The Taipei Lantern Festival kicks off with the longest-ever light sea on Zhongshan North Road

By MOOK Travel Life Network / Li Xinyi, compiled and reported

 

The first illuminated area of the 2013 Taipei Lantern Festival, "Happy Light Sea," lit up Zhongshan North Road last night (Feb. 6)! The 11-day "2013 Taipei Lantern Festival" will be enthusiastically exhibited in the Taipei Expo Park from Feb. 21 to March 3. In addition to various themed lantern areas within the park, the festival has also launched the Happy Light Sea early along the Zhongshan North Road surface roads and parks along the MRT stations.

This year, the Taipei Lantern Festival lights up for the first time before Lunar New Year, making it the most distinctive attraction during the festive holiday. As for the exhibition location, it has also changed for the first time, with the light sea expanded to two routes: Zhongshan North Road Sections 1 to 3 (from the intersection with Civic Boulevard to the front of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, approximately 2.9 km) and the surface-level linear park from MRT Minquan West Road Station to Yuanshan Station (approximately 1.1 km), totaling about 4 km — the longest light sea in the history of the Taipei Lantern Festival.

 

This year’s festival is themed "Happy Taipei," choosing Zhongshan North Road — a road that has accompanied Taipei for a century, once the city’s most modern "tourist boulevard," and witnessed the city’s transformation — as the exhibition site. One of the themes of the Happy Light Sea, "Playful Tour of Taipei City," extends lights beyond iconic buildings such as the Grand Hotel, the old Zhongshan Bridge, and Mackay Memorial Hospital. Through adorable bus decorations, it takes the public on a journey through time to see the Zhongshan North Road of memories; the "Wedding Dress Street of Love" theme, reflecting the characteristics of Zhongshan North Road’s wedding dress street, designs two closely connected hearts and the word “Love,” creating a joyful atmosphere of happiness; and the stretch in front of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, closest to the main venue of the Taipei Expo Park, will surprise visitors on both sides of the pedestrian walkway with hanging lantern decorations and rows of wind chimes that tinkle merrily in the breeze.

 

As for the content of the linear park from MRT Minquan West Road to Yuanshan Station, the Taipei City Government has also designed 10 major themes. It is recommended to start the visiting route from Exit 1 of Minquan West Road Station, cross Minquan West Road, walk toward Yuanshan while keeping to the right, and enjoy the sights in sequence: "Zhuangzi's Dream of the Butterfly," "Time of Love," "Legend of the White Snake," "Path of Bygone Times," "Path of Light Canopies," "Happy Light Tree," then loop back at Yuanshan Transfer Station to continue exploring "Zoo of Memories," "Kaleidoscope," "Rolling Future," and "Yuanshan Culture." The Taipei Lantern Festival lights up daily from 5:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. For details, please visit the official website: www.taipeilanternfestival.com.

 

 

● Read more: The mini lanterns of the Taipei Lantern Festival are unveiled and will be given out across Taipei and at the Taipei Expo Park on Feb. 23

http://goo.gl/65e3B