The 2022 Central Taiwan Lantern Festival "Taichung Tiger Lord Ya!" is being held in Wenxin Forest Park, Taichung City now. Bruce Linghu, Vice Mayor of Taichung, accompanied nearly 40 guests, including envoys from 13 countries in Taiwan and an international media to visit the Lantern Festival by Taichung MRT. The envoys from various countries were deeply impressed by the colorful and ingenious lantern designs. The three-minute-long main lantern show of "Taichung Tiger Lord" attracted everyone's attention. The envoys from various countries all took out their mobile phones to take pictures and videos and thanked the city government for the meticulous arrangement, which was also a marketing success in Taichung.
The city government has recently invited foreign guests and media from various countries. Except for the Central Taiwan Lantern Festival, they also visited the Shin Sei Green Waterway and the Taichung Hub. The city government also arranged for the guests to take the Taichung MRT, which officially opened in April last year, to experience the city's infrastructure and beautiful scenery.
Vice Mayor Bruce Linghu said that the visiting foreign guests included the ambassador of Saint Lucia to the Republic of China, the representatives of four countries in Taiwan, including Switzerland, Jordan, Nigeria, and South Korea, as well as officials from other countries in Taiwan and an international media, totaling nearly 40 people from 13 countries. He thanked the foreign guests for coming to Taichung to feel the city’s charm despite various pandemic prevention measures in place. The Central Taiwan Lantern Festival began on February 12 and will end at 9 pm on February 20. There will also be a Folk Song Concert in the afternoon of February 19. Everyone is welcome to come to Taichung to enjoy the Lantern Festival and listen to folk music.
State of Missouri Department of Agriculture Asia Pacific Office, Director, Hank Ma said that he was very grateful to the city government for arranging these exciting and lively activities. Every activity was very attentive and warm, and he thanked the Vice Mayor and all his colleagues. Embassy of Saint Lucia H.E. Ambassador Edwin Laurent, pointed out that this was the first lantern festival he visited since he arrived in Taiwan, so he felt pretty novel about the design of various lanterns. He hoped to have a deeper understanding of Taiwan's traditional lantern festival culture. Laurent thanked the city government team for the arrangement.
In addition, Korean Mission in Taipei, Representative Chung Byung-Won, was also greatly impressed by the visit to Midori-gawa. He said that the Cheonggyecheon in South Korea had similar successful remediation cases in the past, and they could facilitate exchange with each other in the future. Somaliland Representative Office in Taiwan, Head of Public Diplomacy Abdiqani Muse, also pointed out that many rivers in his country face pollution and flooding problems. He looked forward to arranging a delegation to Taiwan to visit and study in the future.
State of New Mexico Economic Development Department TPE Office, Representative, Ethan Chen, said that he could see the city's progress every time he visited Taichung. The Taichung Hub in the City Building was an eye-opener. The concept of Midori-gawa rectified drought and returned land to the people using dredging instead of containment and turned a stinky ditch into a hydrophilic trail. He expressed his admiration when he saw the fish jumping around in the water, and said Taichung is a happy city!
The Tourism and Travel Bureau indicated that after taking the MRT to Wenxin Forest Park Station on the same day, the guests walked to the welcoming gate of the Lantern Festival "Taichung Tiger Lord Ya!" to take pictures with the lovely city silhouettes and forest animals. After entering the lantern area, they first came to the "Mighty Tiger," a traditional festival image, to feel the atmosphere of the Year of the Tiger Lantern Festival. Then they came to the "World of Light Speed," which was like a science fiction film, the "Enterprise Lantern District," and the cultural and creative market for goodness, to feel the local enterprises and youth creativity.
Led by Vice Mayor Bruce Linghu, Director of the Tourism and Travel Bureau, Yu-qi Han, Secretary-general of the secretariat, Jai-lun Yan, Deputy Director of the Tourism and Travel Bureau, Yu-zheng Chen, Deputy Director of the Information Bureau Chuan-bang Huang, and Central TW Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Director General Ms. Judy Ying-Ming Wong, etc. shared this visual and auditory festival with foreign guests came together from all over the world to promote this grand ceremony and the city image in Taichung.