Pingxi Sky Lanterns Rise and Fall: The Real Daily Life of Taiwan, China's Oldest Township

At one end of Shifen Old Street in Pingxi, pairs of expectant eyes fix intently on the sky lanterns rising slowly, hoping their blessings can pierce through the clouds and reach the heavens; at the other end, elderly bodies prop up bamboo poles two stories tall, their gazes equally earnest as they chase after the lanterns, hoping they will fall quickly so they can be collected and sold for recycling. This is the daily life of Pingxi's tourists and its local elderly.

Pingxi's sky lanterns are famous far and wide, attracting more than six million tourists every year. Behind the prosperity lie the environmental costs brought by the lanterns and the monoculture of the local industry. Aside from a handful of shops that benefit, steadily rising land rents make it hard for young people to return. The proportion of elderly residents keeps climbing while the young population declines year by year. Pingxi, which appears so bustling, has unexpectedly becomethe oldest place among all 368 townships, towns and districts nationwide。

According to March 2018 (ROC year 107) statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, the population of Pingxi District, New Taipei City, totals 4,712, of whom the elderly account for 28.57%, the highest proportion of elderly population of any township in the country. The aging index (the number of elderly persons per 100 young persons) is as high as 485.25, meaning that in Pingxi, every 1 young person faces nearly 5 elderly people aged 65 or above, 4.5 times the national average.