The Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival is about to begin—plan ahead for a more fulfilling trip with these seven must-visit attractions!

By the MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network Editorial Team

Dubbed a “must-visit in a lifetime” by international media, the 2015 New Taipei City Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival will take place over three days: February 22 (the fourth day of the Lunar New Year), February 27 (the ninth day of the Lunar New Year), and March 5 (Lantern Festival). If you only come to release sky lanterns during these three days, you’ll be missing out. The Pingxi area is filled with the nostalgic charm of old railways and is also home to historical relics from the region’s coal mining past, offering rich local culture worth exploring. Below, we’ve compiled a list of seven great nearby attractions. Consider planning a more enriching sky lantern trip.

● Shibaowan Cat Village (Houtong Cat Village)
Once named one of the world’s six best cat-watching spots by CNN, this mountain town—Houtong—is not only one of Taiwan’s most popular tourist destinations, but its cat-themed bridge is also the first in Taiwan designed for both humans and cats. Moreover, the station’s overhead pedestrian bridge beautification project won the 13th Public Construction Golden Quality Award. To allow more visitors to experience Houtong’s charm and promote proper animal protection awareness, the New Taipei City Government spent nearly four months renovating an old Taiwan Railways dormitory into a cat information station. The goal is for visitors to Houtong Cat Village to not only see and enjoy, but also gain correct concepts about animal welfare.

● Pingxi Police Substation (Sky Lantern Police Station)
The world’s only “Sky Lantern Police Station” is a unique, multifunctional tourism and law enforcement facility that combines travel consultation services with local security duties. It is also the first landmark you’ll see when entering Pingxi from Shiding via Route 106. The exterior of the Sky Lantern Police Station features a 9-meter-tall glass curtain wall shaped like a sky lantern, along with nearly 200,000 LED lights. The interior has a police station and visitor service counter on the second floor, as well as a small food and beverage kiosk. The third floor houses a police dormitory and an observation deck. The building incorporates elements of Pingxi’s sky lantern culture and blends into the surrounding landscape and skyline, standing like a wishing lantern at the end of Jingmei Old Street, softly glowing and sending blessings across Pingxi!

 ● Gold Ecological Park (Gold Museum)
The epic romantic film “The Crossing,” directed by acclaimed filmmaker John Woo and starring an all-star cast, captivated audiences with its grand scale. One particularly moving scene—"Takeshi Kaneshiro and Masami Nagasawa dancing in the rain under an umbrella"—was filmed on the stone steps near the Gold Museum in Jinguashi. In line with the film’s popularity, a free “photo-use oil-paper umbrella” lending service has been launched at the entrance of the historic Prince’s Guesthouse. Visitors can now recreate the romantic scene from the movie and step into the roles of Yen Chek-Khun and Shimura Masako.