The 2023 Central Taiwan Lantern Festival, "Happiness in Taichung," will be held in Central Park at Shuinan from February 4th to February 12th and will accompany you to celebrate the Lantern Festival for nine days! This year's primary light is the 10-meter-tall "Happy Rabbit in Happiness Taichung," which will light up at 6:58 p.m. on the opening night. Besides the primary light, there are also six themed light areas, 11 types of rabbits, more than 30 light groups, diverse gathering activities, and the "Park Rabbit" cultural and creative market, which is rich in content and eye-catching. The Bureau of Transportation of the Taichung City Government encourages the public to use public transportation to visit the lantern festival, which will save time and be more convenient as a large number of visitors are expected!
"It is the smartest choice to take the bus on weekdays and take the shuttle on holidays!" Chao-Fu Yeh, the Transportation Bureau director, said there are many bus routes around Central Park, including nine bus routes, including 8, 6 (subline), 25, 88, 157 (detour and extension line), 355 (extension line), 525, 529, and green 4. During the festival period, the bureau will coordinate passenger transport operators to organize more frequent bus services. In addition, it is expected that there will be many people watching lights during the holiday, therefore free shuttle services will be available over four weekends (2/4, 2/5, 2/11, and 2/12) during the event. The Transportation Bureau will also provide two free transfer routes from the City Government line and the Songzhu line. The departure time from each transfer station to the venue is from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The return departure time is from 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The bus runs every 15 minutes and leaves when it fills. So visitors won't have to wait too long.
Director Yeh suggested that visitors to the light festival could take the MRT to "Wenhua Senior High School Station" or "Wenxin Yinghua Station." After leaving the MRT station, they could reach the Central Park Light Zone via Gansu Road. During the holidays, if visitors from other counties and cities want to enjoy the lights in Taichung, they could take the High Speed Rail and get off at Taichung Station, transfer to the MRT to the city government station (Exit 1), then turn right after leaving the station and take the "city government line" shuttle bus to the Lantern Festival according to the on-site indicators. People who take the Taiwan Railway can get off at the Songzhu Station, turn right, follow the indicators to walk to the west station of the Taiwan Railway (near exit 2 of the MRT Songzhu Station) and take the "Songzhu Line" shuttle bus to the Lantern Festival. Visitors from other counties and cities are also welcome to take shuttle buses to the Lantern Festival on holidays.
"Don't be afraid of traffic jams when parking around the MRT!" Director Yeh suggested that people who want to drive to Central Park could park their cars in the parking lots around the stations along the MRT, and utilize "MRT + walking" on weekdays and "MRT + shuttle bus" to reach the light district during holidays. The Transportation Bureau also added a "Lantern Festival Zone" on the Taichung Transportation Network APP. People can click to view the traffic information for the Lantern Festival. Besides, click the "Parking lot around the scenic spot" in the APP to quickly query the name of the parking lot around the MRT and display the remaining parking spaces, and direct navigation is also enabled. Everyone is welcome to take advantage of the APP and make more use of it.
The Transportation Bureau said that people are arranging travel activities as the current epidemic gradually deescalates. The splendid 2023 Central Taiwan Lantern Festival in Central Park of Taichung City welcomes everyone to enjoy the lanterns. Therefore, the Transportation Bureau plans a free parking area for motorcycles on the northeast side of the venue (between Qihang Rd. and Zhongke Rd.), providing about 4100 motorcycle stalls. It is convenient for people who ride to the festival site to park their motorcycles and walk to the venue.
Director Yeh also would like to remind everyone that round-the-clock traffic control is in place on the surrounding roads to maintain smooth traffic around the light zone from January 30 to February 13. The Transportation Bureau will also strictly crack down on illegally parked vehicles, and the public is requested to cooperate with the on-site guidance signs and traffic control personnel to direct traffic. He encourages the public to take the "MRT + walking" or "MRT + shuttle bus" to the venue to avoid traffic jams. For relevant event information, please visit the official website (https://travel.taichung.gov.tw/zh-tw/event/activitydetail/7995). We welcome everyone to come and enjoy the lanterns, have a happy trip and return home safely.