Focus Taiwan App
Download

Tainan Yanshui Beehive Festival kicks off

02/04/2023 02:11 PM
To activate the text-to-speech service, please first agree to the privacy policy below.
Participants of the Beehive Fireworks Festival in Tainan
Participants of the Beehive Fireworks Festival in Tainan's Yanshui District engaging in the festivities Saturday. Photo courtesy of the Tainan City Government Feb. 4, 2023

Tainan, Feb. 4 (CNA) The Beehive Fireworks Festival in Tainan's Yanshui District kicked off Saturday, with the event set to reach its climax on Sunday evening when participants with proper protective gear will be able to "bathe" in the exploding fireworks.

This year's event will feature more than 200 stacks of fireworks, which will not disappoint participants, many of whom will be coming from far and wide to be among the fireworks as they explode, said the Yanshui Wumiao temple, which organizes the annual event.

The tradition has its roots in an old superstition among Yanshui residents dating back to the 19th century. Residents sought to use the fireworks to drive away a "deity of diseases," whom they blamed for a lingering pandemic ravaging the area at the time.

The event started with a parade of deities, portrayed by performers or taking the form of statues seated in palanquins, who marched out from the temple in the smog from the lighting of the first stack of beehive fireworks to signal the start of the parade.

According to the temple, a brand-new element of this year's festival is four LED-lit stacks carrying about 2 million fireworks.

Participants of the Beehive Fireworks Festival in Tainan
Participants of the Beehive Fireworks Festival in Tainan's Yanshui District escorting the statue of a deity in a protective chariot. CNA photo Feb. 4, 2023

The LED-lit stacks will be launched at the sports field of Tainan Municipal Yanshui Junior High School on Sunday evening, alongside high-altitude fireworks.

The Tainan City Bureau of Civil Affairs said firefighters and paramedics had been dispatched to the scene in case of an emergency.

People wanting to experience being "hit" by beehive fireworks should wear full-face helmets and thick cotton clothing instead of down jackets or plastic raincoats, to ensure their safety, the bureau said.

Cars will not be allowed to enter Yanshui after traffic controls are put in place at 3 p.m. on Sunday on all roads to Yanshui, and people driving to the event through Taiwan County Road 172 could be rerouted for Xinying Industrial Park, the bureau said.

(By Yang Ssu-jui and Sean Lin)

Enditem/ASG

    0:00
    /
    0:00
    We value your privacy.
    Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy.