Sunday, March 8, 2015

Taipei Lantern Festival for Goat Year, 2015

(Note: Lots of colorful photos, so please be patient while they load.)



This pig driving a banana is welcoming you to Lantern Festival!
Lantern Festival comes at the end of Chinese New Year, a time when handmade lanterns in incredible shapes are built to celebrate the special themes for the year, or for that matter any subject, charming or strange, that comes into the maker's head. (I last reported on Lantern Festival during Dragon Year.)

The way it works is that different schools, groups, and even companies enter their lanterns in various categories, and at some point winners are chosen. This post has only still photos, but many of the lanterns were mechanized, having various moving parts, and sometimes even steam issuing forth.


Since this is Goat Year, many of the lanterns are goat themed, and this arrangement of two goats with the Taipei 101 Tower was one of the best.


As you leaf through these photos, note your favorites, and let me know at the end. It is a difficult choice; even these here were weeded out with difficulty from over five hundred photographs! (How could we ever have existed before digital cameras?) 



The festival was spread out over a large park, as seen from one vantage point.



This one was looks like a slug with its tail in a bowl—perhaps a genie-like creature coming out? I saw many local people who seemed equally bewildered.

A set of horse lanterns was particularly finely made.

Pegasus, or at least some flying horse, was the centerpiece.

The makers couldn't resist adding this charming pony.

Although this traditional house is a larger complex, I'm sure you can identify all the same features as on the Chinese House Bank.

This sea creature tableau, composed of turtle, sea urchin, clam with pearl, crab, and adorable smiling shrimp, is supposedly made by an elementary school, but I somehow detect the hand of the art teacher.

This lantern does look like it was actually made by elementary school student, which to me gives it an extra charm. Although somewhat crude, it is still much better than I could do were I to try my own hand at it.

One problem with recent lantern festivals is the increased use of Christmas-type lights, which I feel is cheating. However, in this scene both types appear combined to good effect.

This tufted elephant is a very well crafted lantern.

Stunning is the only word that can describe this eagle on a rock.

Off to the circus, starting with this delightful carousel.

…a Ferris Wheel…

It is always a mystery whether clown figures are deliberately meant to be scary, or just come out that way. This huge clown’s head coming out of the ground is many times larger than the surrounding acrobat lanterns.

The reason that Taiwanese children behave is because their parents tell them that otherwise this giant clown lantern will come to get them!

Acrobats.

It’s a little hard to see in the picture, but this tree lantern was a real tour de force.

A pumpkin coach right out of a fairytale.


Astonishing quality, both design and construction-wise, in these dancing elephants.

I always like to see lanterns depicting traditional Chinese scenes.


Every year there is a main lantern with the theme of the current zodiac animal. This metallic, twinkling goat on a mountain top was about five stories high. There were lights playing, music blaring, and the mountains grew and changed shape!


One problem with the giant goat lantern was the ultra-bright, moving yellow and purple lights at the base, which played over the crowds, blinding people and making photography difficult.

Here is one final overview picture of the Goat Year Lantern Festival. The creativity and quality of these huge lanterns (the average height was probably six to ten feet) is amazing, especially for something so ephemeral. It is sad to think of all these being dismantled next week.

Again, let me know your favorites, and if looking at these has given you any ideas, tell me what design of lantern you might submit for a future festival. 



An elevated walkway made a convenient spot to take this photograph.




26 comments:

  1. Hello, Jim,

    It's hard to pick a favorite, but my choice would be between Pagasus and the Chinese gentlemen towards the end of your posting. I'd give an honorable mention to the pig at the very beginning, only because I find him a charming representation of Porky Pig (maybe he is!).

    I know what I'd make as a lantern for the Year of the Goat — I recently watched a YouTube video of many goats in a tree. Apparently that's not too unusual, though I find it odd and whimsical.

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    1. Hello Mark, That flying horse lantern was one of the main ones in the display, very tall and towering above the other horses, which were at least life sized. I should have paid more attention to who built it--next time I ought to take a close-up of each placard to go along with the lantern. There were many cute animal lanterns, but somehow the pig one kept increasing in appeal until it became my lead photo!

