Skylantern experience and old town Chiufen
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Port
Keelung (Taipei), Taiwan
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Activity Level
Strenuous Activity
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Excursion Type
Information Not Currently Available
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Wheelchair Accessible
No
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Starting At (prices in USD)
$140
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Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
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Duration
Approximately 5 Hours
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Meals Included
Meals not included
Your journey begins with a 40-min drive to Pingxi, a famous town for releasing sky lantern. The sky lantern was invented during the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220-265). At first it was used to transmit military information. In the early 19th century the Lantern Festival was brought to Taiwan, where every year, at the beginning of the spring planting season, people would release "sky lanterns" into the air as a prayer for the coming year. In addition to enjoying its reputation as part of the tradition, the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival was voted by the Discovery Channel as the second biggest Nighttime celebration in the world. The main activity consists of buying lantern and writing down wishes, dreams, prayers for the coming year followed by releasing them into the night sky.
The next destination is Chiufen, this tiny village was once a center of gold mining in Taiwan. The gold is long gone but this quaint old village built of closely-packed houses clinging to steep mountains, continues to offer enchanting scenery and fascinating glimpses into the lifestyles of the past. Return to pier via a scenic drive through the Northeast Coast Scenic Area. True to its name, the area is indeed scenic, with numerous capes and bays, back-dropped by verdant mountains.