Taipei Travel

Forty years ago, a fire burned down Taipei’s Nishi Hongan-ji Temple and Hall for State ceremonies, grand hall and more. Ever since, only few in Taipei remember the original look of the historic buildings. This year’s Taipei Lantern Festival, artist Chen Kai-huang led a team on a project that restores the two historic buildings through lights and shadows.

According to Chien Yu-yen, commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Information and Tourism, her favorite piece in the Taipei Lantern Festival is the light art creation that restores the historic buildings of the Nishi Hongan-ji in the Egg Yolk Area. One of her dreams is to restore the Ximen (West Gate) but this has yet to be realized. However, the team led by Professor Chen Kai-huang successfully recreates the past of the history. The production team first built a model of the original building on the heritage site using bamboo from Nantou. In the beginning, many people were confused. By putting on LED lights, the team manages to recreate the façade of the historic building. Whoever has seen the way the buildings looked before during the Japanese period and how they were used by the Taiwan Garrison Command would definitely recall the memory.

Professor Chen said that historically only the Japanese city of Kyoto and Taipei each has one Nishi Hongan-ji. We would like to invite people of different opinions and values to share the same imagination through summoning the history in the form of blinking lights. In a realm of fantasy, people can appreciate a sense of existence, which may not last forever, or just briefly, it could still be a joyful experience.

In response to Professor Chen’s idea, Chien hoped the temporary Nishi Hongan-ji Temple could continue to exist even after the Taipei Lantern Festival as she intends to fight for an opportunity to keep it until after the 2017 Summer Universiade. Chien also shared an interesting anecdote during the preparation. The production team told her once that people in the neighborhood saw how they prepared the artwork and once asked the staff when the model will be wrapped as they thought this would be a large- scale lantern. But this is the concept of Chen’s team as it wishes to present the original look of the ancient heritage.

Commissioner Chien said this year’s Taipei Lantern Festival emphasizes the concept of keeping the style both retro and modern. The event also has the “Red Egg Area” which features traditional lantern like the “Five Virtues Roosters.” It was crafted by a senior lantern master Chen Zu-ron, using traditional techniques. The combination of using Ximenting as the venue is an innovation. The lights and shadow story in Beimen and the Taipei Zhongshan Hall is a legacy that we wish to leave for the next generations.


 

More fun awaits visitors to discover in the next week of the Taipei Lantern Festival. The Department of Transportation also reminds the public that Section 1 of Zhonghua Road, Chengdu Road, partial Hanzhong Street and Kangding Road will be will be closed from 12:00-20:00 on this Saturday, February 11 th for the West Town Carnival. Motorists are advised to choose alternative routes. As the displays areas scatter between MRT Beimen Station of Songsha-Xindian Line and MRT Ximen station of Bannan Line, visitors are encouraged to take public transportation to avoid traffic jam and time wasted in looking for parking spaces.

For more information on the wide-ranging program of activities and lantern-viewing enjoyment, visit the official 2017 Taipei Lantern Festival website. There will be continual news updates, so be sure to check in regularly. Let’s all come together to make this Taipei west city version of this magical annual festival celebration an unforgettable one!