Project Overview

The sky lantern is an iconic cultural symbol in Taiwan. The Pingxi District in New Taipei City attracts a large number of international travelers every year because of the beautiful sky lanterns that carry cultural meaning. The festival is also one of the few cultural events in Taiwan that is known internationally. The Sky Lantern Festival in Pingxi, New Taipei City, makes Taiwan always be seen as beautiful and blessed. The image of hope, unity, blessings, and encouragement has become the first impression of Taiwan for many people through many international media reports.
The "Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival" in 2023 is entering its 25th year. The event combined folk culture and tourism activities to promote traditional folk culture and revitalize the local tourism industry. The festival elevated the sky lanterns from a regional folklore festival to an international event representing Taiwan, attracting a large number of tourists to the mountain town of Pingxi during the festival. The event highlights the beauty of Pingxi on an international scale and introduces Pingxi to the world, attracting travelers from worldwide to visit this mountain town throughout the year.

Organisation

New Taipei city government

Project Brief

The ultimate emotion and scene is when people personally write down their happiness, wishes, and prayers on the sky lanterns and watch them rise into the sky. The image of a hundred lanterns flying together with wishes and a thousand lanterns rising into the sky is a scene that cannot be found anywhere else in the world but is exclusive to the Pingxi District of New Taipei City.
The event retained the traditional festive cultural ceremonies and released 100 lanterns, with the recognition and support of various parties from different fields to plan a diversified event. The event attracts many foreign travelers to participate in the annual Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival during the traditional Spring Festival as a must-see travel activity. The 100 Lanterns Blessing event lighted up the night of Pingxi and ignited every tourist's hope for a better year.

Project Need

●The sky lantern conveys emotion, hope, and blessing, as well as a soothing, heart-touching influence.
The lantern is an iconic cultural symbol in Taiwan. The Pingxi Lantern Festival in New Taipei City is the exclusive event in the world where hundreds of lanterns are in the sky to pray for blessings. The sky lantern's frame, which carries hope, is made of bamboo in a round shape and represents the meaning of "wealth and prosperity". The exterior of the sky lantern is made of rice paper for people to write their wishes. On the inside, there is a stack of twelve sheets of joss paper as the ignition power for ascension, which means that the whole year is safe and sound.

●Promoting Local Participation and Environmental Sustainability.
During the event, local participation was promoted by integrating the development of tourism-related industries such as food and beverage, accommodation, souvenirs, and transportation. The event also integrated business opportunities with the tourism resources in the surrounding areas to create a local brand. People will think of "Pingxi" when they see the "sky lantern", which will strengthen the international image of New Taipei City as a major tourist city. As for future activities like mountain cleanup, Pingxi area in-depth jaunt, and environmentally friendly and easy-to-burn rice paper and bamboo-made sky lanterns, a balance has been struck between environmental protection, traditional culture, innovation, and sustainability.

User Experience

The event attracted tourists to experience New Taipei City's unique traditional culture and local scenery through the blessing connotation of the sky lanterns. In conjunction with the event, some local stores in Pingxi have added lantern DIY programs, allowing visitors to complete their wish carriers with a personal touch. The number of visitors to the event is estimated to be about 473,248, and the large number of visitors means an increase in local tourism and economic benefits. The event connected local tourism resources to attract more domestic and foreign tourists to visit Pingxi to experience the unique sky lantern culture and enjoy the natural and humanistic scenery of the mountain town.

Sustainability

The sky lanterns are made of decomposable and recyclable materials, including rice paper, bamboo frames, and wire. The energy required to set off the sky lanterns is provided by completely burnable joss paper. Recycling stations were set up to allow surrounding residents and lantern operators to collect fallen lantern skeletons and rebuild them into new lanterns according to the grade of the recycled items or to receive recycling rewards, such as daily supplies.
During the event, cleaners conducted thorough searches to complete daily cleanups. After the event, it took half a month to ensure that no lanterns were left behind. Related activities, such as the 'Shifen/Pingxi Hike and Mountain Cleanup,' were organized, calling on hundreds of people to work together to protect the mountains and forests and to experience the beauty of Pingxi. The combination of healthy hiking and environmental protection allows ecological and cultural festivals to coexist sustainably.