Taiwan is welcoming the Year of the Rat with a series of celebrations throughout the month of February. Visitors are invited to experience this year’s events and celebrate the Lunar New Year in true Taiwanese style.
1. Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taichung (Feb 9 – 23, 2020)
With 15 million attendees expected, the Taiwan Lantern Festival is one of the largest Lunar New Year celebrations and a trademark cultural event. This year, it takes place from February 9 – 23, 2020 in Taichung.
The main exhibition area of the Lantern Festival will be at the Houli Park Area of the 2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition, where the lantern art is expected to light up Taiwan like rays of the rising sun.
From the theme lantern displays to folk performances, the festival has become a favorite of both locals and foreign visitors.
2. Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival in Pingxi (Feb 8, 2020)
Recommended by Lonely Planet and CNN and often listed as one of the top 20 festivals in the world, the lantern-themed Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival is a must-visit when experiencing the Lunar New Year in Taiwan.
The Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival which takes place celebration takes place on the 15th day of the first lunar month. This year, the festival will take place on February 8, 2020.
Pingxi is a remote hillside town and in the old days, light sky lanterns were released in order to communicate with neighbours that bandits were incoming. Nowadays, the lanterns symbolizing blessings for locals.
This luminous event draws thousands of visitors and invites participants to offer their prayers by setting paper lanterns ablaze and releasing them into the sky in a brilliant display of light. The view is awe inspiring as thousands of lanterns raise slowly in the sky.
The festival also features folk performances, lantern riddle contests, and street folk carnivals and more.
3. Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival in Tainan City (Feb 7 & 8, 2020)
The Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival is ideal for adventurous travelers and takes place February 7 & 8, 2020 at Yanshui Wu Temple in Tainan City.
With hundreds of thousands of firecrackers bursting simultaneously, it is a cacophony of sound often compared to swarms of bees streaming out of their hives.
Legend says that these fireworks guard against calamity and usher in a year filled with increasing good fortune.
Local residents believe that the more firecrackers one is bombed with, the luckier he or she is in the coming new year.
PRO TIP: It is recommended to wear a helmet, mask, transparent eye pads, raincoats and plastic boots Arrive at the Yanshui Wu Temple well ahead of time, and be ready to enjoy this one-of-a-kind beehive carnival.
This annual firecracker festival draws tens of thousands from all over Taiwan as well as international travelers who come to “rush the beehive barricades.”
