Text by MOOK Travel Life Network Editorial Team
The annual Kaohsiung Lantern Festival will kick off on January 28. (Photo source / Kaohsiung Lantern Festival Arts Festival Facebook fan page)
The Kaohsiung Lantern Festival, along with the Taiwan Lantern Festival and Taipei Lantern Festival, ranks as one of the three major lantern festivals in the country, attracting visitors each year with continuous innovation. This year, the Kaohsiung Lantern Festival has another new highlight.From the lighting ceremony on January 28 to February 23, in addition tothree mountain lantern areas—Qishan, Gangshan, and Fo Guang Shan—distributed across different locations,the urban area of Kaohsiung will also be adorned with various fun-themed lantern displays in areas such as the San Duo Commercial District, Wu Fu Commercial District, and both banks of the Love River. The trees lining Xin Guang Road, Zhongshan Road (from Xin Guang Road to Formosa Boulevard Station), Wu Fu Road (from Lin Sen Road to the Love River), and Cheng Gong Road (from San Duo Road to the Exhibition Center) will also be lit up into a sea of happiness.
Among them, four sets totaling 11 Baroque-style grand lantern arches standing at the key north-south traffic hub at the intersection of San Duo Road and Zhongshan Road, as well as high-tech, cool, parent-child fairy tale, peace-praying, and fashion-forward parade floats and lantern decorations—such as the auspicious and peaceful Fo Guang Shan lantern, Transformers, the whimsical combination of Alice and the rabbit, the world’s first Kaohsiung Song Jiang Battle Array, the global return journey of purple crow butterflies to Kaohsiung, the migrating school of fish, love witness light projections, and the brilliant fireworks over the Love River—integrate roadside lantern displays, technology, light and shadow, and fireworks to showcase Kaohsiung’s tourism, cuisine, commercial districts, industries, lifestyle fashion, child-friendly traditions, street scenes, architecture, transportation, accommodation, and local characteristics.
Mayor Chen Chu said that the Kaohsiung Lantern Festival uses light to guide the way, leading the public to discover new perspectives of Kaohsiung’s mountains, seas, rivers, and harbor, such as the food stalls along the “Bar Street” on Xin Guang Road. A stroll toward the 85 Sky Tower and Xin Guang Pier reveals the vision of Kaohsiung’s maturing Asian New Bay Area, with the beautiful World Trade Exhibition Center glistening like silver waves before your eyes.
Mayor Chen Chu also introduced this year’s mini lantern, the “Happy Horse.” For the first time in Kaohsiung, the mini lantern is designed as a pair of horses in peach pink and powder blue, decorated with Hakka floral fabric and adorable paulownia flowers, exuding a childlike retro charm. It conveys the two core spirits of the Kaohsiung Lantern Festival—“love” and “happiness”—advancing hand in hand. The cheerful and adorable Happy Horses will be distributed to the public at designated locations.Mini lantern collection times: 5:00 PM on February 8 at the Zhongshan San Duo Service Desk, Hedong Wu Fu Service Desk, Gangshan Riverside Park, and Qishan Train Station for queuing and collection; 5:00 PM on February 14 at the Zhongshan San Duo Service Desk for queuing and collection.During the two collection periods, each person is limited to collecting 2 lanterns, while supplies last.
● Extended Reading:
Yi Da World Cartoon Lanterns: A-Bao and POGO Crazy for Lantern Festival
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