David on Formosa

Pig at the Taipei County Plaza in Banqiao

This weekend marked the beginning of the Lantern Festival (元宵節) in Taiwan. Celebrations and displays of lanterns are taking place in towns and cities all over Taiwan. On Saturday night I went to the Taipei County Plaza in Banqiao. I thought there would be more lanterns on display, but there was only the one big one in the photo above.

I later found out that the "Taipei County Traditional Lantern Competition and Exhibition" is being held at the Lin Family Gardens (林家花園) in Banqiao. The exhibition there runs until 25 March and  until 11 March the gardens will stay open until 9:00pm.

Two pigs at the Taiwan Democracy Park in Taipei 

Tonight I went to see the lanterns at the Taiwan Democracy Park (I won't wait for the official name change. It used to be named after some general from China). There were more pigs than you could poke a stick at there. Pigs dancing, pigs flying, pigs on bicycles and more. The centrepiece of the festival was a giant pig with models of Taipei 101, the Shinkong Mitsukoshi Building, a ferris wheel and a bicycle. 

There was also quite a crowd or people mountain, people sea (人山人海) as they like to say here in Taiwan. There was a few spots of rain as I was leaving and by the time I got home it started pouring. I timed that well, but I don't know how it affected the festivities at the site. I guess many people would have had to reach for their umbrellas or run for cover. 

You can see some more photos at flickr.