2018 Taiwan Lantern Festival main lantern and small handheld lantern revealed ahead of time, Chiayi lantern festival promises to be spectacular

The 2018 Taiwan Lantern Festival will grandly open on February 16 in Chiayi County. The main lantern, named "Zhongyi Tiancheng" by Academia Sinica academician Zeng Yongyi, will be lit on March 2. Chiayi County Magistrate Zhang Huaguan, Tourism Bureau Director-General Zhou Yonghui of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. Chairman Zheng You unveiled the mysterious appearance of the main lantern on the morning of January 4 at the Grand Hotel Taipei, and the small handheld lantern named "Dali Dog" was also revealed at the same time.

This year the main lantern is presented in a dual-main-body form for the first time, incorporating Chiayi's cultural history. Through an Indigenous child looking toward the future and a Taiwan Dog standing atop the sea of clouds on Alishan, it displays the loyal and righteous nature of dogs, and uses the child's pure heart to show new hope for the future. The Indigenous child waves to say Hello to the world, conveying happiness and laughter, letting the world see Taiwan and see Chiayi.

The Chiayi County Tourism Bureau stated that the "Zhongyi Tiancheng" main lantern has a total height of 21 m. The lighting design will use an all-new 4D refraction method to present a grating-sheet visual effect, using full-color LED lights to display more than 12 million pixel colors. No matter from which angle people view the main lantern, they can enjoy the ever-changing optical fantasy scenery.

The small handheld lantern named "Dali Dog" is super cute and adorable in shape. The dog's four limbs are also designed with footprint die-cuts. When children carry the small lantern at night and swing it back and forth, moving reflective footprints can be seen on the ground, as if the dog is interacting with the children. The creativity is visible.

Magistrate Zhang Huaguan pointed out that this year's lantern festival starts on February 16 (the first day of the Lunar New Year), the main lantern is lit on March 2 (Lantern Festival), and the exhibition period runs until March 11, lasting 24 days. It will set three "most" records for the Taiwan Lantern Festival: "the longest exhibition period (24 days), the largest area (50 hectares), and the most sensory (the first to present lantern art across land, sea, and air)." It breaks the traditional flat lantern festival format of previous years, letting people experience for the first time "looking up at lanterns floating in the sky and looking down at lanterns drifting in the water." Everyone is welcome to take part.