Hualien Pacific Lantern Festival Concludes Successfully, Attracting Over a Million Visitors

The month-long "2020 Hualien Pacific Lantern Festival" concluded successfully yesterday (the 16th). This year's lantern festival activities were held at the East Gate Plaza in Hualien City and Liyu Lake in Shoufeng Township. The 16-meter-tall Flower Rat Treasure main lantern at East Gate Plaza and the first-ever display of the Happy Red-Faced Duck at Liyu Lake, despite being affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic during the period, took place in outdoor spaces, and with Hualien boasting the finest fresh air, successfully attracted over 1 million visitors. With the final spectacular performance of the Flower Rat Treasure main lantern show, the 2020 Hualien Pacific Lantern Festival drew to a perfect close.

Zhang Zhixiang, Deputy Director of the Hualien County Tourism Department, stated that this year's Hualien Pacific Lantern Festival featured many highlight designs. The "Liyu Lake Exhibition Area" displayed for the first time the 15-meter-tall Happy Red-Faced Duck and the Red Duckling family loved by children and adults alike, along with the "Interactive High Column Fountain," the "Painted Red-Faced Duck" activity and a photo installation welcoming "the 109th Year National Games in Hualien," all of which let visitors enjoy themselves and take photos to their heart's content. The "East Gate Lantern Area" featured the tallest dynamic zodiac-shaped main lantern in the country, combined with creative art lantern areas presented by several well-known artists, integrating Hualien's various natural and cultural characteristics into the lantern areas, as well as an on-site AR treasure hunt interactive game that sparked a craze for redeeming Happy Red-Faced Duck plush toys, adding to the fun of the event.

This year's lantern festival ran from January 18 to February 16. Although the event period was affected by the novel coronavirus epidemic, all areas made full preparations for epidemic prevention. The activities held on the day of the Lantern Festival, including the distribution of flower-print Rat Treasure small lanterns, lantern riddle guessing and lucky draws, also saw record-high participation. On-site staff also strengthened epidemic prevention awareness and adjusted control measures as appropriate, allowing visitors to view and enjoy with peace of mind. In addition, most of Hualien's tourist attractions and event venues are outdoor open spaces with excellent air circulation. As long as people manage their own epidemic prevention well, they are welcome to come to Hualien and breathe deeply, enjoying Hualien's fresh air and unique charm, letting nature's fresh air and high concentrations of phytoncides activate the body's cells and thereby boost immunity.