Tourism Bureau, Republic of China (Taiwan)

In its 31st year, the Taiwan Lantern Festival has become a trademark tourist event in Taiwan. The festival shows the cultures of the cities and counties in Taiwan where it is held, while boosting growth in the tourism industry and introducing lantern traditions to the world. Having hosted the festival in 2003 and 2015, this is the third time Taichung is hosting the festival. Taking "Splendid Taichung under rays of the rising sun" as a theme, the Taichung City Government will hold the festival in Houli Forest Park, a "fantastical forest land." It not only hopes that traditional lantern art can make the forest look anew, but that the lights of the lanterns can light up Taiwan like rays of the rising sun. In fact, "rays of the rising Sun" is pronounced as "Shu Guang," and in Mandarin, mice are pronounced as "Shu." To welcome the Year of the Mouse on the Chinese zodiac calendar, the rays of the rising sun / or mice indicates the government's high hope for a better future. The lantern festival will show Taichung's five policy focuses - ecological conservation, creative lifestyle, cultural assets, economy and industry, and diversity and inclusion. All members of the public are encouraged to explore the unique and beautiful city through this festive event.

The gradual arrival of winter formally announces that Taiwan’s peak hot spring season has begun! Taiwan abounds in the gifts of nature—cold springs, hot springs, mud springs, submarine springs—it is a world-famous scenic spot for springs of every variety. Beginning in 2007 the Tourism Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communication combined two touristic resources--the unique healthcare aspects of thermal springs and the demand for a modern, healthy diet--to integrate Taiwan’s “thermal springs” and “gourmet cuisine” for a plan to launch a “Taiwan Hot Spring Fine-Cuisine Carnival.” This event takes center stage throughout Taiwan at the same time each year, with one of Taiwan’s 17 thermal spring areas chosen as the year’s kick-off location. Not only is the Carnival an opportunity for Taiwanese tourists to soak up the pleasures of thermal springs throughout the country and receive merchandise discounts, overseas tourists are also fascinated and attracted, and the Carnival is a driving force behind the annual autumn/winter Taiwan hot spring tourist boom. During this period, hot spring areas throughout the country hold a series of hot spring/fine-cuisine events and pull together hundreds of county and municipal companies, introducing the scenic beauty of the springs, the local cultural landscape, and special products.

As Taiwan plays a vital role in the global ICT industry, it has been regarded as “a high-tech island” in the world. Besides, with the help of numerous Tibetan Buddhist followers and locals enthusiastic about Tibetan culture, the Tibetan religion, art, and culture have been developed and thrived on this island, thus creating an enormous religious power which not only purifies people’s minds, but engages in a positive conversation on self-reflection and self-improvement with modern civilization in pursuit of technological innovation.

The “Biennial Butterfly Beauty Festival” is a magnificent yearly event that goes from November to March of the following year taking place in the Maolin National Scenic Area. During this period millions of migrating Euploea butterflies (purple in color) cross the ocean and arrive here to winter over. The Maolin National Scenic Area is proud of that fact that it is has one of the only two winter migratory butterfly gorges in the world. The purple Euploea is a rare wintering butterfly. Each winter millions of these butterflies gather together for the flight to the Dawushan Foothills to avoid the cold and to winter in the gorges, there presenting a spectacular ecological sight—the “Purple Butterfly Valley.” Tourists from every corner of the world travel every year to Maolin to experience firsthand this magnificent, world-class scene of beautiful purple butterflies dancing in the air, and everyone comes away full of praise and admiration. On an early winter morning as the first rays of the sun shine down on Maolin’s Purple Butterfly Valley, we come upon the purple Euploea that, awakened from their slumber, begin fervently to chase the sunrays, peeking through the treetops and the forest. From time to time, a butterfly will stop to display his garment of magical color then soar high and low as he shuttles around the valley. Not only does he provide a superb eco-touristic spot for those watching, but he also brings a small bit of warmth to a winter’s day. You are invited and welcome to take advantage of this once-a-year, rare opportunity to appreciate these migrating butterflies and come to Maolin to experience the magnificent dance of the purple Euploea. With everyone’s care and concern, the future will bring an endless cycle of this extraordinary sight!

The Mazu Pilgrimage can be counted as one of the most important and largest folk culture events in Taiwan. The “Taichung Mazu International Festival.” By interweaving religion, opera, martial arts, industrial culture, the arts, tourism, and academic culture, the intent on launching the event in 2004 was to promote the local area with events related to tourism, religious worship, performing arts, academic study, and the upgrading of local industry. Furthermore, using international culture as an appeal, the Festival put on every type and variety of exhibition and engaged in cultural and artistic exchanges. The actual date and time for offering incense to Buddha during the Taichung Dajia District Pilgrimage is not fixed but is determined by casting moon-shaped divination blocks during the Lantern Festival. In accordance with tradition, during the 8-day, 7-night pilgrimage there are eight primary ceremonies: prayers for peace, mounting the palanquins, the departure of the procession, the arrival of the procession, prayers for prosperity, wishes for longevity, the return of the procession, and the safe reinstallation of the statues.

The Neimen District of Kaohsiung is called the “town of the battle array” (a type of folk street parade), as it holds more such parades—54—than any other place in the country, the Song Jiang Battle Array alone accounting for 18 of them. The Song Jiang Array, originally organized to strengthen, defend, and unite the town, under historical, generational, and government influence, turned into a theatrical drama that combined entertainment for the gods with furtive military training, eventually becoming the well-known folk art that it is today. The “formations” (also called “battle arrays,” zhentou,) that are in the nature of artistic performances, come in many varieties that can roughly be divided into “civilian” and “military” formations. The civilian formations include the Drum Dance, the Ox Plough, and Peach Blossom Takes the Ferry formations, while the military formations include the Lion, the Dragon, Song Jiang, and the Eight Infernal Generals formation. No matter what variety of “battle array,” they all represent the appearance of a popular and spontaneous, grass-roots energy. Preserving and handing down an important folk art, the primary and middle schools of Neimen all organize a Song Jiang Battle Array and develop creative approaches to make this traditional formation even more attractive! And fostering valuable feelings of friendship while studying and interacting is also at the core of the Song Jiang Battle Array.

The inspiration of the Tung Blossom Festival comes from the Hakka people, who live a hard working and simple life nurtured by wisdom that has come down from their original integration into the Taiwanese local culture. The Tung Trees that cover the hills and fields were an important cash crop for the Hakka. They also brought many economic opportunities to the local economy. Tung trees were widely planted in the nearby mountains of the Hakka area. Tung seed can be used to extract tung tree oil, and its wood is a basic material in the production of consumer goods at that time, when the economy was much more local, the Tung tree wood's economic value was an important resource in helping many Hakka families make ends meet, and helped Hakka communities purchase food. That is the main reason that the Hakka have deep feelings and heartfelt gratitude towards the Tung tree, the mountains, and nature in general. During The Tung Blossom Festival, in addition to inviting people to enjoy the flowers and tour around the Hakka village, the Council for Hakka Affairs has the honor of conducting a grand ceremony to worship the three Mountain Gods, the guardian spirits of the Hakka. The ceremony will not only offer thanksgiving and respect to the mountains and forests, but also bring encouragement to the Hakka decedents, extolling them to respect the law, to be solemn and the holy, to be devout in prayers, and to cherish the roots of their culture. Today, although people's livelihood no longer rely on the economic value of tung tree, the modern Tung Tree Festival has been a great economy success. The Tung Blossom Festival hosted by Hakka Affairs Council is not only a sacrifice to the guardian spirits on the behalf of the people, but also an offering to the people on the behalf of the flowers. The Tung tree has very different stages in its appearance throughout the four Seasons. Around April or May the flowers will blossom, and are a beautiful snow white; in summer, green leaves sprout from the branches; in autumn all the leaves turn yellow and blow away with the wind; and during the winter tung tree looks withered and dead. The Hakka people's history has often mimicked these seasons. Several times the Hakka have been forced to migrate, and have faced extreme difficulty. However, they have always stuck to their traditional roots, and been innovative in their methods.

Grey-faced buzzards, also called “nanlu ying” or “qingming niao” by locals in centralTaiwan, fly northward every March and April, passing over Mt. Bagua. To protect these birds for the long term, the Wild Bird Society Of Changhua County hosts a special event called “Free Buzzard in Mt. Bagua.” For a long time, GDP has been widely used as a measurement of economic and social progress. However, problems such as the widening gap between rich and poor and the destruction of natural habitats have revealed the limitations of GDP in determining a country’s well-being. Gross national happiness has become the new trend instead. The United Nations appointed May 22 as the International Day for Biological Diversity, emphasizing the importance of understanding and valuing the living organisms around us. Similarly, Free Buzzard in Mt. Bagua promotes a harmonious relationship between humanity and nature. We can work towards achieving happiness together by protecting forests to ensure better living environments and responsible farming so that people stay healthy, as we build a green economy that protects biological diversity.

The Dalongdong area, which was formed around two centuries ago, is one of a few well-preserved historic neighborhoods in Taipei City known for its numerous quaint dwellings and religious structures surrounding Bao’an Temple. The Dalongdong Bao’an Temple is by far the most popular among Taiwan’s 300-odd temples dedicated to Baosheng Emperor, according to folklorist Lin Heng-dao. Striving to fulfill its commitment of keeping a grassroots religion alive, creating an old-meets-new vision and a cycle of “new culture”, and innovating on the basis of tradition, the palatial Dalongdong Bao’an Temple, along with its ornate decorations and spatial layout, represents unconventional thinking and methods regarding three-dimensional aesthetics that earned it international accolades such as the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation in 2003.The Temple is famous for hosting the annual Baosheng Cultural Festival, a symbol of Taiwan’s folk religious celebrations, architectural legacies and heritage revitalization efforts, and has attracted locals and visitors alike for two decades. Running from April through June, the festival has not only enlightened an ever-growing participant base about different facets of the country’s religious aesthetics and changes in relevant rituals, but has also, despite its orthodox view of Formosan spirituality, become a culturally influential, globally significant tourist attraction that inspired similar festivities across China and Singapore.

Taiwan is blessed with plenty of natural resources that can be used to draw visitors, such as the three kilometer-long golden beach between Yanliao and Fulong in the Northeast Coast. For its soft, highly cohesive white quartz sands, this beach is acknowledged by the World Sand Sculpting Association to be the best for making sand sculptures in Taiwan. It has been 12th years since the Administration held the first Fulong International Sand Sculpture Festival in 2008 to promote sand sculpting art in Taiwan. Each year, more people were drawn to take part in the event. This year's festival (2019) will still be jointly held by the Administration and the Fullon Hotels & Resorts like in the past years. By co-organizing the event with the company, the Administration hopes to instill different energy into the festival while attracting even more visitors.