Taipei City Government

On December 19, Mayor Ko Wen-je attended the “Shining in Taipei” press conference to unveil the main theme of the 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taipei – “Light up the Future.”

During his address, the mayor noted that the 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taipei will be the first major international event to take place after the easing of international travel restrictions. As the organizer of the lantern festival event, Taipei City will adopt an approach different to those of former host municipalities. Unlike the previous events where the host government set up lantern displays at vast open areas, Taipei is limited by the space available. That is why it adopted the “urban lantern festival” approach.

Ko recalled that the city government selected Xinmending as the main venue for several Taipei Lantern Festivals in the past. Statistics show that these events play important roles in stimulating the local economy during the festival period. This year, the event was held in Shilin District, successfully attracting 460,000 visitors in one night. That is why the aim for this year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival will be to use the occasion to revitalize the commercial districts in the eastern part of the city. 

As an important venue of the 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival, the East District will see 16 major large and medium-sized lanterns displayed in the neighborhood. These are the works by teams from the domains of visual art, digital art, architecture, landscaping, installation art, and indigenous art. In addition, there are also 40 “Artworks in Stores,” as well as over 200 partner stores offering discounts to visitors during the lantern festival period. 

The mayor also expressed his gratitude to Far Eastern SOGO for its support. Two major lanterns – “Rabbit Hole” and “Hi Hide” – will be displayed at the department store’s Fuxing Building and Zhongxiao Building.

At the end of his speech, the mayor stressed that over 300 lantern art pieces will be displayed across 4 display zones covering an area of 168 hectares. There are also special lantern areas across all 12 administrative districts, hoping to attract visitors to explore different parts of the city and revitalize the local economy.