Taipei Travel

The 2017 Taipei Lantern Festival will take place on February 4, Saturday, with the biggest ever parade in West Town being held on February 11 th , the day of Lantern Festival. The event features an ultra-large Matsu float standing eight-meter tall, ten- meter long and five-meter wide, which is officially unveiled today. To reach the top of the float, a crane was hired to lift VIPS including Taipei deputy mayor Chen Chin-jun off the ground to conduct the eye-dotting ceremony, praying for a smooth and successful event as well as peace and prosperity for the country.

The eight-meter tall Matsu float instantly drew attention from huge crowds. To conduct the eye-dotting ceremony, a crane was used to lift the VIPS to the top of the float, where Deputy Mayor Chen dotted the eyes, Taipei Tianhou Temple chairman Huang Shiu-fu put on powder, and famous cartoonist Wei Zhong-cheng put on lipstick for the float. Commissioner of the Taipei City Government’s Department of Information and Tourism Chien Yu-yen, Liu Jia-xin, chairman of Ximen Development Committee, and deputy CEO of the Paper Windmill Cultural Foundation Jen Chien- cheng were also there to witness the ceremony, marking the imminent start of the Taipei Lantern Festival.

Deputy Mayor Chen said the Taipei Lantern Festival is not only getting younger but also more international, which is hoped to attract visitors from across the world to visit Taipei. Local hotel business is seeing a 15-percent growth. Chen added, the parade route spans 1.3 kilometers with more than 1,200 performers in a procession stretching as long as 700 meters. Chen also urges visitors to use public transportation as Zhonghua Road and the neighboring roads will be closed to accommodate the large crowd.

Taipei Tianhou Temple chairman Huang Shiu-fu said the temple is 271 years old and has been involved in charity based on Matsu’s vision of saving the world and its people. This time, the temple builds a float to join the Taipei Lantern Festival and it welcomes visitors to come to Ximen Shopping District to appreciate these lantern artworks.

Cartoonist Wei Zhong-cheng is pleasantly surprised to see the character he created becomes a 3-dimensional float and he hopes to see more opportunities like this that combines Taiwan’s animation and local culture.

Using a cultural and creative image to draw tourists, the Ximen Development Committee collaborates with Taiwanese cartoonist Wei Zhong-cheng, who uses the female protagonist, deity Matsu in his comic books “ Ming Zhan Lu” as the guardian of the Ximen Shopping District. The image of the local cartoon character is leading the trend of pop culture in Ximen area. Therefore, the Taipei Lantern Festival makes a ultra-large float featuring Mattsu, which is displayed on the pedestrian walk on Zhonghua Road and Emei Street during the event. On the day of the parade, the float will be placed in the end of the procession. Visitors are welcome to dress up and hold their lanterns on the day of the Lantern Festival, to take part in the grand event of the West Town.