KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A 50-meter-long dragon-shaped kite and a six-minute water dance and fireworks show lighted the sky over the Love River on January 29 as part of the opening celebrations of the Kaohsiung Lantern Festival, which began on January 27 in the southern Taiwan city.
The show opened the third venue of the 12th annual festival, which will have the theme of "Flying Dragon in the Sky" this year to welcome in the Year of the Dragon.
The festival, which runs through Feb. 6, is also holding events at Gangshan Riverside Park and Gushan Park in Cishan.
At the Love River show opening ceremony, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu said the venues for the annual festival had been extended from river banks to mountainous areas to showcase the region's local characteristics and rich culture. She said she hoped the combination would give visitors a special experience.
The mayor said Kaohsiung has many geographical advantages and has made significant advances in the yacht industry and cultural creativity and emerging sectors in recent years, and she promised to further promote Kaohsiung as the city of happiness.
Chen said the city's art had already gained international recognition after the designs of its Formosa Boulevard and Central Park MRT stations took second and fourth places respectively in an online survey of the Most Beautiful Subway Stops in the World released by BootsnAll, an international independent travel company.
That image will be further bolstered by new activities to be launched at the Love River venue in conjunction with the festival, including the release of water lanterns and the debut of five floating dragon sculptures created by artists Wang Hsiu-chi and Chang Ping-huang, the city government said.
On January 29, Chen hosted a lunch banquet to welcome visitors from Kaohsiung's sister cities. She expressed her gratitude to Ryuichi Kurosu, the mayor of Hachioji City in Japan whose term expired on January 29, by giving him local handicrafts to symbolize the eternal friendship between the two cities. Chen said the Japanese mayor has taken part in the Kaohsiung Lantern Festival in the six years since the two cities formed their partnership in 2006.
Around 100 members of delegations from Seattle and Portland in the United States, Brisbane, Australia, and Busan, South Korea, were also in Kaohsiung to promote the festival as an international event.