With the Taiwan Lantern Festival just around the corner, Yunlin County — the host of this year’s official event — has suggested several travel itineraries in the county, including bicycle tours, in an effort to attract more people to explore the area.
This year’s lantern festival is to be staged in two areas, with the main area in Huwei Township (虎尾) from Saturday next week to Feb. 19 and the other in Beigang Township (北港) from Tuesday next week to Feb. 19, organizers said.
Covering a combined area of 50 hectares, the event is to be the largest since the festival was launched in 1990, organizers said.
Photo: Chan Shih-hung, Taipei Times
It will also mark the first time a section featuring the culture of new immigrants in Taiwan is included, they said.
Taking the opportunity to promote local tourism, the Yunlin County Government suggested various travel itineraries designed to allow wider exploration of the county.
Among them are three bicycle tours that allow poeple to experience different aspects of Yunlin in a two-day itinerary.
One itinerary suggests that visitors start with Siluo Township (西螺), where they can taste local specialty dishes such as bean sprout noodles, followed by a visit to Cihtong Township (莿桐) to enjoy blooming flowers.
They can then travel to Huashan Village (華山) in Yunlin County’s Gukeng Township (古坑) to see the night view of the county and spend the night.
On the second day, people can visit a facility that introduces one of Taiwan’s signature snacks — pineapple cakes — and a winery, and end the tour at the festival in Huwei.
Another itinerary focuses on an exploration of the coffee industry in Gukeng and the natural scenery in Dounan Township’s (斗南) Caoling Village (草嶺) on the first day, followed on the second day by a visit to the winery, Gukeng Green Tunnel and Douliu City (斗六), where they can visit a village promoting the cultural and creative industry before biking to Huwei.
The third itinerary features a tour to explore Hakka culture and try local signature dishes in Erlun Township (二崙), as well as a visit to Mailiao Township (麥寮) to learn more about “green energy” development there.
Visitors are to finish the tour in Beigang, where they can explore the town and enjoy the lantern festival.
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