President Tsai Ing-wen remarked that since its first edition in 2001, the Taiwan Lantern Festival had gone through all counties and cities across Taiwan and finally returned to its starting point, Taipei. The resources brought by the event to each location never failed to drive local development, combining local culture and customs to showcase the unique history and charm of each place. After all these years of effort, the Taiwan Lantern Festival has become a hallmark event of Taiwan, a brand that helps market the nation and attracts visitors from all over the world.
This year's main lantern was Brilliant Light of the Jade Hare by artist Akibo Lee, the first 22 meter-tall robot jade hare in history. What's more, Olympic gold medalist weightlifter Kuo Hsing-chun was invited to provide vivid gestures for the lantern via facial expression capture technology. Paired with theme music by Golden Melody Awards winner Chen Chien-chi, viewers were treated to a varied set of exhilarating shows.
Additionally, there was a total of three secondary lanterns: inspired by Taiwanese folk religion, The Spiral Dragon Brings Prosperity by master lantern maker Lan Yung-chi combined traditional craftsmanship and mechanical performance in homage to the nine dragon lantern from the turn-of-the-century Taiwan Lantern Festival. Starting from the Heart by expert lantern maker Huang Wen-chuan portrayed a family of Formosan blue magpies atop a large tree, all upon a foundation in the shape of the island of Taiwan. It was a manifestation of gratitude to the health workers for their hard work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Artist Pu Tsong's Leaping Into the Future was a technology art piece based on the appearance of many buildings, as well as 0 and 1, the building blocks of digital technology.
It is worth mentioning that the Hakka pieces in this year's Fount of Light display zone were themed on "Cleverness", with an emphasis on literature and poetry. The traditional art of lantern making and culture were integrated by way of modern lighting and multimedia technology, reflecting the energy of urban Hakka people. Women Tree on the Island, in particular, was a traditional lantern rendering the iconic poem Taiwan Acacia by famous Hakka poetess Fang-ko Tu Pan. Many renowned Hakka musicians were also invited to perform during the event, seamlessly merging Hakka cultural elements like music and visual symbols with light shows.
