The annual Lantern Festival is a 12-day affair that marks the end of the Lunar New Year, and it’s a very big deal – not Chinese New Year big, but big.  On Saturday I figured anything that draws fifteen million visitors must be worth seeing so I checked the website to make a plan on how to get there.  Free shuttle buses were running from the train stations in my area so I punched in the address and headed out.  When I arrived at the parking lot it was completely empty and adjacent to the Fugang Jiyi Temple and a vast tomb cemetery. For a moment I thought I might be too early for the bus, then thought maybe the bus would be at the train station in Fugang.  Once there, I managed to use my translator to ask a bus driver if he was going to the Lantern Festival and with an amused look on his face he told me there wasn’t one.  Into the train station I go, and the staff in the ticket office suggested I buy a train ticket to Yangmei and catch the bus there.  Not sure how I got it so wrong, but I jumped back in the car and drove twenty minutes back to the Yangmei station as the skies clouded over and a light mist was in the air.  The lineup for the buses looked like those at Wonderland rides and probably meant shuffling for an hour before boarding, and all the parking lots were full.  Not being a patient guy, I stopped for some popcorn chicken and drove home. They say everything happens for a reason, and my mistake saved me from packed buses and a crowd of two million at the festival on the opening weekend. 

Attempt number two was much better.  It was Monday night, clear skies, lots of parking and I walked right onto the bus that still had some empty seats when we departed a minute later.  The temporary bus terminal was located near one of the gates and the information kiosk had maps in English so I was looking forward to the sun going down and the lanterns lighting the night.  It was a windy evening so the giant Pickachu, a major attraction for kids, couldn’t be inflated so the kid cohort was much smaller than usual – another lucky break.  The lanterns are truly works of art and with four hundred of them on site taking photos of each one would be a challenge.  The evening was filled with entertainment on the main stage, and the performance by the Taoyuan Long Xing Elementary School Winds Band proved that all those music lessons have not been a waste of time. Next to the Main Lantern Exhibition Area was a food court with vendors preparing all the traditional night market snacks and an area to sit and eat. The Festival was definitely worth visiting, but after hours of walking it was time to make my way back to the bus without seeing the last area in the baseball stadium.  Having taken five times my normal daily step count on knees carrying more weight than they were designed to support meant the day was done and I was relieved to finally board the bus back to Yangmei.  Next year the festival will be hosted by Chiayi County and I’ll be checking it out (with a lot better planning, of course).

Check out this link for photos: https://www.taiwanquest.com/taiwan-lantern-festival-taoyuan-2025/