Kaohsiung CityGovernment

Lantern Festival, also known as Shang Yuan Festival, takes place on the fifteenth day of the first moon. Last in a series of springtime celebrations, this "second New Year" is widely celebrated by families all around Taiwan.

On the night of the festival, decorative lanterns depicting birds, beasts, historical figures, and any one of a number of different themes are carried by children or adorn temples. To highlight these glowing works of art, competitions are held . The Taipei Lantern Festival, the largest and most famous of these competitions, is held annually at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Plaza and is attended every year by thousands of lantern-watchers. The Lantern Festival is further enriched by the customary lantern riddle parties that are held on this night.

The night sky on Lantern Festival is also illuminated by the Tainan Yanshui Fireworks Display and Taipei Pinghsi Sky Lanterns - known together as "Fireworks in the South, Sky Lanterns in the North -- as well as many other regional folk activities.

In addition to displaying and appreciating lanterns, Lantern Festival is also celebrated by eating tang yuan, an important custom symbolizing family unity and indispensable to the day's festivities.

The varied festivities and customs practiced on Lantern Festival not only provide celebrants with rich entertainment, like the historical-theme lantern displays and riddles, but are also instructive by their expression of ancient wisdom. The variety of splendid lantern features different folk art techniques, impressing these arts deep in the hearts and minds of the people.

In 1990, the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communication held the first Taipei Lantern Festival at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Plaza. Due to the event's overwhelming popularity, the festival has been expanded every year.

Each year, this festival showcases a new theme based on the zodiac animal of the year. The main event of the festival is the Lantern Lighting Ceremony held on the first day of the display with a fusion of color, light, and sound that attracts universal applause from onlookers. It is a show of dazzling color remembered by all.

Combining traditional art with modern technology, the Taipei Lantern Festival carries on a centuries-old folk custom, and has become a major activity marking the beginning of the Chinese New Year.

The festival begins at dusk with the setting off of the fully-adorned spirit palanquin and driver, and continues all the way up to 5:00 or 6:00 AM the following morning. Throughout the whole event all one can see or smell are fireworks.

Located in a remote mountain area outside of Taipei, Pinghsi developed slowly and was not very accessible. Originally inhabited by indigenous people, the region was later developed by Han settlers who were often the victims of murder and robbery during earlier times. Since access to the region was inconvenient, these pioneers came up with the idea of releasing "sky lanterns" to let others know that they were safe and sound. Through the years this practice evolved into a popular cultural tradition celebrated annually during Lantern Festival.