Taiwan Lantern Festival
Seeing the Lantern festival was something on the top of my list. In 2024 the biggest Lantern festival is held in Tainan. Tainan is a city in the south of Taiwan. Coincidentally, the city is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year. The Lantern festival has multiple 'zones'. One is the Anping Display Zone, the other is the THSR Display Zone. There are also multiple smaller events happening around the City, but these are the two big ones that I visited.
The Anping Display Zone
On Saturday I went to the Anping Display Zone. The zone stretches along the riverside. It is divided into the two zones with the themes 'Tainan 400' and 'River of Luminescent Reminiscence'. Sadly I went there quite late, so I only managed to see the 'Tainan 400 Zone'. There is a night market between the two zones. Both of the displays are on the same side of the river and make for a lovely walk from the Port of Anping to the Anping Canal Park. As Parking is limited, there are three shuttle buses connecting the displays and multiple parking spaces in the city.
Tainan 400
The Tainan 400 Zone features multiple displays and different groups performing live. Whilst I visited, multiple bands played on the stage close to the Port of Anping. The pictures of the Dragon Boat and the Flower Infinity were made there (sadly I can't remember the real name of the displays). At the end of the Zone I went to the night market. There I realised that it was already 10:00 and they were turning off the lights. So I had to walk home from there. The walk across the Anping peninsula takes about 1h (if you're eating fried dumplings and aren't in a hurry. It's mostly flat so it's easy to walk.
The THSR Display Zone
In order to see as much as possible on Sunday, I went to the THSR Display Zone. This one is split into the Main Zone, the Luminous Tainan Zone and the Green Energy Zone. Getting there from the Tainan City Center was quite easy; there is a free shuttle bus (takes about 30 minutes I'd say). (If you take the Taiwan High Speed Train to Tainan, then you arrive in the THSR Zone, it's directly next to the train station, can't be missed.)
2024 Orchid Together
The Zone is arranged around the ICC (a convention centre), in there is currently '2024 Orchid Together', which is a convention for Orchids. From my experience with my houseplants, I can confirm that I am not gifted with a green thumb. Still, I went to look at all of the orchids, I don't know what I expected, but it certainly exceeded my expectations. The orchids, as well as the bigger displays, are really beautiful. If you wanted to buy your very own orchid, you could do so at the end of the exhibition. (But remember, as an international visitor, you probably can't take them home.)
The Lanterns
When it got dark i went on to see the lantern displays. The pictures are of some of the larger displays that I really enjoyed. The larger displays would animate in certain steps of time, for instance the big dragon would turn and would change colours every 30 minutes. The whale would open its mouth and the fish would start moving their wings. What I personally enjoyed the most was the animation/film called 'Phoenix Eyes' (seen in the third to last picture). The film was being projected onto the wall of the ICC (the wall under the roof is shaped in the way of the projection). At around 16:30 a parade passed by between the different zones. Multiple groups of artists perform during this parade. You'll get the best view if you find a spot between the green lines painted on the street. On two of the information centres the staff is giving out free dragon lanterns; you'll recognise which ones quite easily. The lanterns will be given out at 16:00 and at around 15:30 a long queue will start to form. The queues are resolved quite quickly, I was standing quite far back, but got a lantern in about 10 minutes. If you don't want to wait: there is a tent from a telecommunication company that is giving them out as well, you just have to post about their tent on a social network of your choice and light a digital lantern.
Conclusion
The Taiwan Lantern Festival 2024 in Tainan is being celebrated until the 10th of March 2024. I'd encourage everyone who can to go, it is really amazing and I spent most of my time going 'ah!', 'oh!' and 'wow!'. Personally, I think I preferred the THSR Zone as it had more lanterns on display. The Anping Display Zone is smaller, but a more scenic walk along the river.
