歡迎光臨高雄市新聞局

2013 Kaohsiung Lantern Festival

◎English translation: Lin Fang-ju　◎Photograph by Pao Chung-hui

　　Kaohsiung's 13th Lantern Festival was a great success and ended with a glorious fireworks display at Glory Pier. This year, the festival overlapped with Valentine's Day and therefore the themes of love and happiness were adopted. To add to the romantic spirit of the festival Venetian Gondolas were commissioned to take visitors on tours of Love River. Taiwan's Bunan tribe mans the boats and serenade passengers with love songs. Another of this year's highlights was an array of international exhibits including beautiful lanterns from Japan, Thailand and Nepal etc.

　　Kaohsiung is also Taiwan's only harbor which presents firework shows. This year's show included circulating fire trees, Mayor Chen Chu's face, Moon Jellyfish, Dashu Lychees and the Ciaotou Flower Field. The fireworks lit up the harbor and were accompanied with a magnificent sound and light show. Master of Ceremonies on opening night was celebrity host Janet Hsieh, who accompanied singer Yen-j with her violin.

　　Lantern Festival begins on the last day of Chinese New Year and lasts for a week. This year Mayor Chen Chu announced Lantern Festival exhibits would also be held in Cishan, Gangshan and Fo Guang Shan. Artistic lights were also exhibited throughout Kaohsiung's metropolitan area, creating a festive and romantic atmosphere. According to Shu-Te University's statistics, almost 4,600,000 people in attended the exhibits in Cishan, Gangshan and the Love River, which was an increase of 300,000 people from last year. The Lantern Festival generated 2,100,000,000 in revenue.

　　Fantastic LED fairy lights adorned the old Rail Tunnel, creating a romantic and uplifting ambiance. Exhibits integrated state-of-the-art technology and environmentally-friendly materials. Thousands enjoyed the exhibits at the harbor and the nightly firework sound and light shows.Taiwan's first Gondola boat rides will continue to operate until April 17th. The rides begin from the west side of Wufu Bridge at the Love River. The hours of operation are Monday to Friday 4:30 pm - 8:30 pm and 1:00 pm - 9:00 pm on weekends. Come and enjoy the beautiful voices of the Bunan people from Namasia. For bookings call 0980-579-027.

全國唯一「港灣燈會」+「三山燈會」

高雄賞燈 「愛．幸福」

◎文／盧怡如　◎攝影／鮑忠暉

　　今（2013）年邁入第13年的高雄燈會藝術節，在光榮碼頭煙火璀璨絢爛中圓滿畫下句點。樹德科技大學統計，自2月10日~24日燈會期間，旗山、岡山、愛河區域之參觀人數約460萬人次，較去年成長30萬人次，創造約21億元的觀光產值。

　　今年春節適逢2月14日西洋情人節，高雄燈會以「愛．幸福」為主軸，結合國際與在地特色：有日本、泰國、尼泊爾等各國特色花燈、鐵道橋「Dios Mio 驚奇聲光劇場」、浪漫的威尼斯貢多拉遊船，與金字招牌─全臺唯一的「環港煙火」等，以及舊鐵道營造的奇幻海底隧道燈海及4個以「愛」為主題的造型藝術燈，更為燈會增添幸福與浪漫；還有「三山燈會」－旗山、岡山、佛光山，讓大高雄從山城到港灣處處張燈結彩，充滿年味。這也是市府首次把全台著名的佛教聖地—佛光山納入燈會系列活動。

　　高雄市長陳菊表示，高雄燈會從旗山、岡山、佛光山接力展開，而愛河沿岸燈區則涵括國際、在地產業特色花燈與愛情主題造型燈等，以及多重視覺及聽覺饗宴，還以科技、更環保的概念，首度創新推出鐵橋燈光秀，並在原住民浪漫的歌聲中乘坐貢多拉船遊愛河，最適合天下有情人前來創造異國風情的浪漫回憶。

　　全國唯一環港煙火除了「環港火樹」、「花媽圖像」，更研發馳名全台的高雄在地物產意象煙火樣式—「海月水母」、「大樹玉荷包」、「橋頭花海」等，五彩煙花重現花卉概念輪番點亮港灣夜空，搭配壯闊的音樂節奏，讓人感受屬於海港的燦爛與幸福。這也讓旅遊生活頻道名主持人Janet聞名前來採訪，並在開幕當晚上台以小提琴為歌手嚴爵伴奏。

　　此外，高雄燈會率先引進全台灣第一與唯一的貢多拉船（Gondola），由那瑪夏區布農族原住民勇士划槳搖櫓，吟唱遠古的原民浪漫情歌，天籟美聲伴隨著愛河波光粼粼，彷彿置身威尼斯水上風情！