Taipei City Government

The 2017 Taipei Lantern Festival will take place in Taipei between February 4 and 17. Visitors can look forward to seeing traditional lantern displays amidst high tech showcase involving the latest projection and illumination technology upon the walls of historical sites and buildings during the showcase.

New Venue for Lantern Festival in 2017

This year, the city government has selected the vicinity around North Gate (Beimen) and both sides of Zhonghua Road section 1 to be the venue for the lantern festival. According to the city government, one of the reason for choosing the old part of town for this year’s venue is hopes of letting people learn more about the glorious history and stories of this area – thus the title “West Side Story, Taipei Glory.”

Mini-rooster Lantern Giveaway

Like past lantern festivals organized by the city, participants can look forward to a special mini-lantern this year – the mini-rooster lantern!
The rooster-shaped paper lantern has a handle resembling the shape of the North Gate, symbolizing life nurtured under the ancient city wall. With the pendulum design, the lantern swings to its various movements and displays its rhythmic vitality.
Department of Information and Tourism Commissioner Chien Yu-yen noted that the locations for lantern giveaways will be announced at future press events, as well as on the official website of the lantern festival.

Lantern Display Zones

The lantern zones at this year’s event will span several areas along North Gate and Zhonghua Road Section 1. These include: Main Display Area (the location of the main theme lantern and the stage for various shows); Light Sculpture Area (featuring light shows which use the North Gate as a backdrop); Landscape Creativity Area (the site houses a stand-alone “house” artwork and traditional lanterns featuring the five good omen roosters – the Zodiac animal for 2017), Universiade Interactive Area (the zone promoting the upcoming Summer Universiade in Taipei through activities and interactive games), Blessing Lantern Area (the area in front of Red House will be decorated by a Tree of Light, delivering the well-wishes of citizens during the holidays), Freestyle Creativity Area (through the magic of lighting technology, old historical buildings in the area will be invigorated once again), Student Creativity Area (a number of impressive lanterns created by students will be displayed here), and Friendly Exchange Area (the home to special lanterns sponsored by private businesses and foreign representative offices/nations).

To ensure that citizens across the city can enjoy beautiful lantern works during the holiday, the local district offices will also be hosting special lantern exhibitions at dedicated venues across all 12 administrative districts of Taipei City. People will not have to travel far from their home to enjoy a night out admiring the scenes of brightly lit lanterns against the night sky!

For more information on lantern giveaway, stage events, and exhibition venues, please visit the website of 2017 Taipei Lantern Festival: https://2017.lanternfestival.taipei/en/

2017 Taipei Lantern Festival
Venue: North Gate (Beimen) and Surrounding Areas, Zhonghua Road Section 1
Dates: Saturday, February 4 – Sunday, February 12

Promotional Clip for the 2017 Taipei Lantern Festival (Chinese):
https://youtu.be/DBvJAgwBRr0