Spring is a flower season. Flowers are blooming all over Changhua, including Golden Trumpet-trees, chinaberry trees, Hollyhock, pink shower trees in Ershui, and kapok tree in Pitou, Erlin and Jhutang. After a year of waiting, it finally comes the season for blossoms viewing. In order to attract tourists from all over Taiwan to visit Changhua to enjoy the flowers, each township successively launches blooming season limited events based on its local characteristics. Changhua County Mayor Wang HuiMei invites everyone to take a light tour in Changhua to enjoy blossoms and scenery in spring.

Abundant Happiness with Loong Stay. 2024 Changhua Moon Shadow Lantern Festival Great Buddha Scenic Area in Mt. Bagua Lights Up! 2024 Changhua Moon Shadow Lantern Festival is on at the Great Buddha Scenic Area in Mt. Bagua from December 30th, 2023 to March 3rd in the following year, for a total of 65 days, and the Great Buddha Projection Mapping Show performs every half hour from 5:30 to 10:00 every night. Since the repairmen of the Great Buddha is finished in 2023, which marks the 300th founding anniversary of Changhua County, the brilliant and majestic Great Buddha Projection Mapping Show comes out as the highlight of this festival. Moreover, based on the fact that 2024 is the Year of the Loong, the other lighting zones are themed with the auspicious loong and happiness, including "Happiness Arrival" with flying holy loong lanterns, "Pink Village" with the pink carousel, "Universe Lanterns" with milky way lanterns, starry lights and fantasy mirror house, "Happy DODOA (sounds like abundant loong in Chinese)", "Instagrammable Spots" with interactive photogenic light installations, and "Endless Happiness" with the skywalk modeled on giant loong. Furthermore, 3 DODOA lantern installations are available in the venue. Everyone is welcome to come to Changhua to experience "Wonderful Changhua, Abundant Happiness." 2024 Changhua Moon Shadow Lantern Festival features the cute inflatable DODOA handheld lantern. In addition to the 2,000 pieces of the handheld lantern distributed on the day of lighting ceremony on December 30th, 2023, more will be distributed afterward according to different holidays, such as Valentine’s Day and Lantern Festival. For distribution details, please visit the event website for the latest news and the Facebook page of Changhua Travels. The pink carousel, a big favorite with kids, is placed in Guashan Village. One free ride per receipt or invoice (including cloud invoice) of more than NT$300 issued within Changhua County from December 2023 to February 2024, or per adding Changhua County Government’s “Changhua Travels” on LINE in the venue. In the other hand, Agoda room booking discount is specially offered with limited quantity. During the event, 10% discount is offered on reservations for a room within Changhua County through Agoda Official Website. Come to Changhua during the Lunar New Year this year to view flowers in daytime and enjoy the sea of lanterns at nighttime. During the day, visitors are suggested to admire flowers at Xizhou Park with the “Flowers in Changhua” event held from February 10th to 25th (the first day to the 16th day of the Lunar New Year), ride a bicycle on the National Greenway of Sugar Railway from Xizhou to Xihu, taste the mutton hot pot with different flavors in these two places, or visit the exhibition, “All the Immortals Paying Tribute to Gods – The Art of Folk Religion”, in the Changhua County Art Museum before February 18th (the 9th day of the Lunar New Year). When it comes to night, the brilliant light show for the “Changhua Moon Shadow Lantern Festival” at the Great Buddha Scenic Area in Mt. Bagua is definitely worth visiting. On top of that, visitors who scan the designated QR code with LINE at the venues of "2024 Changhua Moon Shadow Lantern Festival" event or "2024 Flowers in Changhua" event will be able to participate in the lottery one time with rich prizes, such as iphone15 and ipad. Everyone is sincerely invited to spend the Lunar New Year holiday in Changhua. "Flowers in daytime and lanterns at night" brings you abundant happiness.

As the landmark of Changhua, the magnificent Great Buddha stands halfway up the Mt. Bagua. In September this year, the Changhua County Government set up a 4K live camera at the Nine Dragon Pond view point. The HD camera use time-lapse photography technique to capture the wonderful sunrise and sunset zlternative landscape of the Great Buddha and Changhua urban area around the clock. Mt. Bagua Great Buddha Scenic Area is the back garden of Changhua County residents. People hike to the plaza in front of the Great Buddha in the early morning. When the sun gradually rises from the side of the Great Buddha, the yellow halo gradually brightens the sky, making the audiences on the other side of the camera feeling like bathing in the morning light with the Great Buddha. After that, the camera lens turns to the urban area of Changhua. The camera is located on the Nine Dragon Pond view point, which is the perfect place to enjoy the sunset and night scenery of Guashan. In the live stream, there is not only the breathtaking scenery as the sun slowly sinks below the horizon at sunset, but also the dazzling night scenery showing the busyness and vitality of Changhua after the urban area of Changhua gradually lights up with thousands of lights at nightfall.

