March 3 marks the 15th day of the first lunar month, the traditional Lantern Festival for the Chinese people. In the minds of many, “the New Year isn’t truly over until after the fifteenth.” In recent days, lantern festivals have been held across Taiwan, with elements from the mainland dazzling on display, conveying cross-Strait well-wishes to compatriots on the island.
In Nantou, this year’s lantern festival spans both the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival. On March 1, a reporter visited and discovered that not far from the main lantern “Flying Horse Soaring in the Sky,” lanterns from all 11 prefecture-level cities of Zhejiang lined up one after another: West Lake, Bai Juyi, Su Dongpo, Ji Gong… Each lantern is unique, using light and shadow as a medium to connect the cultural thread of Ou Yue and the homesickness across the Strait, offering a visual feast rich in both cultural heritage and New Year’s blessings.
“Every year, we reserve the best area for mainland lanterns. These lanterns are exquisitely made, and the public really likes them,” said Chen Zhixian, director of the Tourism Department of Nantou County Government, in an earlier interview. It is understood that since its first appearance at the Nantou Lantern Festival in 2016, Zhejiang has sent lanterns to participate every year, becoming an indispensable highlight. Since the opening of this year’s Nantou lantern festival on February 14, as of March 2, it has attracted over 3 million visits.
“These lanterns are not only beautiful; they are also a window for understanding the mainland,” said Taichung resident Chen Ying to reporters. She has made it a habit to visit Nantou for the lanterns every Lantern Festival. Through the lanterns, she can appreciate the history and culture of various places in Zhejiang and sense their development. After every lantern festival, she looks up the stories behind the lanterns’ cities online, “It’s so much more vivid than what’s in books.”
Unlike Nantou’s gentle “reminiscence,” this year’s mainland elements at the Taipei Lantern Festival are a “dialogue” with futurism and pop culture.
At the entrance of Taipei Expo Park, the centerpiece Shanghai lantern features a spirited horse galloping along a “trail of stars and the Milky Way.” Surrounding the horse’s body are silhouettes of modern landmarks like Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower. The flowing and shifting lights evoke a strong sense of futurism and technology. On the evening of February 25, as this lantern display was lit, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an personally visited the Shanghai lantern area and engaged in friendly interactions with the delegation from Shanghai who came for the festival. In another section of the Taipei Lantern Festival, in Ximending, six themed lantern installations collaboratively launched with mainland trend toy brand Pop Mart combined the century-old neighborhood with a trendy light corridor, attracting many young people to take photos.
The mainland elements at the New Taipei Lantern Festival were equally brilliant. At New Taipei Metropolitan Park, people from Sichuan and Jiangsu provinces joined with their Taiwanese compatriots to create the “Galloping Horses” lantern area. The largest lantern installation in this area stretches 30 meters, depicting thousands of horses running side by side—a symbol of “soaring prosperity and good fortune” in the Year of the Horse.
If the lanterns are a visual feast, then the intangible cultural heritage performance of “Da Tie Hua” (Forging Iron Flowers) from Gaoping, Shanxi is a mesmerizing dynamic celebration.
From February 22 to 24, the Da Tie Hua troupe made its debut at the New Taipei Lantern Festival. Performers hurled molten iron at 1,600°C into the sky, bursting into thousands of golden-red “iron flower rain.” The “iron flower rain” intertwined with the lantern lights, creating a magnificent scene. The lawns and footbridges nearby were packed with spectators, their exclamations rising with every shower of iron flowers.
“My ancestral home is Shanxi. Seeing the Da Tie Hua performance felt especially intimate,” said Mr. Han, a New Taipei resident. He recalled tales his father told about hometown customs, but had never seen Da Tie Hua in person. “Seeing this today, I can almost imagine how lively the New Year must have been for my grandfather and father when they were young back in our hometown. I hope I get the chance to visit Shanxi and walk the paths they once took.”
This tour didn’t stop at New Taipei. On February 25 and 27, the troupe continued performing in Miaoli and Chiayi, keeping the festive atmosphere alive. In Miaoli, the Da Tie Hua show was combined with Hakka “Dancing With the Dragon by the Fire” and indigenous minority dances, drawing large crowds.
