Chiayi, Taiwan ¨C Futuristic skyscrapers, popular bubble tea shops and lively night street markets ¡ª when discussing a trip to Taiwan, many would imagine visiting Taipei. However, the southern city of Chiayi, which hosted this year¡¯s Taiwan Lantern Festival, has many attractive but relatively unknown historic sites with deep roots in Japan.
This year¡¯s 21-meter-high main lantern of the island¡¯s largest event in the Lunar New Year Holiday period presented the rich and distinctive history of Chiayi, taking spectators on a time-traveling journey over centuries within a five-minute show laced with dazzling lights, music and mist sprays.
A round screen surrounding the bottom of the majestic tree-shaped lantern showcased scenes ranging from the formation of the island of Taiwan to the prosperity of the Tsou local Indigenous people, as well as Alishan Forest Railway, which was established by Japan in the early 20th century to carry cypress lumber from the mountains.
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