The annual Taiwan Lantern Festival set records for the size of the venue and the height of the main lantern when it opened in Taoyuan in northern Taiwan on Monday.
The festival, which will finish on March 6, is being held on a 32-hectare site and features a 26-meter-tall main lantern, both the biggest ever for a Lantern Festival event in Taiwan, the organizers said.
The main lantern, whose design is based on the Monkey King from the Chinese classic “Journey to the West,” will use 15,000 electrical circuits to display the famous character with a high-tech spin, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. The eyes of the main lantern are large crystals embedded by hand to imbue it with an air of the extraordinary while also symbolizing the image “fiery eyes and golden pupil, eyes of the world.”
Another of the special features of the festival is a lantern made of glass, called “The Tower of the Universe,” which was jointly created by 15 local glass companies in 12 days.
According to organizers, designers of the tower used 40,000 pieces of glass, and the creation was inspired by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Visitors can see images of the Milky Way lit up in the glass, the organizer said.
With dazzling light and sound effects, the first glass work to be displayed at the Taiwan Lantern Festival demonstrates the exquisite glass-making technique and creativity of local craftsmen.
The festival also features six main areas: the Taoyuan Legend, Technology World, Religious Blessings, Fairyland Factory, New Utopia, and Multiple Culture.
The ministry said the festival, which is taking place in the plaza in front of the Taoyuan high-speed railway station, is expected to attract 12 million visitors.