Taiwan Lantern Festival set for Kaohsiung in 2022, Taipei in 2023

2021/01/18

Kaohsiung and Taipei Cities have been selected to host the Taiwan Lantern Festival in 2022 and 2023, respectively, the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said Jan. 14.
 
 Scheduled to take place in Yancheng District of Kaohsiung, next year’s edition of the event will be the first held in the southern port city since 2002. The centerpiece lantern will be set up in the Asia New Bay Area, with another major exhibition to be held at Weiwuying Metropolitan Park.
 
 As the area is home to a host of attractions and landmarks, including Kaohsiung Music Center, Pier-2 Art Center and Warehouse No. 2, the local government expects the event to spotlight the city’s unique port culture.
 
 The subsequent year’s festival will return to its original location for the first time since 2000. The city government plans to set up the main attraction near Taipei City Hall in Xinyi District, with all lighting installations reflecting the area’s energetic lifestyle and urban landscape.
 
First staged in 1990 to celebrate the country’s folk custom of observing the first full moon of the lunar calendar, the annual event has been held at a different location around Taiwan since 2001 to promote balanced regional development.
 
 This year’s festival, themed “Riding the Winds While Chasing the Lights,” will run from Feb. 26 to March 7 in Hsinchu City, northern Taiwan. The main feature will be a kinetic lantern made from 108 bamboo sticks reflecting the metropolis’s handicraft heritage, according to the TB.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)