A series of activities will take place from February 11 to 12 to celebrate 2017 Xinpu Lantern Festival and Sky Mending Festival. On February 11, a grand parade will be seen on Zhongzheng Road and Heping Street from 6 pm to midnight. On the next day, there will also be a display of lanterns at the Arts Square. Those stunning lanterns on display will bring Xinpu’s unique traditional festival to a climax.
Xinpu Township Chief Lin Bao-lu stated that over 100 teams will take part in the parade and the whole township will be mobilized to make Xinpu’s moving lanterns the most distinctive carnival among all celebrations in Taiwan. Also, gigantic lanterns featuring 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac will be on display, and splendid performances by local Hakka singers and bands will be presented on February 12. This year’s celebration will create an unprecedented bustling atmosphere that visitors can never miss. The amusing and interesting way Sky Mending Festival is celebrated in Xinpu has made it a well-known tourist festival in Taiwan. Xinpu is also famous for its historic sites including “three streets, six lanes and nine major ancestral shrines.” The unique customs and historic sites are cultural assets that attract a lot of visitors to Xinpu.
Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun said that due to the efforts of the county government, Xinpu township office and Hsinchu County Lantern Association, the reputation of “moving lanterns of Xinpu” has become as great as the sky lanterns of Pingxi and beehive firecrackers of Yanshui. Township Chief Lin Baolu hoped that Xinpu Lantern Festival will go from strength to strength every year and join the ranks of grand international cultural occasions. He also wished everyone a successful and happy year in 2017.