The Pingxi Lantern Festival in Taiwan

Sky lantern lighting in Taiwan dates back as far as the Three Kingdoms Era, nearly 2,000 years ago. During this time, leaders would use floating beacons to relay messages from one village to another.

However, the Lantern Festival celebrated today has a history that starts in the 1800s. The people of the city of Pingxi would light the lanterns — precursors to the hot air balloon — as a way to celebrate Taiwan’s annual ridding of evil forces. Today, participants of the event light uniform paper bulb-like lanterns and watch them soar through the sky in the thousands. Today, visitors from all over the world come to take part in the experience, with more and more lanterns being lit each year.

© Jirka Matousek | Flickr

This event is complemented by the celebration in the neighboring Yanshui District. Here, just before the Pingxi Lantern Festival, firecrackers are lit with the intention of warding off evil forces.

In addition to the flood of small lanterns, the event features a number of larger “main” lanterns. These lanterns feature zodiac symbols as well as different characters from the pop culture of the area, and each stand more than 10 meters (33 feet) in height.