A swath of fireworks exploded simultaneously. The drums began banging together, joined by gongs and cymbals. A thousand balloons were suddenly released from a spot on the southern end of the beach as people clapped. The drumming stopped. Those still possessed began to come out of their trances, all at once, and reverted to being human. Red sashes were shed.
The Thousand Year Grandfather had arrived!
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Pingtung County’s Donggang Township will be the scene of the King Boat Festival, held every three years, from October 28 to November 4 this autumn, 2018.
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Ghost Month, as the name implies, lasts a full thirty days and has several associated festivals. In this article, we’ll be talking about the traditions, taboos and individual festivals associated with Ghost Month in Taiwan.
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Ah, Taroko! Even the name, which means “human being” in the language of the indigenous Truku tribe evokes magic.Best known for its gorgeous gorge, the park itself is known collectively as Taroko Gorge National Park.
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Six years ago, I walked over a bed of hot coals. While I didn’t burn myself that night, I’ve been raking myself over the coals since.
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Tainan is an Taiwan’s oldest city, and (some say) Taiwan’s most “Chinese” city. Without getting too political, we think it’s safe to say that visitors looking for either a true taste of Taiwanese Culture or something approaching the classic Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon vibe of ancient China (the two intersect many places) will find what…
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Taiwan Scene reviews Joyce Bergvelt’s Lord of Formosa, a sweeping historical novel about Taiwan’s Dutch colonial period and the life of Admiral Koxinga.
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Not long ago my partner Stephanie and I were invited to take part in a two day tour of Tainan by the Tainan City Tourism Bureau. They offered us a few suggestions for places to check out, but were also genuinely interested in customizing the tour to fit our desires.
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Taiwan has thousands of temples, ranging from large multi-story buildings bearing multiple shrines and countless deities to small single-shrine structures barely big enough to fit a single god. Taiwanese temples can be dedicated to Taoist, Buddhist or Confucian beliefs, and often times multiple faiths (and deities) coexist peacefully under one roof.
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It takes the right time, the right place, and the right relationships for the mouth-watering traditional dessert to be passed down from generation to generation.
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