The 2022 Central Taiwan Lantern Festival grandly opened on February 12th. On the 20th at 9:00 pm, it was still crowded with people enjoying the last main lantern show of "Taichung HU YEH" in Wenxin Forest Park. With the local dance troupes such as Taichung Hoping Elementary School, Atayal Taiwan First Nation M-yu Dancers, Wei Jing Dragon & Lion Dance War Drum Corps, as well as the public, Taichung Vice Mayor Rong-da Linghu watched the last primary lantern show and announced the smooth and successful conclusion of the 9-day Lantern Festival. This Lantern Festival was the first in Taiwan to enclose the whole area and control the number of visitors. It was remarkable results to accommodate nearly one million visitors enjoying the lanterns in the park despite the strict pandemic prevention measures.
Vice Mayor Linghu expressed his sincerest gratitude to his colleagues of the city government for their investment of time and effort since the beginning of the Chinese New Year. They sacrificed their rest time and family time on weekdays, weekends, and holidays, and cooperated with the pandemic prevention policy of the 2022 Central Taiwan Lantern Festival. They strengthened the enclosure and applied a 4-in and 4-out crowd control mechanism to prioritize pandemic prevention and visitor numbers. At the same time, they implemented the control of total visitor number in the park. Combined with the pandemic prevention measures at the entrance, the city government created an environment where people could enjoy the lanterns with peace of mind and protect public health.
Vice Mayor Linghu also said he sincerely thanked the visitors for their high level of cooperation with the admission order, queuing, scanning QR codes, measuring body temperatures, and hand disinfection. During the lantern viewing period, wearing masks, maintaining social distance, and not eating is inconvenient for people to enjoy the lanterns. However, together with the Taichung city government, they set an outstanding record of strict pandemic control and successfully held large-scale activities during the pandemic period.
The Tourism and Travel Bureau stated that because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic this year, people are not allowed to eat as they walk during lantern viewing, it facilitated a more pleasant experience of focusing on the lantern viewing and taking beautiful photos. In addition, this year's photo taking hot spot is undoubtedly the 10-meter-high primary lantern, "Taichung HU YEH." Wearing a dance king fashion suit instead without being ferocious and bossy, it welcomes with open arms the animal spirits and friends of all ages to dance together. We could call it "the first Dancing King in Taichung". The 12 zodiac dancers from the Mighty Tiger lantern area also joined the event and came to Wenxin Forest Park to participate in the dance. There were also farmers wearing bamboo hats and super cute fruit and vegetable tap dancers celebrating the harvest in the "Growing Food Land" lantern area. The "Taichung HU YEH, YA" lantern group at the entrance of the Fulfillment Amphitheater is also most popular for taking pictures and checking in. The vision of forest and city co-prosperity could be said to be the common expectation and yearning of everyone.
In addition, the "52 in the Ocean" lantern area with the concept theme of environmental friendliness and marine protection also touched the hearts of children and adults. The killer whale of the "52 in the Ocean" swinging back and forth with it tail pointing up attracted many tourists to take group photos. With everyone's company, the killer whale was no longer alone. Walking through the killer whales strengthened everyone’s environmental awareness to love the ocean. There is also a punk-style mechanical giant in the "World of Light Speed" lantern area and various Kuso themed lantern groups in the "KUSO Master" light area, which has left a distinct and profound impression on every visitor.
Many people who enjoyed the lantern show said that the 2022 Central Taiwan Lantern Festival was quite textured, and they also felt the design concept of the primary lantern show. Carefully studying the main light scene, people were able to find significant meaning. Immersive theater experience design and tree chimney lights depicted the symbiosis and collaborative prosperity of urban development and ecological restoration. The main lantern show had a deeper meaning of Taichung's respect for the land, symbolizing the smoke of the industrial revolution. After the smoke dispersed, the earth woke up and lives were booming again, symbolizing the elegant blooming of mountain cherry blossoms in Taichung. The HU YEH raised his hands slowly to protect the forest and embrace the nature. The original chimney transformed into a beautiful tree - fully demonstrating the insistence and emphasis of Taichung on ecological sustainability and environmental co-prosperity development. The city government also looks forward to working together with the public to gradually realize the urban vision of "a rich city for a new and good life" in Taichung.