      The goats in a tree would be a great idea--goats are great climbers; there was one lantern of several goats climbing the Taipei 101 Building. --Jim

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  2. Hello Jim - I like the pig, and the tree lantern, but all of them are exquisitely executed and make a really colourful display.
    You may remember the Chinese ones at Longleat House that showed just before Christmas which were made of silk, but I note that you said these were made of paper. Do they use a special paper in case of inclement weather?
    Your photos are brilliant and great fun.

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    1. Hello Rosemary, There are always some lanterns depicting gardens, which I'm sure you would enjoy. I had started to write a longer description of the lanterns' construction, but then cut it off. Especially for outdoors, they are made of fabric and increasingly, types of plastic and recyclables. Perhaps in the future I will interview someone who makes them, and get some construction photos. It is amazing that they last as long as they do, considering that it always rains a lot during the week or two of the festival. Jim

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  3. Hello Jim,

    One can only imagine the amazing sight that these lanterns must have made. They really did light up the night sky.

    We love the giraffes with their bows tied round their necks. They must have towered over the onlookers and it is difficult to work out how they must have been constructed and what time and patience would have been required by their makers. As you say, the traditional 'lantern' figures look the most appealing but the display which incorporates both the Christmas lights and lantern figures is a real tour de force!

    It would be fascinating to know more about the construction techniques since we are at a loss to know where to start to make such things. But, for certain, we should have loved to have been part of the festival and are delighted to have been able to share it through your wonderful photographs.

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    1. Hello Jane and Lance, These lanterns do look magical when waling around in the park, and also when seen in the distance, you can tell that something special is going on.

      When the Christmas lights are kept in a relatively small proportion with the regular lanterns, they can add color and sparkle; the problem is that sometimes they take over, and the meaning of the display becomes lost. This year the entire festival was managed beautifully.

      When you look closely at the lanterns, the inner armature and details of construction often become apparent. This does not mean that they are easy to make; in fact, in only increases my admiration for their creators, especially for the lanterns that seem to defy wind and gravity. --Jim

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  4. Who does all the work on each lantern? It must take endless hours.

    My favourite is the pumpkin coach with its green wheels. Was that originally a Chinese theme?

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    1. Hello Hels, There is a placard by each lantern stating who made it, usually some school or group.

      The pumpkin coach is certainly from Cinderella--no theme is eschewed if it will make a fun lantern. It seems to me that during rat/mouse year I saw another pumpkin coach, but pulled by white mice. --Jim

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  5. Well, JIm, it's a tie between the Cinderella pumpkin coach and the banana-driving pig for me. I had to quickly lurch from my phone to the computer to better see these amazing images. What fun this must have been for all lucky enough to see it in person. If I had to choose a design that was missing, my favorite bird, the owl might be nice although possibly not colorful enough for this event.

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    1. Hello Barbara, There definitely were some owls there; too bad it is too late for me to go back for more pictures! Owls do make nice lanterns (especially with their big, glowing eyes--you must have seen those owl andirons with amber glass eyes before), and are also valued for their association with wisdom. One of my own ideas was to make a Halloween tableau with lanterns, and in that case the owl would take pride of place! --Jim

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  6. Hello Jim,

    There are just too many beautiful lanterns to pick just one, but I particularly enjoyed the Chinese themed lantern and the simplicity of the ferris wheel. All are beautifully constructed (but how?), and remind me of stained glass windows as they shine.

    Thank you for sharing your photographs with us today, particularly since I was unable to attend the parade in San Francisco this past weekend.

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    1. Hello CD, The lanterns truly are an amazing sight. There were a number of lanterns that depicted scenes from Chinese legend--I should have included more of them. Incidentally, the Ferris wheel had one light out, but I fixed it with the magic of photo editing!

