People may celebrate Lantern Festival by releasing sky lanterns in Pingxi or by enjoying the thrill of being caught in the midst of a storm of beehive fireworks in Yanshui, but when it comes to watching splendid mobile lanterns, you must come here in Xinpu! The parade of the 2019 Xinpu Lantern Festival kicked off on the evening of February 24. Despite the rain, the parade, composed of 38 groups, still attracted many people to enjoy a variety of traditional artistic performances. Magistrate Yang Wen-ke, Council Speaker Zhang Zhen-rong, and Legislator Lin Wei-zhou also attended the celebration.
Magistrate Yang showed that rain brought water, which represented "wealth" in Chinese culture, so he believed every visitor could make a fortune this year! Council Speaker Zhang also showed gratitude to Hsinchu County Government and Xinpu Township Office for years of effort to organize this grand event and promote Hakka culture.
This year, the parade featured four gigantic mobile lanterns, which integrated local elements such as the persimmon, Hakka Lion, tung blossom, and Yimin Festival. In the event, visitors could know the richness of Hakka culture while receiving blessings of good luck and great success in everything.
This year's celebration included traditional performing arts, a parade, and advised travel packages. The 2-kilometer-long parade was a big feast for the eyes and was greeted with thunderous applause. The paraders tried the whole bag of tricks to please the visitors along the streets and acquaint them with unique Hakka folk activities.