The 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival wrapped up in Taipei on Sunday after drawing a record of over 12 million visitors in one of Taiwan’s first large-scale international events since it began easing COVID-19 restrictions.
At the closing ceremony Sunday night, Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (???) said a record 12.56 million people had attended the festival since Feb. 1.
According to the Tourism Bureau, the event featured over 300 lanterns from seven countries and all Taiwan’s 22 cities and counties, which were displayed at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Xinyi District and Taipei City Hall Plaza.
With the festival’s conclusion, this year’s main lantern — the 22-meter-tall “Brilliant Light of the Jade Hare” — will be turned over to Taipei City government for safekeeping, the bureau said.
The Tourism Bureau added that next year’s Taiwan Lantern Festival will be held in Tainan near the city’s high speed rail station.
It is one of several events the southern city has planned for 2024 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of its founding, the bureau said.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel