Beware of bears in Taipei as 1,600 paper pandas pop up

By Chen Guanxin, MOOK Travel & Lifestyle Network

 

A large-scale outdoor public art exhibition titled "1600 Pandas World Tour—Taipei," co-organized by the Taipei City Government’s Department of Information and Tourism and Left Brain Marketing, is set to open in Taipei on February 28. Ahead of the opening, the organizers will take the 1,600 pandas to various major landmarks in Taipei for "pop-up" photo opportunities.

To build anticipation for the paper panda exhibition opening on February 28, the panda army will be popping up at major attractions across Taipei from today until next Monday. This morning at 4:30 AM, the pandas made their first stop at Dajia Riverside Park, followed by scheduled appearances at the Taipei Expo Park’s New Site, Ketagalan Boulevard, the tree-lined section of Dunhua South Road (between Renai Road and Zhongxiao East Road), Xinyi Civic Plaza, and the National Theater, among other locations.

 

The Department of Information and Tourism noted that, in addition to the pandas, ten endangered animal species will also appear during the pop-up events to raise awareness about the plight of threatened wildlife. These include the Formosan black bear, polar bear, black rhinoceros, Asian elephant, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Formosan clouded leopard, green sea turtle, fairy pitta, Mugger crocodile, and Formosan leopard cat. Photos taken during the pop-ups will be shared on the official fan page and website of the paper panda exhibition—viewers are encouraged to spot which animals are accompanying the pandas on their Taipei street adventures.

The organizers also invited local artist Po Fan-ping to create paper sculptures of the ten endangered animals, using her unique hand-sculpted texture to complement the style of the Paulo-designed paper pandas. Po Fan-ping explained that for this series of 10 endangered wildlife sculptures, she carefully studied and replicated the paper sculpture techniques of French artist Paulo, even trying her hand at crafting the pandas herself to better understand the artist’s creative spirit. She hopes the project will help spark greater public awareness about wildlife conservation. Updates on the pop-up events will also be posted on the official fan page “1600 Pandas World Tour—Taipei.”

 

 

 

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