During the new year holiday I took a day trip to Ping Shi with a couple of friends. From Taipei, it takes the train about an hour or so to arrive in the mountainous town. Ping Shi is famous for tian dun, sky lanterns, and is a popular destination for the lantern festival.
The four of us arrived in Ping Shi on a rainy afternoon. We ate and then headed toward one of the shops that specializes in sky lanterns. We bought one that was white, appropriate for a rainy night so we could watch it as it ascends the sky. Traditionally, the belief is that the lantern takes the wishes (and curses) to the gods. I hope the gods are bilingual because there are few traditional wish related phrases that I can write in Chinese. If they aren't, some gods they turned out to be! In the least, I'm sure they will enjoy my picture of a serpent monster eating the Chinese characters for peace.
When we finished decorating the tian dun, we walked to the bridge that crosses the river and lit the special paper inside the lantern. The lantern fills up with gas or smoke emitted from the paper and then lifts off into the sky like a helium balloon. After about ten minutes we saw our lantern become brighter as it began descending in the far off distance. Occasionally, an unfortunate local finds themselves under a curse or on the wrong end of a wish when their house is set on fire by a plummeting lantern from the sky.
On ordinary clear nights, the sky lanterns can travel out of sight. In the rain however, it will still go an extensive distance, but will not disappear from sight. Perhaps it is better to go in the rain because you get to watch you lantern fall out of the sky as it disintegrates. Hopefully, you won't curse any of the locals.
The four of us arrived in Ping Shi on a rainy afternoon. We ate and then headed toward one of the shops that specializes in sky lanterns. We bought one that was white, appropriate for a rainy night so we could watch it as it ascends the sky. Traditionally, the belief is that the lantern takes the wishes (and curses) to the gods. I hope the gods are bilingual because there are few traditional wish related phrases that I can write in Chinese. If they aren't, some gods they turned out to be! In the least, I'm sure they will enjoy my picture of a serpent monster eating the Chinese characters for peace.
When we finished decorating the tian dun, we walked to the bridge that crosses the river and lit the special paper inside the lantern. The lantern fills up with gas or smoke emitted from the paper and then lifts off into the sky like a helium balloon. After about ten minutes we saw our lantern become brighter as it began descending in the far off distance. Occasionally, an unfortunate local finds themselves under a curse or on the wrong end of a wish when their house is set on fire by a plummeting lantern from the sky.
On ordinary clear nights, the sky lanterns can travel out of sight. In the rain however, it will still go an extensive distance, but will not disappear from sight. Perhaps it is better to go in the rain because you get to watch you lantern fall out of the sky as it disintegrates. Hopefully, you won't curse any of the locals.
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