Holding the oil bamboo torch high symbolizes the spirit of safeguarding the homeland and passing on tradition. The Oil Bamboo Torch Festival on the Fifteenth Day of the First Lunar Month is a one-of-a-kind cultural celebration found only in Beipu, and nowhere else in Taiwan. Now entering its eighth year, the festival attracts both local residents and visitors from afar each year. While many people stroll through the old street for food and leisure, the Oil Bamboo Torch event offers something truly distinctive. Through the glow of torches that symbolically reconnect the “dragon vein” along the land, it has evolved into a powerful cultural call. Whether local or from afar, anyone who appreciates and identifies with Hakka culture is warmly invited to come to Beipu and take part in this meaningful tradition.
Local lore traces the Oil Bamboo Torch event back to the Japanese colonial era. Back then, Japanese authorities, wary of Beipu’s deep local roots, built a straight road behind Citian Temple to deliberately cut the town’s dragon vein. After Taiwan’s restoration, residents started a defiant tradition: every Lantern Festival evening, they would climb Xiuluan Mountain with torches forming a blazing dragon shape, symbolically mending that vital energy line. Passed down through generations, it’s evolved into Beipu’s signature Hakka folk custom, forever woven into the community’s shared memory.
The 2026 Oil Bamboo Torch Festival will be held February 27-28 at Citian Temple grounds, Beipu Old Street, and Xiuluan Mountain. Activities include hands-on Oil Bamboo Torch DIY, Hakka lantern riddle games, traditional festive games, a blossom-themed light tour, a rice cuisine market, and a lively temple plaza concert. Special performances will also be presented by Coming True Fire Group and invited groups from Beipu’s international friendship city, Buzen City in Japan, including Tengu Taiko and the Kagura troupe “Wakaku”. Through these vibrant activities and performances, you will experience authentic Beipu and the irresistible spirit of a Hakka Lantern Festival.
