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"Northern Lanterns, Southern Firecrackers" has been a saying for a long time. Pingxi Lanterns, also known as Kongming Lanterns, are said to have been first invented by Zhuge Liang for military purposes. There are also rumors that they are named after their shape resembling Zhuge Liang's hat. The origin of Pingxi Lanterns was when the early Han Chinese settlers, in order to avoid being attacked by the Pingpu people, hid in safe places. Once the danger passed, they used this tool to inform others of their safety. Lanterns are made with bamboo sticks as the frame, covered with Xuan paper. When released, they work on the same principle as hot air balloons, lighting gold leaf paper that has been soaked in kerosene. When the lanterns are heated and expand, they slowly rise into the air. Today, releasing lanterns has become a symbol of wishing for blessings and good fortune. Not only does it attract thousands of people to Pingxi during the Lantern Festival every year, but you can also see several lanterns floating in the sky of Pingxi any time of the night. The earliest origins of the lanterns date back to the Three Kingdoms period. It is said that the original one was created by Zhuge Liang (Kongming), hence the name Kongming Lantern. Initially, they were used to pass military information within the city, using the principle of hot air rising to make the lanterns float in the air, creating false "astronomical" information to deceive Sima Yi's army. It was also the precursor to today's hot air balloons. There are several historical versions about the origin of the lanterns in Taiwan: * The custom of releasing lanterns was an old tradition in the Fujian Province, Hui'an, and Anxi areas. During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, the pioneers moved to the Shiliu area of the New Taipei City, and still released lanterns during the farming off-season. Due to the terrain and wind direction, the lanterns would fly along the Keelung River to the river mouth and out to sea. The residents believed that this symbolized informing their family members in the mainland of their safety, and also had the meaning of blessing during the New Year. * According to the elders of Shiliu area, in the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the Shiliu area was often disturbed by bandits. Because of the mountainous location, villagers had to move to the mountains to avoid disasters. After the bandits left, the young men who stayed behind would release lanterns at night as signals, informing the villagers who were hiding in the mountains that they could return home, and using this method to inform the villagers of their safety. Therefore, the villagers in the Shiliu area also call the lanterns "blessing lanterns" or "safety lanterns". * The Hokkien pronunciation of the lanterns is similar to the meaning of "adding sons". In the past agricultural era, male sons were a symbol of labor and productivity. Therefore, if the common people wanted to pray for the birth of a son, they usually released lanterns to seek good luck. Over time, releasing lanterns has become a special folk custom of the Shiliu area every year. In a quiet mountain village (Shiliu), this folk culture has been passed down for one or two centuries, and it is the most culturally rich cultural activity in northern Taiwan. Until now, the release of lanterns has symbolized the activities of wishing for blessings and good fortune. Every night of the Lantern Festival, it attracts thousands of people to Pingxi to participate in the grand event. In recent years, concerned people in the Shiliu area have been funding and working hard to promote the lantern activities. In order to inherit the wisdom of our ancestors, after the efforts of various people and the media's introduction, the lantern activities have gradually attracted the attention of the public and have become a large-scale traditional festival. The famous saying "Northern Lanterns, Southern Firecrackers" has spread widely. On the first day of the millennium (January 1, 2000), the lanterns represented Taiwan's appearance on the international media, greeting the world on the first day of the new year. With the joint efforts of many masters, the 18.98-meter (53-foot) giant lantern was written into the Guinness World Records with a historical moment. The Pingxi Lantern Festival was also selected by the Discovery Channel as the "Second Largest Festival in the World", showing its unprecedented popularity. Chronicles of the Years - We have agreed to witness another decade. In the past, the Pingxi Lantern Festival was only a traditional folk activity of the Shiliu area in Pingxi. It was only partially funded by the New Taipei City Government's Construction Bureau, and was held by the township office and local residents. In 1999, the New Taipei City Government began to pay attention to this traditional folk activity, and decided to be the organizer of the first Pingxi Lantern Festival, with the goal of expanding the Lantern Festival into a national activity. During this time, the county government personnel held more than ten meetings in two months for site inspections, discussions, and evaluations, just to find a place in Pingxi that could accommodate thousands of people to join the event. After considering factors such as the area and convenience of transportation, it was decided to hold the first New Taipei City Pingxi International Lantern Festival at Pingxi Junior High School. It is estimated that the event attracted 30,000 participants! The first time as an organizer received a warm response, laying a solid foundation for the success of the "New Taipei City Pingxi Lantern Festival". It also allowed many foreign friends to first witness the beauty of Pingxi. Not only did it bring the main popularity of the lantern activity, but it also promoted the tourism benefits of the surrounding business areas. Since then, temples across the country have ordered lanterns from the Shiliu Village of Pingxi for blessings rituals, becoming an important source of income for the village. This shows the profound impact of the lantern industry on the local economy of Pingxi, so there is a saying in the local area: "One day of糊 (a kind of paper mending) can earn eight days, and eight days of earning can last for a year." After 11 years of activities, the Pingxi Lantern Festival has grown from a one-day event into a 15-day cultural festival. Let us review the themes and characteristics of each year's event, looking back on the past ten years and looking forward to the new decade. This year, we have agreed to meet in Pingxi. Image source: Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation, Taiwan's folk customs.