Tainan Festivals and Events
Tainan is known as the “Cultural Ancient Capital”. There are numerous characteristic festivals and activities left in this ancient place. Such as Tianhou Cultural Festival (Mazu Culture Festival), Xigang Sacrifice Festival and Zheng Chenggong Culture Festival.
Festivals in Tainan
Besides some Chinese traditional festivals, like New Year's Day(January 1), Spring Festival(The first day of the first lunar month; February 5, 2019), Lantern Festival(The fifteenth day of the first lunar month), Tomb Sweeping Day(15 days after the Spring equinox; April 5, 2019), Dragon Boat Festival(The fifth day of the fifth lunar month; June 7, 2019) and Mid-Autumn Day(The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month; September 13, 2019), Tainan is rich in folk culture festivals.
Tianhou Cultural Festival
Due to Tianhou Temple an indispensable temple in Tainan, the " Tianhou Cultural Festival " is arranged to provide a spiritual belief for the believers who come to temple to pray for peace during the Lunar New Year. The festival has various activities, such as grabbing the first incense and delivering the lucky money. After the fifth day of the lunar calendar, different celebrations were arranged every day.
Yanshui Bee Cannon Festival （盐水蜂炮节）
It is a famous folk activity during the Lantern Festival in Taiwan which refers to a large-scale turret composed of many cannons. It is like a bee army when it is ignited, so people called it "bee cannon". The folk custom designated as "Taiwanese cultural assets" on June 27, 2008.
Xigang Sacrifice Festival
As a temple fair in Tainan, it is said that in the early days, There was plague everywhere in Taiwan. People worshipped the Plague God by “Zuo Jiao”. There was a ceremony which is send the God 's ship away with the plague, symbolizing that the plague was away with the ship. Then people set fire on the boat to avoid the plaque going to other place. This activity has also been designated as an important folk activity by the Executive Yuan Cultural and Cultural Association as a traditional art and folk custom.
Zheng Chenggong Culture Festival
He ended the rule of Dutch in Taiwan, and was deeply loved by people for more than 300 years. To thank him for his contribution to Taiwan, Tainan has held the Zheng Chenggong Cultural Festival since 1991. In addition to the anniversary of the establishment of the festival, there are theme story which are designed to present Zheng Chenggong's life. Meanwhile, Taiwan government set up “the Resurrection Plan for Taiwan Ships in the 17th Century” to recreate the prosperity in the maritime era.
Activities in Tainan
Taking Hot Air Balloon
Zouma Lai is a place for hot air balloons in Tainan. In addition to the hot air balloon ride, there are various farm activities for people to experience.
Hot Springs
Located at Guanzi Lling, It’s a recreation place for people to relax. Visitors can enjoy the underground hot springs with good water quality and pleasant environment.
Watching movies at Chuan Mei Theatre
The theatre is located in the bustling area of Tainan City. It has been built in the theatre of 1949 for more than 60 years and it mainly plays two rounds of film. This theater opened the eyes of Li An on the film because Li An spent his childhood here. The theater is famous for its tradition of making movie boards by hand.
Visiting Tainan Night Markets
Anyone will tell you that the essential Taiwanese cultural experience is a visit to any of the island’s numerous night markets. Pubs and night clubs are mere subcultures compared to the mass-assembly of nightlife in Taiwan’s night markets, and many Taiwanese never tire of braving the crowds. Tainan is no exception when it comes to night market culture. In fact, much of the street market food you find all around the island originated at Tainan’s night markets. While you no longer have to travel to Tainan to eat danzai noodles or coffin bread, many visitors still make Tainan’s night markets a priority in their visit. There are quite a few night markets in Tainan. Garden Night Market, Da Dong Night Market, Wusheng Night Market, Yonghua Night Market, Kaiyuan Night Market and Xiao Bei Night Market are famous.
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