Taiwan’s young people are reviving the traditions of their grandfathers through astronaut bunny lanterns, Taiwan LV bags, and tea

You can signify your readiness to be the life of the party by decking yourself out in glowing lights.

Earlier in February, Taiwan staged its annual Lantern Festival in Taipei, which I was invited to attend.

As part of the 34th Chinese New Year festival, giant glowing exhibits are usually erected in parks or open areas in one of Taiwan’s cities or counties.

For the first time in 23 years, the festival returned to Taipei on a massive scale this year. In addition to a main exhibition area at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, other dedicated spots and freestanding lanterns lit up all over Taipei, bringing the festival spirit to the very heart of the city.

Some of the 300 exhibits were designed by local artists or with participation from countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia. As part of the festivities, the entire facade of Taipei 101, visible from nearly every vantage point, was illuminated with dynamic digital images to honour the event.

It was quite intentional for Taiwan to host its first large-scale event since it opened its borders to tourists in October last year. Taiwan Tourism Bureau and Taipei City Government organized the festival, which hailed the pandemic’s end and looked forward to the future with the theme “Light up the future”.

This was best embodied in the hero exhibit: A giant 22m-tall astronaut bunny called Brilliant Light of the Jade Hare. The lantern, designed by Taiwan artist Akibo Lee, was modeled after the faces of Olympic gold medalist Kuo Hsing-chun using performance capture technology.

Additionally, the digital hearts that popped up on its display represented gratitude for the work of healthcare professionals during the pandemic. The futuristic space theme also signified the fusion of tradition with a forward-looking spirit, and paid tribute to Taiwan’s industry.

Starting from the Heart, a massive model of a family of Taiwan Blue Magpies, an endemic species endemic to Taiwan, was another popular lantern by Huang Wen Chian. In order to avoid bad luck, Taiwanese people say that if you see a solitary magpie, you should shake your head three times.