TAIPEI -- As night falls on ??? ?? ??the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, Taiwan transforms into a dazzling spectacle of light. Despite a gentle spring rain sweeping across the island, the festive spirit remains strong.
The Chinese Lantern Festival, which fell on Wednesday this year, marks the end of Chinese New Year celebrations and symbolizes the coming of spring.
This year, with the zodiac cycle ushering in the Year of the Snake, the image of the snake took the center stage at lantern carnivals across the island, from Taipei in northern Taiwan to Pingtung in the south.
The Taipei Lantern Festival, running from Feb 2 to 16, is captivating crowds with a 13-meter-high lantern designed in the shape of a snake. The snake-like lantern playfully flicks its tongue and synchronizes its spinning motions with the music and light projections.
In addition to displaying lanterns in various designs, the festive tradition of solving riddles written on the lanterns continues to be hugely popular.
In the riddle corner, a Taipei resident surnamed Zheng sat hunched over a lantern with his granddaughter as the two attempted to solve the riddle. The answer turned out to be "snake."
"It's the Year of the Snake, may everything be as smooth as a serpent's glide," Zheng said.
Across Taiwan, lantern festivals are not only a visual delight but also a testament to the deep cultural ties between the island and the mainland.
This year, as in the previous nine years, lanterns sent from Shanghai have played a significant role in the Taipei festival, blending traditional Chinese paper-cut art with modern cityscape designs.
Meanwhile, lanterns from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are lighting up festivals in New Taipei and Nantou, showcasing intricate depictions of mythical creatures, legendary warriors, and ancient traditions.
Not all festivities revolve around serene lantern displays. In Pingxi of northern Taiwan, thousands of sky lanterns float into the sky, carrying handwritten wishes — hopes for love, success, and good health.
Among the hopeful was Anqi, a high school senior from Taipei, carefully inscribing her wish: "May I ace my exams and all things go as I wish." Nearby, a family huddles together as they release their lantern, whispering blessings into the chilly night air.
In Miaoli in central Taiwan, the festive celebration took stage on the evening of Feb 9 when "fire loongs" roared to life as dancers swayed props in the shape of Chinese loong empowered by dazzling pyrotechnics. These dancers included those from Wuhan in central Hubei province, who performed the traditional loong-lantern dance at the festival six years after their previous performance.