Ride the tram to experience Keelung Ghost Festival—beware of ghosts on board

Written/Compiled and Reported by MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network, Chen Guanxin

 

The climax of the Keelung Ghost Festival, the Float Parade, is set to take place today (the 20th). The entire city of Keelung will be bustling with activity as various light floats, flower floats, performance troupes, government units, and school parade teams take to the streets, transforming the city into a lively nighttime spectacle. This year, the Xie Clan Association, which serves as the main organizer, has combined the parade with a water dance show. The event will kick off with a procession led by heavy motorcycles guiding the Republic of China Armed Forces demonstration band, creating a dazzling and grand parade. The Keelung City Cultural Affairs Bureau has also planned the “Ghost Train of the Ghost Festival,” inviting the public to experience riding a train alongside ghosts to join in the festivities. For the first time ever, ghost figures will appear on Taiwan Railways carriages, ensuring a thrilling Ghost Festival experience for passengers.

The Keelung Ghost Festival continues to innovate each year, attracting more young people to participate in this century-old traditional celebration. Building on last year’s “Spooky Travel Group” where the public was invited to dress up and join the parade, this year’s event is taking it up a notch with the brand-new “Ghost Train of the Ghost Festival,” offering the public a chance to ride the train with ghosts. Art students from a professional art university will dress up as a variety of ghosts, spirits, and goblins from both Chinese and foreign folklore, joined by the mascots of the Nantou Xiquan Monster Village—Kuma, Badou, and Mountain King—who have come all the way to support the event. From 15:00 to 17:30 today, these ghostly figures will make surprise appearances on Taipei-to-Keelung TRA commuter trains and in the Keelung Railway Station lobby, inviting passengers to join the ghostly carnival—the Keelung Ghost Festival. In the evening, they will also join the city government’s parade team in the Float Parade. Daredevils are welcome to hop on board for the experience. Visit the Keelung Ghost Festival official website: www.rs-event.com.tw/2013kmsgf.

 

 

●  Extended Reading:

Schedule for Yellow Rubber Duck’s Taiwan Tour—Arrives in Keelung on December 21

http://goo.gl/bV3t14

 

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