OneEye Posted February 14, 2014 at 04:34 PM Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 at 04:34 PM I was wondering if anyone had ever been to Yanshui 鹽水 for the "beehive fireworks" festival. It takes place every year on 元宵節 and the day before, and is quite literally insane. Really. I went yesterday with some friends and had a great time. I took the High Speed Rail (高鐵) to Chiayi 嘉義, then a regular train to Hsinying 新營, where we stayed. Yanshui is a short cab ride from there. It's really a temple festival, and there are carts with Daoist gods that get carried all over to be blown up by fireworks at various temples around town to keep away bad luck. Supposedly the more you get hit by the fireworks, the luckier you'll be in the coming year. There are dancers at some of the temples who dance around the carts with incense, and will bless (is that the word?) individuals with it too if asked. My Taiwanese friends all thought I was crazy when I said I wanted to go, but really it wasn't very dangerous with the proper precautions (I wore a leather jacket and jeans with a helmet and a towel covering my neck). There was the adrenaline rush that comes with having things explode inches from your head, and there were a few times when one blew up on my gloved hand or on my leg, which stung a bit. There were, however, a surprising number of people wearing just a baseball cap and a sweatshirt. No thanks. So, ever been? Want to go? Think I'm crazy for going? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
li3wei1 Posted February 14, 2014 at 06:36 PM Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 at 06:36 PM Don't think I've been to that, but I once managed to stand right between two funeral bands (that play that high-pitched horn that sounds a bit oboe-ish) that were playing out of sync with each other, and once, in a local god-moving ceremony, managed to stand in a doorway a few feet from a pile of firecrackers as high as me. Taiwan is a delight to the senses, for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamille Posted February 17, 2014 at 09:39 AM Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 at 09:39 AM I wanted to go this year... on Saturday... and yes it was over on Saturday... I'll go next year, so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneEye Posted February 17, 2014 at 02:53 PM Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 at 02:53 PM That's too bad! I should have posted this before I went, and maybe you could have joined the group. Enjoy it next year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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