President Lai Ching-te said that the Taiwan Lantern Festival has always been a major boost to the tourism industry and has been described by foreign media as “Disneyland without roller coasters.”
Lai attended the launch of the 2025 Taiwan Lantern Festival Feb. 12 in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan city. He thanked the Ministry of Transportation and Communications Tourism Administration and TC government for organizing the event.
The festival opened in front of Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station with 19 performing groups, including four traditional dance groups from Japan’s Hokkaido, Nagoya, Kochi and Mie prefectures and a Taiko drum team from Chiba prefecture. There were also dance performances from Korea, the Philippines and local groups.
This year’s theme lantern, titled “Infinite Paradise,” is in the form of an infinity symbol and is 18 meters tall. The theme lantern show utilizes artificial intelligence and motion capture technology.
The venue for the main lantern show is designed to resemble a baseball field, celebrating the national team’s win in the World Baseball and Softball Confederation Premier12 in November, 2024. A huge Pokémon lantern is also part of the display, appealing to fans of the famous cartoon characters.
This year’s festival lasts for twelve days and runs through until Feb. 23. (POC-E)
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