The sunrise shinning in all its splendor or the night scenery with dazzling lights, which one do you prefer? The high-resolution Mt. Bagua Great Buddha 4K live camera is officially available for live streaming on the YouTube channel of "Changhua Travels"! The county government has launched an online viewing service 24/7 allowing tourists to learn about the weather and crowd conditions on Mt. Bagua as a reference before traveling. As the landmark and spiritual hometown of Changhua, the Great Buddha is of great historical, cultural and artistic value, attracting tourists from all over Taiwan to come for pilgrimage. The Nine Dragon Pond (九龍池) circular view point in front of the Great Buddha is located halfway up the Mt. Bagua where tourists are enable to enjoy the plain scenery and even the picture of ships sailing along the coast in a nice day. The excellent view becomes more beautiful as the night goes by. It is a romantic date spot loved by local residents and tourists. The real-time imaging is a brand new service launched in response to Internet trends and the transformation in tourism patterns. The camera resolution is as high as 4K, providing a borderless, high-quality and new travel experience. The stunning day and night scenery of Mt. Bagua make it the first choice for the county government to set up live camera. The glaring rays from the back of the Great Buddha shinning at sunrise, the breathtaking sunset scenery of Guashan, and the romantic dazzling night scenery are available anytime on demand on the "Travel Changhua" website and the YouTube channel of "Changhua Travels." The county government is committed to developing smart tourism, allowing domestic and foreign tourists to appreciate the scenery of the Great Buddha on Mt. Bagua from the other side of the camera over the Internet in real-time to narrow the distance between tourists and Changhua. Audiences can share their travel experiences with global tourists through the chat room while viewing the live streaming. For more information about the latest and exciting Changhua tourism activities, please visit the "Travel Changhua" website or follow the fan page of "Changhua Travels" on Facebook and Instagram.

The “Hiking & Touring” Bagua Mountain hiking event takes place from Oct 7th to Nov 30th, connecting selected 8 hiking trails with beautiful scenery in the Bagua Mountain Range from the north to the south of Changhua, including the “Bagua Mountain Skywalk”, the “Taoyuanli Forest Trail” with rich and diverse natural ecology, the “Huatan Daling Lane Hiking Trail” with plenty of sweet osmanthus, camellias and azaleas, the “Fenyuan Tiaoshui Trail” which is a great spot of tung blossoms, the “Yuanlin Tengshan Trail” which is suitable for hiking for the whole family, the challenging “Shetou Central Peak Forestation Trail and 18 Turns Trail”, the “Tianzhong Forest Park Trail” which boasts greenery and unobstructed views of the township and field landscape, and the “Ershui Kengneikeng Forest Trail” which was a pilgrimage path between Changhua and Nantou. After completing the trails, take trips to the townships of Changhua where are worth multiple visits for their natural landscape, local culture and delicious food. 【Details】 Digital Stamp Collection Activity: ●Complete Online Registration of “Hiking & Touring.” ●Join official LINE account of "Changhua County Government" (Click https://lin.ee/pu74mFM or search LINE ID：@playchanghua) to participate in the Digital Stamp Collection Activity. ●Scan the QR code in the starting point and also the halfway point. ●Redeem the gift with 2 Gem Stamps gained for the completion of a trail route. ●Complete four or more routes during the event to get one lucky draw chance, and complete all eight routes to get two times the chance of winning. ●The one who sign up for the “Hiking & Touring” online and then complete the specified trail route on the day of its hiking activity is eligible for the gift of stamp collection activity, which must be redeemed at the service counter during the service hours on the day of hiking. (For details, please refer to the event schedule). ●The one who complete the trail routs on another day and accumulate the completion of 4 routes may get one lucky draw chance. 【Prize Draw and Redemption】 ●Drawing Time: Announced on the event website. ●Prizes: Include Apple Watch, Merida folding bicycles, hiking poles, camping chairs, luggage cases, Taiwan Tourist Shuttle Pass and etc. ●Redemption Process: Present identity information in person to the staff at the prize redemption area. After being photographed and verified the correctness of the information, sign to confirm receipt and collect prize. ●Redemption Period: Within 7 days from the date of announcement of the winner list, after which the winners are claimed to voluntarily forfeit their prizes. (Winners will be announced on the event website) ●Redemption Area: Visitor Center of the Mt. Bagua Great Buddha Scenic Area (from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) 【Hiking Tour】 The one who registered for hiking the Yuanlin Tengshan Trail on Oct 14th, the Bagua Mountain Skywalk on Oct 28th, the Shetou Central Peak Forestation Trail and 18 Turns Trail on Nov 11th, and the Tianzhong Forest Park Trail on Nov 18th, and actually participated in the registered activities is eligible for signing up for Hiking Tour. Please be sure to register online in advance.