“The moon rises above the sea, we share this moment no matter how far we are.” Whether it’s the dazzling molten iron illuminating the night sky or the exquisite lanterns weaving through the streets, these mainland elements shining in Taiwan’s night sky make the friendship between the two sides of the Strait radiate brilliantly through the exchange of light and shadow.
“Every year, we reserve the best area for mainland lanterns. These lanterns are exquisitely made, and the public really likes them,” said Chen Zhixian, director of the Tourism Department of Nantou County Government, in an earlier interview. It is understood that since its first appearance at the Nantou Lantern Festival in 2016, Zhejiang has sent lanterns to participate every year, becoming an indispensable highlight. Since the opening of this year’s Nantou lantern festival on February 14, as of March 2, it has attracted over 3 million visits.
“These lanterns are not only beautiful; they are also a window for understanding the mainland,” said Taichung resident Chen Ying to reporters. She has made it a habit to visit Nantou for the lanterns every Lantern Festival. Through the lanterns, she can appreciate the history and culture of various places in Zhejiang and sense their development. After every lantern festival, she looks up the stories behind the lanterns’ cities online, “It’s so much more vivid than what’s in books.”
Unlike Nantou’s gentle “reminiscence,” this year’s mainland elements at the Taipei Lantern Festival are a “dialogue” with futurism and pop culture.
At the entrance of Taipei Expo Park, the centerpiece Shanghai lantern features a spirited horse galloping along a “trail of stars and the Milky Way.” Surrounding the horse’s body are silhouettes of modern landmarks like Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower. The flowing and shifting lights evoke a strong sense of futurism and technology. On the evening of February 25, as this lantern display was lit, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an personally visited the Shanghai lantern area and engaged in friendly interactions with the delegation from Shanghai who came for the festival. In another section of the Taipei Lantern Festival, in Ximending, six themed lantern installations collaboratively launched with mainland trend toy brand Pop Mart combined the century-old neighborhood with a trendy light corridor, attracting many young people to take photos.
The mainland elements at the New Taipei Lantern Festival were equally brilliant. At New Taipei Metropolitan Park, people from Sichuan and Jiangsu provinces joined with their Taiwanese compatriots to create the “Galloping Horses” lantern area. The largest lantern installation in this area stretches 30 meters, depicting thousands of horses running side by side—a symbol of “soaring prosperity and good fortune” in the Year of the Horse.
If the lanterns are a visual feast, then the intangible cultural heritage performance of “Da Tie Hua” (Forging Iron Flowers) from Gaoping, Shanxi is a mesmerizing dynamic celebration.
From February 22 to 24, the Da Tie Hua troupe made its debut at the New Taipei Lantern Festival. Performers hurled molten iron at 1,600°C into the sky, bursting into thousands of golden-red “iron flower rain.” The “iron flower rain” intertwined with the lantern lights, creating a magnificent scene. The lawns and footbridges nearby were packed with spectators, their exclamations rising with every shower of iron flowers.
“My ancestral home is Shanxi. Seeing the Da Tie Hua performance felt especially intimate,” said Mr. Han, a New Taipei resident. He recalled tales his father told about hometown customs, but had never seen Da Tie Hua in person. “Seeing this today, I can almost imagine how lively the New Year must have been for my grandfather and father when they were young back in our hometown. I hope I get the chance to visit Shanxi and walk the paths they once took.”
This tour didn’t stop at New Taipei. On February 25 and 27, the troupe continued performing in Miaoli and Chiayi, keeping the festive atmosphere alive. In Miaoli, the Da Tie Hua show was combined with Hakka “Dancing With the Dragon by the Fire” and indigenous minority dances, drawing large crowds.
“The moon rises above the sea, we share this moment no matter how far we are.” Whether it’s the dazzling molten iron illuminating the night sky or the exquisite lanterns weaving through the streets, these mainland elements shining in Taiwan’s night sky make the friendship between the two sides of the Strait radiate brilliantly through the exchange of light and shadow.