The 2013 Taipei Lantern Festival, which opens formally at 7 p.m. Feb. 21, will be held in the Taipei Expo Park in the Yuanshan area for the first time, allowing visitors to double their enjoyment by viewing the floral exhibitions by day and the lanterns by night, the city government said Feb. 20.
This year’s festival will make full use of the floral facilities of Taipei Expo Park, which hosted the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition, to create 10 separate major lantern viewing sections showcasing through March 3 the main theme of a “Happy City and Sustainable Environment,” Taipei City Government said.
Moreover, the lantern and floral displays focus on Taiwan’s aboriginal culture, Taipei’s historical development and environmental protection, using a combination of scientific, artistic and traditional cultural methods to produce a smorgasbord of visual delights stretching 4 kilometers in total length.
The 10 lantern areas are divided into Taipei History, Origins of Life, EcoARK, Students, International Business, Yuanshan Modern Art, Folk Arts, Seoul, Heroes Alliance sections and the main Snake Ben Theatre.
The highlight of the Snake Ben Theatre is of course Snake Ben, a giant multicolored lantern representing the hundred pacer snake which embodies the spirits of the ancestors in aboriginal myth.
This year’s Seoul Lantern District is also a novel display, created in partnership with the South Korean Tourism Organization.
The park is co-presenting a solo exhibit, “Animal Party,” by festival sculptor Hung Yi, featuring his signature vivid, joyful animal creations.
This will also be the first year the nearby Confucius Temple participates in the lantern festival, with a display of traditional lanterns in the temple’s east and west wings. (SDH)