Introduce
The Taiwan Lantern Festival is returning to Tainan in all of its glory after a 16-year absence. The Main Visual Press Conference was held today by the City Government today (9/26) to mark the start of preparations for the 2024 Taiwan Lantern Festival being co-organized by the Tainan City Government and the Tourism Bureau of Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Mayor Huang Wei-Che stated that the 2024 Taiwan Lantern Festival will be the first international and national-level celebration of Tainan 400. As the host city, Tainan is laying out the red carpet to welcome visitors from everywhere. For the design of the main visuals, Frank Yang, an established paper-cutting artist based in Tainan, was invited to design the logo and logotype, while Assistant Professor Huang Gui-ying from the Department of Visual Arts and Design at the National University of Tainan oversaw the design of posters and related visual applications. The visuals will convey the festive atmosphere of Tainan 400, the ancient capital, and its development over four centuries.
he launch conference for the main visuals of the lantern festival was attended by Mayor Huang Wei-Che, Deputy Director-General Lin Hsin-jen from the MOTC Tourism Bureau, Director-General Lin Kuo-hua from the Tourism Bureau of Tainan City, Tainan City Councilors Li Chung-lin, Shen Cheng-tung, Li Chi-wei, Chen Huang-yu, and Lin Kuan-wei, representatives of legislator and councilor offices, and representatives of various associations. During his speech, Deputy Director-General Lin Hsin-jen said that the character of Tainan and international perspectives were clearly represented in the design of the main visuals. 2024 will be the fourth time that the Taiwan Lantern Festival is hosted in Tainan and coincides with the 400th anniversary of Tainan’s founding. The Tourism Bureau will therefore work closely with the organizers to incorporate and showcase the local character during the festival with an eye to international audiences. To promote regional development in Tainan, the upgrade to a municipality will be used as an opportunity to continue supporting local tourism in partnership with the Siraya and Southwest Coast national scenic area administrations. The MOTC Tourism Bureau will also ask travel agencies to draw up lantern festival tour packages and invite more than a hundred members of the international media and overseas representation offices. It will collaborate with the Tainan City Government and local businesses to open up new opportunities for tourism promotion.

Artist Frank Yang explained that he chose to move to Tainan due to his love of the city so he was delighted to play a role in the design of the logo for the upcoming Taiwan Lantern Festival in Tainan. The theme of “Glorious Tainan” is represented by an auspicious dragon that rises up into the sky. The dragon is not there just to be seen, but to watch over its beloved homeland and share all that is good with everyone because Tainan has always been the embodiment of a great lifestyle. The logo therefore combines the Chinese character 南 (“South”) with flying eaves, city walls, and the auspicious dragon guardian of Tainan radiating confidence and determination. He hoped to show everyone that the glory of Tainan comes from people sharing and looking after each other. The spirit of love and compassion is not only the root of all happiness, but the pride of the city.

Prof. Huang Gui-ying chose the circle to represent the perfection, inclusivity, and harmony of the city. The circle is also like cogwheels that channel different forces. The intricate design of “Glorious Tainan” created by A-Gui sits within the circle like a motor that turns the wheels of progress in pursuit of togetherness. Circles connect all the wonders of Tainan. The circle can also be found in every corner of the city including the bowls of classic delicacies, banquet tables for thanksgiving and hospitality, the traffic circles, and semiconductor wafers of the high-tech industry. The positive karma forms one giant concentric circle that welcomes people of all ethnicities and regions. The people living and interacting with each other turn Tainan into a land of dreams brimming with energy and charisma.

The motif of four circles is a metaphor for the ancient capital of Tainan that has witnessed the passing of four centuries. The four circles themselves also incorporate 26 Tainan icons. The first circle is filled with diverse cultures and specialty products with icons that represent the Sword Lion, lanterns, temple festivals, lotus flower, butterfly orchid, and Siraya tattoos; the second circle encompasses natural ecology with icons for the protected Black-faced Spoonbill, the Euploea butterflies of Guanziling, Qigu salt mountain, and Chianan Canal; the third circle represents the keystones to a high-tech future with icons that represent the solar tree at Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, semiconductor wafers, and printed circuit boards; the fourth circle is the logo of the 2024 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Tainan symbolizing how the glory of the south illuminates all of Taiwan.

The color palette of the poster corresponds to the colors of the Tainan city seal and conveys the warmth, passion, simplicity, and culture of the city’s character. Progressive hues of temple red and sunlit gold provide a sophisticated representation of Tainan’s many facets. Together, they aim to communicate the message of inclusivity and prosperity in national celebrations. The Tourism Bureau of the Tainan City Government had previously produced “TainanTone,” a creative marketing video that used colors to interpret Tainan. The four colors of “Salt Pan White”, “Eel Black”, “Western Silver”, and “Ancient Terracotta” were chosen as the complementary undertones. The change gives the lantern festival more design flexibility on representations of diversity.

According to the Tourism Bureau, city agencies are now working closely together on preparations for the 2024 Taiwan Lantern Festival. The two main exhibition areas will be the Anping Lantern Area and HSR Lantern Area. The Anping Lantern Area will open first and run for 36 days from February 3 to March 10 next year (2024) (closed on February 9 for Lunar New Year’s Eve) at Linmoniang Park, the former 1661 Taiwan Warship Museum, the Anping Canal, and Anping Recreational Wharf. The HSR Lantern Area consisting of ICC Tainan next to Tainan HSR Station, the surrounding area, and the Shalun Green Energy Technology Demonstration Site, will open on the day of the Lantern Festival and run for 16 days from February 24 through to March 10 (2024). The festival will feature international performing groups, lantern-themed art exhibitions, art and cultural exhibitions and performances, as well as large lanterns that blend art and technology. Please start planning your itineraries now and plan a visit to the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Tainan. Let’s all share in the glory and reunite for the Lantern Festival.