A different light art festival! Organized by the Information Bureau of the city government, the “2017 Taichung Light Festival – Art Highlight for Flower Capital & Mountain City” event was lit up at Fengyuan Huludun Park on the 5th, with the ceremony hosted by Ming-Chu Chen, the famous Hakka girl who also hosted the 520 presidential inauguration ceremony, where mayor Chia-Lung Lin also lit up for the event and wrote down a blessing card. Mayor Lin indicated that the event invited 3 international design masters – Ming-Tao Li, Yung-Chi Chen and Yu-Jun Chou to create a characteristic light festival using modern light art designs, while also demonstrating the jubilance of the Lantern Festival.

Mayor Lin stated, in order to welcome the Taichung World Flora Exposition next year, Fengyuan Huludun Park is supposed to be under construction as it is one of the main exhibition venues, hence the Taichung Lantern Festival was chosen to be held at Taichung Park and the Seaport Art Center. However, it was later discovered that there is still a vacant period for use, therefore this event is specially organized as an extra “treat” for the citizens.

He also said that this event has invited international design masters including Ming-Tao Li, Yung-Chi Chen and Yu-Jun Chou to design large-scale interactive light art installations such as “I Love Taiwan”, “Flowers in Mirror & Moon in Water” light path, as well as the “Peaceful Content” light house, hoping to create a characteristic light festival while demonstrating the jubilance of the Lantern Festival, which not only markets the Flora Exposition, but also allows the people of the mountain city to enjoy the atmosphere of the New Year.

He then stated that the central region features the Liuchuan Canal waterfront and Sun Moon Lake dredging, whereas the coastline has the Nanshan catch-water, and these few years have been the key moments to creating Fengyuan as the “Waterfront Flower Capital”. The renovation of Fengyuan Train Station is about to be completed in the beginning of the next year, and Huludun Park will also meet people with a brand new look, hoping to turn Taichung into the flower capital of Taiwan through the Flora Exposition.

The Information Bureau also indicated that the small hand lantern of “Prosperous Fortune Luck” for this year’s Taichung Lantern Festival will also be distributed starting from 6pm every day for 7 days continuously as of today till the 11th at the information counter for free in limited numbers.

The Information Bureau indicated that senior artist Ming-Tao Li was the chief event organizer for this year’s presidential palace concert, and also collaborated with famous artists for several album designs with A-Mei, Mayday and Wu-Bai; this time, he chose the rosy periwinkle commonly seen in Taiwan as the image theme to design the illuminating tent, and the name of rosy periwinkle is homophonous to auspiciousness bringing blessings to the New Year, while also presenting the strength and warmth of Taiwanese people.

Internationally famous designer Yung-Chi Chen who once received the “German Reddot Grand Prix Award” created a floral light path of “Flowers in Mirror & Moon in Water” which reflects infinitely, the tunnel is filled with lilies, araceae anthurium and oncidium flowers which are abundant in Taichung, and reflects with lights to form a magical world of flowers in the air.

Yu-Jun Chou, the first individual designer from Taiwan to receive the German IF design award has used the bamboo-weaving craft which Taichung is good at, in combination with recyclable materials to convey the spirit of the natural sustainable development of the Flora Exposition in order to create the “Peaceful Content” light house.

Other than the anticipated splendid light art installations of the event, there are also recreational facilities such as coffee cups and mini trains as well as the prayers for blessing area to summon good fortune, which are meticulously arranged based on the four treasures of Taichung Flora Exposition: Taiwan Black Bear, Pangolin, Leopard Cat and White Dolphin; on weekends, DIY events on painting lanterns, calabash pendants, indigenous people’s blessing hand-woven wristband as well as Gold Chicken Announcing Good News greeting card printing are available to enrich and diversify the event content.

The Information Bureau of the city government indicated, that without influencing the construction for the Flora Exposition venue, the event is to be held at Fengyuan Huludun Park – one of the three main exhibition areas for the Flora Exposition, hoping the people from the mountain city may also enjoy the atmosphere of celebrating festivities and blessings, thereby stimulating the tourism effect for the mountain city in February.