At the end of Chinese New Year, I flew to Taipei to see sky lanterns. My parents visited Taiwan for the first time, and my mother, who had read about the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival before arriving, insisted that we witness it.
I first heard about Pingxi sky lanterns three years ago, when my close friend from college sent me a postcard from Taipei. She was in Taiwan visiting her grandparents, and the postcard showed a student releasing a giant lantern with the word "pass"in English. As a student, I could understand the sentiment. I also found the image of big, glowing orange lanterns outlined against a pitch-black sky mesmerizing. I taped the postcard up to my dorm room wall and kept it there for the rest of the year. So, when my mother suggested we attend, I full-heartedly agreed.
We went to the festival on February 14th. We took the MRT to the Taipei Zoo and from there, boarded the neatly organized buses up to Pingxi. The area was crowded, but we arrived a few hours before they released the main lanterns. The three of us walked up into Pingxi village to buy souvenirs, snacks, and release our own lantern. We picked a green lantern and painted it with all our best wishes for an up coming year of travel. Watch that big light disappear into a tiny dot in the sky was fascinating.
When it grew dark, we went out to the fair grounds. Hundreds of people gathered to watch the official release of lanterns. It started to rain, so we put on our coats and umbrellas to wait. When the volunteers came to release the lanterns, there was a steady downpour, but they persisted. Once the lanterns were ready, staff walked around lighting the papers at the bases. Within minutes, what looked like a hundred lanterns rose into the night sky, quickly floating above our heads.
The wind knocked some of the lanterns off course, but the rain prevented any fire damage. After the first release of lanterns, the original volunteers left and the second batchreplaced them. This time, a gigantic panda lantern, about five meters tall and very cute, was also inflated. Unfortunately, when they released the second group of lanterns, the wind proved too much for the giant panda. It crashed just outside of the crowd, but again, the rain prevented any real harm.
All wewanted to talk about on the way back was how magical the entire experience had been. I have seen many beautiful cultural celebrations here in Taiwan, but the Pingxi festival was one of my favorites.Watching the lanterns float away made mefeel both great and small at the same time.

『本專刊由<金門日報>編輯部與學術交流基金會(傅爾布萊特交換計畫/Fulbright Taiwan)共同策畫製作』