　　Following the Lukang Tianhou Temple, on the eve of the centenary, the “Changhua Roundhouse” has been promoted to the 8th National Historic Monument in Changhua County. 　　Built in 1922, the Changhua Roundhouse is located in the intersection of the Mountain Line and Coast Line in central Taiwan. With special operating functions, the rails in the roundhouse are split according to the operation of locomotives and maintenance technology. This explains the formation of its round shape. During the development of Taiwan’s railroad transportation, from steam engines and diesel locomotives to electric locomotives, there were different features in the spaces among the rails, the chimneys and windows in different phases. For example, the number of maintenance tracks increased from 6 to 12 and there were 15 turntable tracks. These facilities are rare, which makes the Changhua Roundhouse special and worthy of preservation. 　　The Changhua County Government listed the Changhua Roundhouse, the only roundhouse in Taiwan, and the second in Asia still in “operation”, as a County Historic Monument in 2000. With a century of history, the Changhua Roundhouse has accompanied travelers during their journeys and witnessed the development of Taiwan’s railroad culture. It is expected that Changhua Roundhouse and other valuable cultural assets in the neighborhood, such as the old railroad quarters, Changhua Farmers’ Association Warehouse, etc. will shine in the international arena.

Tonight (June 2), Magistrate Wang, Hui-mei of Changhua County, county residents, and guests will light up the lights on the Water Stage, Old Lukang River for the “2022 Lukang Dragon Boat Festival – Small Town Light Festival,” announcing the opening of the festival. From today until July 17, lights will be lit from 19:00 to 22:00 every evening in the classic town — Lukang, lighting up happiness and hope. Magistrate Wang expressed that Lukang has been very important in the history of the development of Taiwan, as reflected in the saying “first, Tainan; second, Lukang; and third, Bangka.” It indicates that Lukang is an important small town worth visiting. Lukang won not only the First Classic Small Town Award but also the Gold Medal in the Taiwan Town Brand Award. Lukang originated by the Mother River of Lukang — Old Lukang River. To let the memory of its glorious past re-emerge, the county government has spent 3 years and invested NT$500 million to build the 1.5-kilometer-long Water Corridor. On the eve of Lukang’s 300-year anniversary and the long weekend of the Dragon Boat Festival, the Changhua County Government has put up lights in the streets of Lukang and Old Lukang River to light up the town, creating a festive mood for the Dragon Boat Festival. Lights will be lit along Zhongshan Road, Old Street, Assembly Hall, Osmanthus Alley Art Village, and Old Lukang River. Visitors can enjoy the charming night view of the Light Festival in Lukang when spending their holiday here. Along Old Lukang River, the Light Festival is specially presented to highlight the historic context and charm of the Mother River of Lukang. At the plaza where the river originates, there are thematic light fountains — “Reminiscence of Water’s Origin” and “Fish Leaping over Dragon Gate” — with the surrounding banks covered with tranquil plants. Blending into the surroundings, the lanterns glitter with nocturnal romance. The lantern “Lukang Sail” presents the past prosperity of the town when it was still an important trading port. On the small islands used for the preservation of trees in the middle of the river, “Penglai Deer” and “Deer Dashes in the Wild,” light art with a deer theme, are installed to present scenes of running Sika deer on the plains in the past, telling us about the origin of the name Lukang — “deer port.” There will also be special events such as “balancing eggs,” “prayer tree,” and “immersive light corridor,” specially designed for the Dragon Boat Festival. The installation art “fluorescent dots” made with seaweeds tells people about the importance of the natural ecology of Old Lukang River. The lights along the river and streets reflect the festive mood and historic scenes of Lukang in the serene water. The lights in the streets decorate the nocturnal landscape, presenting the beauty of Lukang’s nights. The Lukang County Government would like to welcome people in Taiwan to visit Lukang during the long weekend of the Dragon Boat Festival. They can wander along the Old Street and taste delicious food during the daytime and enjoy the night breeze and the light art at night. It is a trip of gourmet food and nocturnal romance.

