The Chinese New Year Festival is the most significant occasion for ethnic Chinese that families and relatives would gather together to celebrate this jubilant and splendid festival. There are many traditional customs that people would follow during the Chinese New Year period include new year grocery shopping for a new beginning, big clean-up before the Chinese New Year due to the belief that cleaning, sweeping, and trashing during the celebrations of the Chinese New Year will sweep out the good fortune and wealth, children greet and meet relatives with auspicious words to receiving red pocket money and many others for you to find out during your Taiwan travel!

A series of vivid 2011 Chinese New Year celebrations will be held from Feb 3, 2011 through Feb 17, 2011 in Taiwan. There will be jubilant festivities, including dragon & lion dances, firework displays, lantern displays over the island as well as special celebrations such as the throwing firecrackers at Master Han Dan in Taitung, and shooting the Yanshuei Firecrackers Ceremony in Tainan. 
 

Event	Date/Time	Venue	Taiwan Hotel
2011 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Miaoli	2011/02/17 – 2011/02/28	Areas of Miaoli Jhunan(Zhunan) Sports Park and Miaoli Toufen Sports Park	●   Elite Hotel ●   Lotus Business Hotel
2011 Taitung Throwing fireworks at Master Han Dan	a. 2011/02/17 19:00 b. 2011/02/18 19:00 c.  2011/02/20 20:00	a.Taitung Nanjing Rd. Square b.Taitung Tianhou Temple Square c.Taitung Haibin Park	●   Chief Spa Hotel ●   Rainbow Resort ●   Taitung Bali Suites Hotel
2011 Tainan Yanshuei Firecrackers Ceremony	2010/02/16	Yanshuei Wu Miao (Wu Temple)	●   JJ-W Hotel ●   Taipung Suites

Begin your 2011 Chinese New Year Taiwan travel with a wonderful gathering with your families or friends and appreciate the splendid firework displays. When it comes to the Lantern Festival on Feb 17, 2011, visit the Lantern Festival celebrations in major Taiwan cities include Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung. The year 2011 is also the 100th Anniversary of Taiwan, the main Lantern Festival celebration is to be held in Miaoli, a beautiful Taiwan city about 90 minutes away from Taipei City. It will occupy the areas of Jhunan(Zhunan) Sports Park and Toufen Sports Park from Feb 17, 2011 through Feb 28, 2011. There will be a masterpiece of rabbit lantern, and many other lanterns of different themes, shapes, sizes and colors. A total of 100 rabbit and 47,759 lanterns are also planned at the 2011 Miaoli Lantern Festival to break the Guinness World Record. A “Centennial Lantern Area” is also designed for people to pray for blissfulness, and a Taiwan map composed of bicolor lanterns.

If you are looking for an enriched cultural tour, you will be surprised and amazed by the Throwing firecrackers at Master Han Dan and Yanshuei Firecrackers Ceremony in Tainan. Throwing firecrackers at Master Han Dan is a special ceremony in Taitung where a chosen man will perform in the role of the Master Han Dan, a god of wealth. The chosen man will wear nothing but a red short pant, hold one bamboo fan to protect his face, stand on a sedan chair, and be carried around by four devotees. Since people believed this god cannot bear the cold weather, they will throw firecrackers at the chosen one and to pray for wealth.

The 2011 Throwing fireworks at Master Han Dan will be held 3 times at 19:00 in the evening of the 2011 Lantern Festival (Feb 17, 2011) at Nanjing Rd. Square in Taitung City, 19:00 on Feb 18, 2011 at Tianhou Square in Taitung City and 20:00 on Feb 20, 2011 at Haibin Park of Taitung City. There will also be lantern competitions, firework displays and performances during the 2011 Throwing fireworks at Maaster Han Dan events.

Another distinctive festivity is the Yanshuei Firecrackers Ceremony, the ceremony is one of the best-known celebrations in Taiwan. It is to be celebrated on the day of Lantern Festival (the 15th day of January according to Lunar Calendar), the 2011 Yanshuei Firecrackers Ceremony will be held on Feb 16, 2010 at Yanshuei Wu Miao (Wu Temple). On the day of event, people would visit Yanshuei Wu Miao in Tainan County to follow the sedan chair of the divinity with firecrackers aside. To explore this unique celebration, enjoy mouth-watering Tainan snacks and visit notable historical sites such as Chihkan Tower, Fort Anping, Yi Tzai Golden Castle, etc.

Make your Taiwan hotel reservations now for a splendid Chinese New Year Taiwan travel!
 

2013 Lukang Dragon Boat Festival
Place: Lukang Township
Time: 2013/5/11 – 6/12

2013 Chiayi Dragon Boat Championship
Location 1: Budai Town
Date: 2013/06/08 Saturday

Location 2: Donshih Town
Date: 2013/06/12 Wednesday

2013 Kaohsiung Zhongyun Fishing Port Traditional Dragon Boat Race
Date: 2013/06/08-2013/06/10
Location: Zhongyun Fishing Port

2013 Kaohsiung International Dragon Boat Race
Date: 2013/06/09-2013/06/12
Location: Love River (in between Zhongzhen Bridge & Kaohsiung Bridge)

2013 Yilan Dragon Boat Championship
Location 1: Dongshan River Water Park
Date: 2013/06/11-2013/06/12

Location 2 : Yilan River
Date: 2013/06/11-2013/06/12

Book your Taiwan hotels today and get ready to cheer for the paddlers and sample glutinous rice dumplings (Zhongzi) for your Taiwan travel.