More than 100 art and cultural acts from home and abroad are set to dazzle visitors to the 2019 Taiwan Lantern Festival, according to Pingtung County Government Jan. 19.
Pingtung Magistrate Pan Men-an said top-notch local and foreign troupes from countries like France, Indonesia, Japan, Spain and South Korea will be performing every day on land, in the air or in the water throughout the Feb. 19 to March 3 event in the southern county. One of the highlights will be a drone light show by U.S.-based Intel Corp. arranged especially to celebrate the festival’s 30th edition.
A 4.5-hour extravaganza spotlighting the county’s cultural diversity will open the event. Nine themed shows are planned featuring Taiwan’s ethnic groups and indigenous tribes, religious rituals, as well as fireworks and lantern displays.
Spotlighting the aquatic nature of the main exhibition area, Dapeng Bay, French theater troupe Ilotopie will perform a routine involving skateboarding and cycling on water.
Other headline acts include world-renowned drumming group U-Theatre Taiwan, Spanish circus troupe Voala Company, singer Rui Si from the Paiwan tribe as well as local rock band Fire Ex.
Taking place over some 40 hectares at three venues in Dapeng, Donggang and Pingtung City, this year’s festival is expected to garner up to 10 million visits over its 13-day run, the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said earlier this month.
First staged in Taipei City in 1990, the annual celebration has been held at a different location every year since 2001, allowing the cities and counties of Taiwan to show off their unique cultures, cuisines and characteristics. This is Pingtung’s first time hosting the event. (CPY-E)
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