Every year, the Taiwan sky is lit up by thousands of lanterns from various regions in the country as a part of its annual lunar year celebrations.
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In Pingxi, the festival is held in the picturesque Shifeng Old Street, where visitors can witness a breathtaking display of lanterns in the sky.
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Thousands travel to Pingxi where they write their wishes on lanterns and release them in the hopes that their ancestors will answer their prayers.
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The small hillside town of Shifeng releases around 1,00,000 to 2,00,000 lanterns into the sky, making wishes for good fortune for the coming year.
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The sky lanterns, made from rice paper and bamboo, are traditionally painted with bright colours and beautiful designs.
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The festival has its roots in ancient Chinese tradition, where sky lanterns were used as a way to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck.
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In contrast, the Taiwan Lantern Festival was invented by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau in 1990, to increase tourism revenue.
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Since 2001, the Taiwan Lantern Festival has been held in different cities across Taiwan, and it is returning to Taipei after 23 years, where it was first held.
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Its focus is on huge, hi-tech lanterns that mix pop culture with traditional Taiwanese icons and Chinese zodiac signs, and includes folk arts.
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This year’s Lantern Festival is themed on “Light Up the Future” and features four major display zones, as well as Lantern Display Zones in 12 city districts.
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Highlight of the festival is the main lantern - a robotic Jade Hare inspired by Taiwan's leading semiconductor industry and Chinese Year of the Rabbit.
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The festival also took a moment to pay tribute to the thousands who lost their lives in the Turkey-Syria earthquakes most recently.
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Aimed at attracting 6 million tourists this year, the festival has become an important cultural Taiwanese export and tourism driver.
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Discovery Channel named the Lantern Festival one of the best on the planet, and National Geographic named it among the best winter trips worldwide.
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