One of the most talked about events across the world, we were lucky to attend the second Lantern Festival in Taiwan. The festival was celebrated from the 2nd to 11th March in Chiayi.
We were near a Southern branch of National Palace Museum where the lanterns were officially turned on. The Taiwan Tourism Bureau unveiled a hand held and the main lantern- ‘Nature-born Loyalty’ (as named by Academia Sinica academician Tseng Yong-Yi). It featured a smiling indigenous child and a Taiwanese dog standing at Alishan overlooking a ‘sea of clouds’ which depicted looking back, standing firm in the present, looking towards future and letting the world see Taiwan. The hand-held lantern-Dali Dog was an ingenious design and represented hope for good fortune and happiness in this year of the dog.
The festival hosted by ‘Taiwan Tourism Bureau’ is a step towards inviting and spreading awareness about Taiwanese cultural with people of the world. It also brings folk arts and performances which are most loved by locals and visitors alike.
This year Chiayi festival opened on the first day of Chinese
lunar calendar year and lasted for 24 days making it the longest lantern festival ever.
It opened to a wide spread of lanterns from different countries. While we walked through to reach the main stage, we were delighted to see special dance, music, Taiwanese operas and acrobatic performances.
The Taiwan Tourism Bureau stated that the main lantern was designed by JFA Artwork this year!!
More about the Lantern Festival
The water lantern zone featured water and light show which was at par with international standards.The sea of clouds, sunrise, forest railways and cherry blossoms of Alishan along with the presentation of water landscape and architecture of the Southern Branch, National Palace Museum in Chiayi. The show took place at fixed hours in the evening accompanied by dance performances by professional troupes.
The land lantern zone delved into Chiayi history that highlighted traditional art and craft by local artists backed by new ideas.
The air lantern zone displayed high-tech lanterns installed with new technology, material, and techniques. These lanterns seemed different.
About Taiwan
Taiwan is located in western part of Pacific Ocean 160 km (100 miles) off-the-southeastern coast of the Chinese mainland.
FLIGHTS: China Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Southern and Thai Airways fly directly or with a stopover to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Kaohsiung International Airport and Taichung International Airport from New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, and Kolkata. Scoot Airlines also connects the cities of Jaipur, Amritsar, Lucknow, Chennai, Trichy, Kochi, Lucknow, Bangalore and Hyderabad with a stopover in Singapore to Taipei. The average time of flight varies between 6.5 hours.
VISA: Indian Passport holders can enjoy Visa-exempt entry to Taiwan for 30 days now available online.
The applicant must have at least one of the following valid or expired visas issued by UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand or any of the Schengen countries.
Valid resident or permanent resident card
Valid entry visa (may be electronic visa)
Resident card or visa that has expired less than 10 years prior to the date of arrival in Taiwan
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