Around the spring equinox every year, a large group of gray-faced buzzards transits over Mt. Bagua in Changhua from southern Taiwan to return to the northeast for reproduction. The scenes, such as the rising gray-faced buzzards in the morning, the landing gray-faced buzzards in the evening, and the “buzzard column” of packs of gray-faced buzzards formed by gray-faced buzzards in Mt. Bagua, are precious. Besides the gray-faced buzzards, Mt. Bagua is characterized by its rich biodiversity. All are welcome to visit Mt. Bagua to discover the beauty of nature. The transit over Changhua Country from March to early Tomb Sweeping Day (Qingming Festival) every year is a unique behavior of the gray-faced buzzard. As it is near Qingming Festival, people also called the bird “Qingming Bird”. In the 1998 citizen poll, the gray-faced buzzard was elected the “county bird” of Changhua. Therefore, the Changhua County Government specifically hires the Wild Bird Society of Changhwa to investigate the migration and transit of the gray-faced buzzard every year. Besides the gray-faced buzzard, the Wild Bird Society also observes and records a range of predatory birds, including the Asian crested goshawk, crested serpent eagle, besra sparrowhawk, crested honey buzzard, black-winged kite, buzzard, osprey, common kestrel, and peregrine falcon. Through the “Eagles Across Bagua” event along County Highway 139, the Wild Bird Society hopes that citizens can share this mountain and forest with foothill life and develop harmony between “man” and “nature”. Dear nature loving friends, don’t miss this eagle chance. Eagles Across Bagua Date: March 20-21 Place: Near Wende Elementary School, Fenyuan Township (near 30.5k of County Highway 139) Event contents: Gray-Faced Buzzard Marketplace, trail guided tour, eagle watching docent service, there are many more stalls and games for you to explore and enjoy! It’s worth every penny. Gray-Faced Buzzard Transit Survey Time: March 6-April 4 Place: Changhua City Eagle Watching Platform (near 16k of County Highway 139) This is a very important mission. Surveyors will count the number of birds in the sky with their eagle eyes. During the counting, please don’t not disturb surveyors as much as possible. Eagle Watching Docent Service (no appointment is required) Time: March 13, 14, 27, 28, and April 3 (09:00-11:00) Place: Changhua City Eagle Watching Platform (near 16k of County Highway 139) Blessed are those who watch eagles on the mountain! If we don’t disturb the surveyors, follow the docents on the weekends then. Besides key event days, visitors can follow the docents to the eagle watching platform on weekends in March. Due to COVID-19, visitors are advised to maintain social distance, get immediate medical attention for any upper respiratory tract syndromes, and keep away from the crowd. A mask on the face keeps the pandemic away, No refuse left behind, mind you own refuse business.

