Nantou International Sand Sculpture Art & Culture Park.” A unique feature of this year’s sand sculptures is the interactive photo opportunities, allowing visitors to become part of the artworks — such as sitting on a chair strip to listen to stories from Tea Grandpa, or coming face-to-face with Jesus from the world-famous painting “The Creation of Adam,” becoming a one-day “Adam of Genesis.”

The Dinosaur Park combines modern technology with lifelike dinosaur models to create a fun attraction for all ages, featuring a dinosaur photo zone, 3D mural area, dinosaur time corridor, comic interaction zone, and a dinosaur racetrack. The 5D dynamic cinema immerses visitors in the ancient world of dinosaurs through visual, sound, light, and physical effects.

[Info]
◎ Nantou Lantern Festival
Date: Now until 2/19
Operating Hours: 16:30–22:00 (lanterns turned off)
Venue: Nantou County Convention & Exhibition Center (No. 26, Zuxi East Road, Neixing Li, Nantou City)

◎ Nantou City Lantern Festival
Date: Now until 2/17
Venue: Zhongshan Park, Nantou City

◎ Tongliang Fire Dragon in Nantou
Dates & Shows: 2/9 – 1 show, 2/10 – 1 show, 2/11 – 2 shows
Venue: Piaosha Stage – Shunxi North Road (15-minute walk from the lantern festival)

◎ Dinosaur Park Exhibition
Date: Now until 5/07
Opening Hours: 13:00–21:00
Venue: Nantou County Convention & Exhibition Center (No. 26, Zuxi East Road, Neixing Li, Nantou City)
Organizer: Zhongxin International Co., Ltd.

◎ Sand Sculpture Art Exhibition
Date: Now until 5/07
Location: Next to Huayang Road by the Mouluo River in Nantou City (exit from National Highway 3; enjoy the sand sculpture exhibition even on rainy days).