      I would imagine a place like San Francisco having a number of these traditional lanterns--I guess you have to know where to look. --Jim

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  7. Dearest Jim,
    For me the number # favorite is: Taipei 101 Tower with the goats and also the Eagle on the Rock! Incredibly done; all of them but most I find a bit too wild and loud looking, that's how I picked my choices. Too bad that the big Goat was lit in such way that photography was being hindered badly by the lights...
    Sad indeed, after so much work it will be dismantled and gone.
    Sending you our kindest regards,
    Mariette

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    1. Hello Mariette, The Taipei 101 Tower has been a favorite subject for lanterns since it was built. For a short while, the place where they had the festival was not far from the actual building, which made a dramatic backdrop!

      As you point out, most of the lanterns are fun and colorful, which I think is done knowing that they will only be around for a week or so, so they pull out all the stops. Still, a few, such as that eagle are done with an impressive sense of elegance and restraint. --Jim

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  8. Hi Jim,

    What an amazing scene--I can only imagine how much fun it would be to see it in person. The pig on a banana made me smile-just the kind of goofy charm I like. I was also charmed by the ones done by children, especially the that you pointed out looks more like the children, not the teacher, made it. The giraffes are wonderful too.

    Thank you for this most entertaining post!

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    1. Hello Jen, At first I thought that the pig might be too whimsical, but its quality and charm grew on me very quickly. Some of those elementary school lanterns did have that 'tape them on the refrigerator' quality, which I enjoyed. And what a great way to get the local kids involved with their heritage! --Jim

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  9. I like the lantern tree, with its sakura, heralding as it does our upcoming trip to Japan on Monday, although we shall be too early for the delights that affords. Here the blossom is glorious, but seems slightly out of place when the temperatures are in the mid thirties (C)!

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    1. Hello Columnist, The tree lanterns, of which there were several, do have a special appeal, especially the way each twig and flower petal lights up as part of the lantern.

      Enjoy your trip; this would be a good time to get away from Taiwan also (temperatures in the teens (C))--it's funny how temperatures often rocket between uncomfortable extremes.
      --Jim

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  10. Those are all incredible works of art. Very hard to pick a favorite, so I'll pick three: the Pegasus, Ferris wheel and dancing elephants. Wonderful night time photos, Jim!! Fun, festive and fabulous. Cheers

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  11. Hello Loi, Luckily, the Lantern Festival was open late (I left after 11 PM) so the crowds were less and photography was easier. The Pegasus lantern was a group with the other fancy horse and pony ones, but were spaced in such a way that there was no way to get a shot of them all together. The Pegasus was huge, as befits such a soaring creature, I'm sure 25-30 feet high. The dancing elephants were also part of a group, flanked by two tufted elephants, one of which I showed above. --Jim

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  12. I have never seen anything like this for real. I would love to. My favourites are the goats and the eagle on a rock. I'm not so keen on the characters but think my kids would like them

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    1. Hello Katharine, The lanterns shown here are only the tiniest sampling of what was at the festival; truly there was something for everyone. There were a number of tableaux from old Chinese stories, quite a few sea creatures, a lot of goats, and many smaller lanterns and sub-lanterns. --Jim

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  13. These are great photos! No at all unlike our Nebuta Festival here in Aomori. I was at tha Nebuta Museum the other day and will have to upload some of the float photos. By the way, my daughter immediately gravitated towards the pumpkin coach saying, "Cinderella, Cinderella!" I guess that one gets the 2-yr-old-girl vote!

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    1. Hello Ann, I just looked at your incredible photos. At least with the Chinese lanterns, you can see the framework that holds them up, but those snow and ice creations, so fragile and ephemeral, seem to defy gravity. Funny, I almost edited out the coach photo, thinking it perhaps too "Western". Now I'm glad I left it! --Jim

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  14. I can only tell you that I have not received one single post for YEARS!!! I don't care what feedburner says! I am thrilled beyond to be back on the list!!

    BRAVO!!!!

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    1. Hello Penelope, Those internet readers seem to have minds of their own. I hope that I'll have some fresh content before long to justify your kind words. --Jim

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