The Moon, Shadow, and Lantern Festival is the longest event held in Changhua’s lantern festival. “2021 Changhua Moon, Shadow, and Lantern Festival” is going to be held at the year-end season with an exotic atmosphere in Mt. Baguashan. For many people, the Mt. Bagua Great Buddha Scenic Area is a place of spiritual refuge. During the Lunar New Year and major festivals, many people may come here to pray to the Buddha and relax themselves. In 2020, the word “epidemic” represents that although it is controlled appropriately in Taiwan, COVID-19 still brings worries and inconvenience to people’s life and work. “Guashan Prayer and Lantern Zone” will be opened today until March 1, 2021 (the 18th day of the 1st lunar month) from 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm every evening. Exhibiting for 73 days, it is going to break the record of the history of Changhua’s lantern festival. The lantern zone covers the area of Changhua County Art Museum along Guashan Road, Mt. Bagua Great Buddha Scenic Area, and the Skywalk. Lanterns will be light up in various spots in the zone. Magistrate Wang Hui-Mei visited the place in the evening of the 17th, and the lanterns in Changhua County Art Museum will be lit up in the next evening at 7:00 pm. Magistrate Wang said we are going to bid 2020 farewell and welcome the approaching of 2021. The “2021 Changhua Moon, Shadow, and Lantern Festival” sponsored by Changhua County Government will begin on December 18 at Mt. Bagua. There will also be a Christmas Concert at Changhua County Art Museum. In addition, on December 19, there will be “The Homecoming of the Changhua Super Star Concert” with Richie Jen Hsien-chi as the lead performer and the 480 seconds firework show at Changhua County Stadium. We welcome you all to attend these activities. The lantern festival will be the longest this year. The lanterns will be officially lit up tomorrow evening, with Japanese, Arabic, and the style of year of Ox (next year’s animal sign) landscapes. In Jiulong Pond, there is a lantern with the design of a fish leaping over the dragon gate. We welcome you all to visit Mt. Bagua during your free time. In addition to diverse ecological scenes, visitors can also enjoy different night views and keep fit in the evening. Among the lantern zones, designs of the three major themes have been eye-catching during their installations. At the Changhua County Art Museum, the design of a huge Santa Claus figure climbing over the architecture is installed to match with the coming of Christmas. To bring good fortune to Changhua, the Japanese style lanterns “Red Torii” and the Arabic style lanterns “Aladdin’s Lamps” are designed to create an exotic atmosphere. During the harsh time, it is going to bring people the joy of traveling abroad. The year-end and the New Year are the best times of the year. In this year, the scope of lanterns is expanded. For the first time, Christmas lights are installed to decorate Changhua County Museum. It is also the first time to decorate Mt. Bagua Great Buddha Scenic Area with an exotic atmosphere. With prayer and blessing as the themes, Japanese, European, Chinese, and Arabic elements are used to decorate different spots. People are welcome to visit Changhua and pray to Buddha. You may hand in your DIY origami along the Skywalk and hit the bell to pray for good fortune. At Mt. Bagua Great Buddha Scenic Area Tourist Information Center, color papers are prepared by Changhua County Government to encourage people to join these activities. Visitors are invited to fold origamis and hang them along the Skywalk. People interested in folding origamis can collect colored papers at Mt. Bagua Great Buddha Scenic Area Tourist Information Center and fold origamis there. Starting from the tourist information center, they can walk along the Qifu Boulevard (Prayer Avenue) and pray to the Buddha, watch lanterns, and enjoy night scenes. Then, they can go to the Skywalk and pretend to travel abroad to Japan. Hanging origamis along the Skywalk and make prayers, they may hit the “Bell of Fortune” and pray for lifelong good fortune after leaving Exit 3. Finally, they may return to “Aladdin’s Lamps” and make wishes. In the lantern zone, there are also “Fishes Leap to Catch the Pearl”, “Golden Cow Lights Up Good Fortune”, and many other fortune-bringing lantern zones that offer visitors opportunities to pray for good fortune and pray for better luck in the next year. During the “2021 Changhua Moon, Shadow, and Lantern Festival”, there will be so much fun. At Guashan Prayer and Lantern Zone, there are exciting events happening in different festival from Christmas, New Year, Lunar New Year, and St. Valentine’s Day, being ideal choices for people to make prayers and relax themselves. In Changhua County, there are prolific tourism resources, humanistic charms, historic architectures, and many other theme zones to suits visitors’ different needs. Welcome to visit Changhua and experience different lantern festivals. We hope you all will spend a bright and inspiring year in 2021. Let’s welcome the New Year with elevating spirits and meet new challenges.

Baguashan Great Buddha is a renowned scenic spot in Changhua County, as well as the spiritual symbol of residents in the county. After earning high acclaim with the first lantern festival in 2020, Baguashan is going to hold another Moon, Shadow, and Lantern Festival in 2021. Tortured by the epidemic, pretending to travel abroad has become the first choice of people. In this festival, exotic themes, such as Japanese and Arabic scenes, are included in the Chinese setting. The glamorous decorations and lanterns of other cultures symbolize the blessing ceremonies in different parts of the world. Visiting Baguashan lantern and prayer zone, people can pretend to travel abroad in the post-epidemic era. Visitors can also collect color papers at Baguashan Great Buddha Scenic Area Tourist Information Center to fold and hang origamis on the racks to symbolize their prayers. Hammering the bell to pray for happiness, visitors may bid the chaotic 2020 farewell and welcome a better New Year together. The 2021 Changhua Moon, Shadow, and Lantern Festival is going to start at 7:00 pm on December 18, 2020 in collaboration with the Christmas Light Lighting Activity sponsored by Changhua County Government. The lantern festival will be held from December 18, 2020 to March 1, 2021 from 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm every night. There will be Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic themes in the park, guiding visitors to travel to exotic countries. You are welcome to visit Changhua at the end of the year, pretend to travel abroad and enjoy the magnificent mountain landscapes.