千百願望的燈

千百願望的燈

飄逸地上夜空

看起來好像

星光一樣

為了希望，為了幸福

為了健康，為了平安

今晚每個人的夢想是天燈

好亮麗地照亮夜空

好亮麗地照亮我們的心裡

--

The light of a thousand wishes

Float gently up to the night sky

Shining like the light of a thousand stars

For hope, for happiness

For health, for peace

Tonight everyone's dream is a sky lantern

Brightly illuminating the night sky

Brightly illuminating our hearts

--

Haha just trying my hand at some Chinese poetry--I doubt that it makes sense (or that it even sounds poetic)--I will gladly accept any help and advice from any Chinese poets out there. The English, while originally was supposed to be a translation, is more its own version since it was kind of hard to fully convey the meaning behind some of the words.

Anyways, as you probably guessed, I recently had the chance to go to the famed 平溪天燈節--the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival. Although the Lantern Festival traditionally falls on the last day of the Lunar New Year celebrations (so the 15th day of the first lunar month which falls on March 05 this year), Pingxi has held the festival a few times since New Year's (I'm not sure if they've been holding it every night, but I would imagine not) but I think the actual day of the Lantern Festival is when they'll have the grand celebrations.

Although Pingxi District is famous for its Sky Lantern Festival, there are many other types of celebrations that occur throughout Taiwan during the Lantern Festival. For example, in 鹽水區--the Yanshui District--in Tainan, there is the famed 鹽水蜂炮--Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival, so named because the thousands of firecrackers simultaneously going off is thought to be reminiscent of the sound of thousands of bees coming out of their hives. Then of course there is the main Taiwan Lantern Festival which, originally was held at 中正紀念堂--the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall--in Taipei, but has, since 2001, changed location every year. Last year for example, the festival was held in 南投縣--Nantou County, while this year the festival is scheduled to be held in 臺中市--Taichung City.

During the Taiwan Lantern Festival, you can expect to see firecrackers and fireworks alongside lanterns and not just traditional paper lanterns but large-scale ones fashioned after beloved characters, famed historical figures, well-known monuments, landmarks, and buildings, as well as a variety of other lantern art. The main lantern however, is usually based on the zodiac animal of the year.

Lantern from 2014's Lantern Festival in celebration of the Year of the Horse; image courtesy of the Taiwan Tourism Events website

Teemo of the famed League of Legends video game from Taiwan's 2013 Lantern Festival; image courtesy of Wikipedia

Events aren't just limited to firecrackers and lanterns however, as there are usually concerts and shows from both Taiwanese and foreign performers. At the Pingxi Lantern Festival there had been a concert going on all day with lots of different groups performing in both English and Chinese. We didn't get there until after 3 pm but by that point a lot of people were already there setting up their cameras.

Main stage area where they were performing live music and lanterns were released every half an hour

The stage after the event had ended at around 9 pm

Because Pingxi is actually in New Taipei City just outside of Taipei, we had to take public transportation to get to the Zoo, from where we took yet another bus (round-trip for just NT$50--that's less than 2 USD) to get there. Actually these were buses that were specifically for going to Pingxi for the Lantern Festival and the lines were long--there were actually two lines: a sitting line and a standing line. Of course, we went on the standing line which moved a lot quicker and although the bus ride got pretty bumpy at times, standing on the bus wasn't too bad. I'm not sure how long it took us to get to Pingxi, but it had to have been at least an hour and a half.

Because some of us were hungry, we decided to leave the main stage area in search of food--there were vendors all over the place and food was pretty cheap (and delicious!). Even at around three, when it was still bright out we could already see people releasing lanterns into the sky. The mass release of sky lanterns from the main stage wasn't scheduled to occur until six, so we had some time on our hands. The area was huge though and there were lots of people waiting in line for food as well. They were selling sausages, fruits, juice, tea (traditional, bubble, and iced), ice cream, and all types of traditional Chinese foods--most of the places were stands instead of actual sit-down-and-eat types so we were wandering around with our food. There were also souvenir shops selling miniature lanterns and shops were you could buy a lantern to send up to the sky. Everywhere we looked we could see people writing out their wishes or decorating their lanterns on the ground. 

They looked like little sparks up in the sky

Unfortunately, when the first wave of lanterns were sent up at six we were still in the lower area so we could only see them from afar which admittedly looked cool but our view was from so far away it wasn't as amazing. And when we reached the steps to go up to the stage area, well you could imagine how packed it was with the mass of people trying to go up--there was barely any moving space, let alone walking space. Luckily for us, we got up there soon enough and as the lanterns were being released every half and hour, we managed to catch the last few showings up close and it was amazing, breathtaking, and like nothing I had ever seen. The video I took (from my phone) did not do it justice and even thinking about it now still brings a chill down my spine.

So let us backtrack a bit to the origins of the Sky Lantern Festival. According to the Taiwan Tourism Events website, sky lanterns were purportedly invented between AD 220-265, also known as the Three Kingdoms Period, by Zhuge Liang (諸葛亮). Originally they were used to transmit military information, not unlike beacon towers, and are considered the predecessor to hot air balloons.

The Lantern Festival arrived to Taiwan during the early 19th Century, where sky lanterns were released at the beginning of the spring planting season as a prayer for a bountiful year. Some even state that the sky lanterns were originally released in Pingxi to show that the town was safe. As with now, prayers and vows were written on the lanterns before being released on the wind where lanterns, prayers, and wishes were thought to reach the ancestors. 

These lanterns are pretty big, more than half the size of a person

We stayed until the very last lantern showing and it did not get any less amazing each new time I saw it. If anything, each new wave of lanterns was more magnificent than the last, I almost wanted the night to last forever. Of course, that wasn't possible and soon we had to take the bus back to Taipei. Unfortunately there was a super long line to the bus moving super slowly. We got on the line at around 9:30 pm, give or take, and we didn't get back to our dorms until about midnight. It had been a long day but worth every minute of it. 

There were some fireworks too, but of course the main attraction was the sky lanterns

If you ever get the chance, don't miss out on the Sky Lantern Festival, whether it be in Pingxi or anywhere else. 

The lanterns are lit, hopes slowly rise, and the flames of prayer dance in the air as the lanterns magically transform into wings of hope and desire, turning the night sky of this mountain town into an expanse of unimaginable beauty.

- From the Taiwan Tourism Events website

Everyday Chinese

• 元宵節/上元節 (Yuánxiāo jié/Shàng yuán jié) - Lantern Festival
• 臺灣燈會 (Táiwān dēnghuì) - Taiwan Lantern Festival
• 鹽水蜂炮 (Yánshuǐ fēng pào) - Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival
• 平溪天燈節 (Píngxī tiān dēngjié) - Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
• 天燈 (Tiān dēng) - Sky Lantern