Get ready to fall for Taiwan this autumn at WISH, the island’s first-ever sustainable sky lantern festival, which is taking place on October 12, 2019.
Sky lanterns are synonymous with Taiwanese tradition but they've created a waste problem in the mountain areas as they exploded in popularity among tourists. The lanterns were also threatening to birds and wildlife animals, further impacting the environment. At times, the falling lanterns have also caused injuries to motorcycle riders on the road.
This year, WISH is continuing the precious tradition by using eco-friendly sky lanterns that will burn up in the sky to protect the environment and avoid safety issues.
Named in recognition of Pingxi’s local history, WISH is a magical evening deep in the forest with live music, craft beer, local arts and crafts, and a farm-to-table dining experience featuring Taiwan’s organic produce, followed by lighting up the night sky with eco-friendly lanterns that’ll burn up without a trace.
The festival is organized by local travel agency MyTaiwanTour, a company with the purpose of facilitating travel to and around Taiwan, employing local tour guides with a passion to share their nation with the world.
WISH focuses on sustainability and will use eco-friendly sky lanterns designed by Cultural Bank to reduce waste. The inner fixture of these new sky lanterns are made with recycled paper pulp instead of iron wires and it can serve as fuel for the lantern to rise in the air. Since the entire lantern is made of papers, it will disappear in the sky as the fire burns through the lantern completely.
This event is to not only highlight Taiwan as a viable tourism destination, but also to emphasize sustainable tourism as a concept and showcase ecotourism as a realistic way of traveling the world.
MyTaiwanTour will be offering public transportation to reduce the number of private vehicles coming into Pingxi for WISH and part of the revenue will go towards a tree planting fund to help offset the carbon emissions produced from the burning of the lanterns.
Music will come from the likes of GMA-winning Gina’s Can and smooth jazz outfit Lady & Knights, while there will also be the opportunity to visit the Taiwan Coal Mine Museum to learn more about Pingxi’s mining history and take a ride on an old-school train previously used for transporting coal.
General admission tickets are US$50. Forest VIP Passes, including the farm-to-table dining experience, are US$120. Both ticket classes include a US$10 (NT$300) coupon for food and drinks at the venue, transportation, lantern releasing, and a copy of the summer issue of Smile Taiwan magazine.
For more information, please visit the official WISH website.
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The News Lens has been authorized to repost this article, originally published on Taiwan Scene.
TNL Editor: Daphne K. Lee (@thenewslensintl)
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