Lantern Festival celebrations kick off in full swing

This year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival will be held at the Zhunan Toufen Sports Park in Miaoli County. The main lights will officially be illuminated at 7:10 p.m. on February 17 (Thursday), the night of the Lantern Festival. The nighttime central light display will feature a light show every half hour, with activities continuing vibrantly until 10:40 p.m. on February 28 (Monday). Drawing on 21 years of experience organizing the event, this year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival offers fresh ideas in lantern zone planning, artistic displays, and performance programs, fully highlighting the characteristics of Miaoli County as a city of mountains and sea. The central main lantern, “Jade Rabbit Bringing Auspiciousness,” holds a gold ingot in its hand, symbolizing the gathering of wealth and national prosperity. The ingot is marked with the logo “Republic of China, Spectacular 100,” celebrating the glorious centennial of the founding of the Republic of China and the collective efforts of the people toward the 100th anniversary, while also expressing hopes that visitors to the lantern displays will have 100% success in all their endeavors in the year 2011.

The “Taipei Lantern Festival” will take place from February 11 to February 20 at the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, around the Taipei City Hall, and along Section 4 of Ren’ai Road. This year’s innovation at the Taipei Lantern Festival includes the setup of interactive tech zones at the four corners beneath the main lantern, themed around Wanhua, Dadaocheng, Zhongshan North Road, and Guandu—symbolizing the temporal changes of Taipei’s development over nearly a century. The festival overlaps with the “Taipei International Flora Exposition,” making it an ideal plan for visitors to “explore the flower expo by day and admire the lanterns by night” during the Lantern Festival.

The “New Taipei City Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival” will be held on February 6, February 12, and February 17 this year. The “Miaoli Hobei Long Dragon Dance” follows ancient Hakka rituals, from the dotting of the dragon’s eyes, to the nine-grid dragon dance troupe performing to thank the gods, to the dragon transforming and returning to the heavens. It stands as the most traditional Hakka-style Lantern Festival celebration. This year’s events will take place on February 11, February 12, and February 19. The “Tainan Yanshui Beehive Rockets” run from the evening of the 14th to the late night of the 15th of the first lunar month each year. The intense experience of being showered by fireworks and rockets often leaves participants screaming in excitement—it’s famously thrilling. However, the daytime parade of palanquins and performances in Yanshui, including the Songjiang Battle Array, dragon dance, drum jumping, and the Eight Generals, are also incredibly spectacular.