All You Need to Know about 2020 Pingxi Lantern Festival, Plus Other Lantern Festivals around Taiwan, What to Expect from the Pingxi Lantern Festival, How to Participate in the Official Release of the Sky Lanterns, Festivity with Taiwanese Food & Souvenirs, Kinmen Travel Guide to Taiwan’s Off-the-beaten Island, Xiaoliuqiu: Best Taiwan Island for Swimming with Sea Turtles. The climax of the festival is the release of the gigantic lantern at the Shifen Sky Lantern Square.

If you are traveling in Taipei and/or Kaohsiung, I highly recommend purchasing an Easy Card or iPass. We are on the same cruise as Christine and are looking for info for our group of 7 while in Taipei. Sky Lanterns in Taiwan. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Required fields are marked *, By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website.

In 2019, the festival will start on 19th February. Remember to write your wish on the lanterns.

Pack a good camera because you will come across hundreds of photo op the moment thousands of lit lanterns are launched into the skies. Please check your email for the detailed information on Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival in Taipei, Taiwan.

Joining in the fun were thousands of Taiwanese who did not let the light rain and falling temperatures dampen their celebratory mood. But, it also aims to be much more, providing insights on the wonders of this beautiful country, as well as the world, beyond the strict confines of the city. As our bus approached Shifen, we could already see dozens of these sky lanterns floating in the now gloomy sky and, as we reached Pingxi, it was raining heavily. On the bright side, Taiwanese are civilized and orderly when it comes to waiting in line, which makes the whole process less painful. While the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival is the most popular and famous one. You can buy colorful paper lanterns from vendors at Old Street and launch them on the train track when a train is not coming through. See below for transportation details.

The name can be confusing and misleading.

2011: February 17~28, Zhunan and Toufen Sports Park, This page was last edited on 15 May 2020, at 00:12.

Never miss a post! At Pingxi district, alight at the Shifen train station, where most of the sky lantern action is. Glueing four pieces of coloured sevensided paper may seem like child’s play but if you get the overlapping dimensions wrong, your sky lantern may be lopsided, affecting its flight. Taiwan Lantern Festival is another popular annual festival that the host cities are rotated every year. It is not convenient for foreigners to navigate the public transportation system from Taipei to Shifen. If you are a cat lover, Houtong Cat Village should be on your itinerary. 1998: February 11~15, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Taipei City. Throughout the night, thousands of sky lanterns were set airborne radiating an orange glow over everyone’s faces. If you purchase by clicking some of these links, I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you. only to learn their mistakes. Jandy writing his own request on another side of the lantern. Once the bandits had left, the remaining villagers sent sky lanterns into the air to let the fleeing villagers know that it was safe to come down from the mountains. At one shop, we were assigned to lanterns on racks where we were asked to write down, using paint brushes and black ink, our wishes on the four sides of the lanterns, not forgetting to write down our names. The sign-up opens at 10 a.m.

Located in the Jinshan District, Juming Museum is a short distance away from Shifen and Pingxi.

The only catch is that you will need to line up at the designated registration desk early in the morning. Each suite room has a minibar, refrigerator, free high-speed Wi-Fi, and room service. Are you inspired to “see the light” at Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival? May I have any detailed information for this festival. In the festival, people light up the lanterns with candles, then release them into the dark sky at the night.

Sky lanterns are made with rice paper, thin bamboo strips and wire and are powered by kerosene-soaked prayer papers.

Check them below. Thank you from Christine, Toronto, Canada. The American Discovery Channel's program "Fantastic Festivals of the World" has highlighted the Taiwan Lantern Festival as one of the best festivals in the world. I was devastated!

Check Shifen Hotels below. If you just want to make a wish and release your own lantern, visit Shifen Old Street at any time of the year. If you are planning to participate in the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival, below are travel tips that you will find helpful. Gently pull the lantern to open to sure that all four upper corners are fully open. I believe it lasts until 9 p.m., but don’t quote me on this as I left before it ended.
Highly rated by guests. A torch will be handy as some areas are not lit. Under the beautiful sky full of glossy lanterns, enjoy the folk performances of dancing, singing, street carnivals and playing traditional games. Shifen, the first main stop of trains coming from Sandiaoling, is the only place remaining in Taiwan where the train passes just a few meters from the road on either side. While I was determined to have the Tangled-inspired experience at this festival, in reality, it was pretty challenging to find my way there.

Shifen Old Street and the festival stage area will be full of locals and international travelers.

The sky lanterns are provided for free by sponsoring organizations in collaboration with the Taiwan Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Stalls selling sky lanterns have areas for customers to pen their wishes on paper. A shuttle bus picks up guests from Taipei hotels and takes them to Shifen Old Street and Shifen Waterfall. If you want to see lanterns in the night sky but miss the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival on February 8, If you just want to make a wish and release your own lantern, visit.

It is also known as the Yuan Xiao Festival. As soon as you have explored the area, leave Pingxi or you will be stuck in massive human and traffic jams as everyone moves out at the same time.
Bus.

In the old difficult time, some villagers had to pack up and hide deep in the mountain, waiting till the spring come with chances to harvest again, only strong men can stay to protect their house. Note: Lantern Festival kicks off on the same day – In 2020, the date is Feb. 8; however, the duration of the festival differs. Because it’s Pingxi Lantern Festival, many festival-goers end up at Pingxi station (平溪站) only to learn their mistakes. As 2020 is the year of the rat, expect to see lots of rat lanterns. Shifen Sky Lantern A historic coal-mining town in the countryside of New Taipei City. But sometimes, if it’s meant to be, the whole universe moves to help you. [citation needed]. How to Get There: From Taipei’s Ruifang Station, you can catch a train to Pingxi. Even though the lanterns are released every 20 minutes and the festival takes place at various venues such as Pingxi Junior High, Qingtong Junior High, and Shifen Square; it is still very difficult for you to have a good view. One volunteer per post was designated to help with the process. Good news! Getting hands-on experience being a traveler, and then interacting with other travelers all along their whole trips helps me to stand on their place, deeply understand their interests and demands. Writing down my own request on the lantern. Did you know? When set alight, the hot air propels the paper creation to over 500m, or as high as Taipei 101, Taiwan’s iconic skyscraper. BENJAMIN “BENJIE” LAYUG, an architect by profession (he finished his B. S. Architecture degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1982), is an avid reader, traveler and free-lance travel writer in his spare time, contributing articles to Travel Update, Philippine Daily Inquirer, COLORS, TODAY, 7107 Islands Magazine, Business Day, Bluprint and the Business Mirror. Check rates & availability here.

The sky lantern was invented since 200s during the Three Kingdoms period aiming to transfer the military messages. That’s it!