By MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network, reported by Chen Guanxin
Entering its 15th year, New Taipei City’s Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival is one of Taiwan’s two major Lantern Festival folk events, attracting hundreds of thousands of domestic and international visitors each year. It was also selected by CNN as one of the 52 most exciting things to do in the world in 2013. The 2013 Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival will take place over three days: February 14, 17, and 24. Starting today, a series of activities including “Shout Out Love,” “Love Symbol Character,” and “Thousand People Build Dreams” have been launched. In the “Shout Out Love” event, participants can upload their love declarations to the official Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival website before January 20. Those selected will have the chance to release symbolic 8TN heart-shaped lanterns under the witness of the public during the Valentine’s Day exclusive lantern event on February 14. Additionally, 120 4TN heart-shaped lanterns will be available for couples on Valentine’s Day. Registration opens at 12:00 noon today (January 16), with each set costing NT$200.
The ongoing “Love Symbol Character” voting campaign has enlisted popular internet celebrity Ah Xi to shoot a short video offering a humorous take on the origins of Chinese characters. (Image provided by New Taipei City Government Tourism and Travel Bureau)
The sky lantern festival on February 14, which coincides with the Lunar New Year’s fifth day, will feature a Valentine’s Day exclusive lantern release event titled “Starry Night, Happiness Soars” at Jing Tong Elementary School. To complement this event, the online campaigns “Shout Out Love” and “Love Symbol Character” have also commenced. The “Shout Out Love” activity calls on couples to upload their love declarations to the 2013 Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival official website from now until January 20. Selected declarations will be open for public voting from January 21 to 25. The top three couples with the most votes will get to release 8TN heart-shaped lanterns on Valentine’s Day, allowing everyone and the heavens to bear witness to their sweet love.
The equally popular “Love Symbol Character” voting campaign currently sees the character “Ban” (companion) leading in votes. The voting period runs from today until January 25, and the most popular 2013 Love Symbol Character will be announced on February 5. A super lucky participant will also be drawn from all voters to win romantic prizes such as a classic room voucher at Tamsui Fulong Hot Spring Hotel.
During the second lantern release event on February 17 at Pingxi Junior High School, titled “Unique Present Tense, Piecing Together a Great Future,” a massive 20TN mosaic sky lantern created from the dreams of a thousand people will make its appearance. This large lantern will be assembled using 2,000 colorful small lantern pieces, each inscribed with personal wishes, forming the pattern “I’dTW.” The “Thousand People Build Dreams” campaign to collect these wishes has already begun. Locations where the colorful lantern sheets can be collected include six sites in Pingxi District: the Jing Tong Mining Life Museum, Qiao Men Western-style Pastry Shop, Pingxi Art Gallery, Pingxi Railway Story House, Shifen Visitor Center, and Shifen Railway Art Gallery. From now until January 25, the public can visit these designated locations to pick up the lantern sheets and write down their wishes to help create this collective dream lantern. The sky lantern release event on Lantern Festival, February 24, titled “Hand in Hand for Reunion, Celebrating Lantern Festival,” will be held at Shifen Square, with 2,000 lanterns released in 10 waves. Official website: tour.ntpc.gov.tw/2013skylantern.
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