The Pingtung County Government on Wednesday broke ground for a “king boat” cultural museum in Donggang Township (東港), which would be the first museum to tell the stories of the 300-year-old plague-expelling religious ritual involving specially built vessels.
The museum is scheduled to open in 2024.
At Wednesday’s ceremony, celestial lord Wang Ye was called upon to protect the new building.
Photo: Chen Yen-ting, Taipei Times
The museum, which would host a full-scale king boat, has been designed to enable visitors to appreciate the exquisite art of shipbuilding, Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said.
The triennial Donggang King Boat Ceremony features a vessel built for Wang Ye, which is paraded through the town to expel and prevent the spread of plagues.
The event is the largest of its kind in Taiwan and dates back about 300 years. It was last held in October.
Photo: Chen Yen-ting, Taipei Times
King boats are adorned with detailed paintings of dragons and phoenixes, weaving together historical stories and figures from Chinese mythology.
At the end of Donggang’s week-long event, the king boat is taken to a local beach at midnight and set on fire to represent the casting out of plagues, as well as Wang Ye’s return to heaven.
The museum’s architectural design conveys the impression of a ship at sea, with an opening at the top symbolizing a dragon’s eye on a boat and curved lines at the building’s base representing waves, the Pingtung Cultural Affairs Department said in a statement.
The new museum would include an immersive theater to introduce visitors to the king boat culture through new technology, a 240-seat multifunctional audio-visual room, a library and classrooms, it said.
Typhoon Saudel has shown signs of weakening but is still expected to affect Taiwan when it comes closest to the nation on Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The radius of Saudel shrank to about 220km as of 8am today from 250km a day earlier, and its maximum sustained winds were down to 155kph from 184kph previously, the weather agency said. As of 8am, Typhoon Saudel was 980km east of Taipei, moving west-northwest at 18kph, it said. Under the influence of a Pacific high pressure system, the storm is moving northward, meaning it is less likely to make landfall in Taiwan,
Minister of Sports Lee Yang (李洋) today said the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) has been urged not to undermine Taiwan’s credibility in international competitions, after a Taiwanese team advanced to the semi-finals of the 45th William Jones Cup over the Philippines last week due to a controversial new rule guaranteeing a semi-final place to the host team. The Republic of China Blue team advanced to the semi-finals after winning just one game in the group round due to a “host guarantee” spot, overtaking the Philippines, who held a 5-1 record ahead of the semi-finals. The Blue team finished the tournament
A sea warning for Typhoon Saudel, which has shifted to a more northerly track as it nears Taiwan, is expected early tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. As of this morning, Saudel was about 650km east-northeast of Taipei, moving west-northwest at 12kph with maximum sustained winds of 162kph, CWA data showed. Although Saudel remains a moderate typhoon, it has weakened and is expected to weaken further as it nears Taiwan due to unfavorable atmospheric and ocean conditions, CWA forecaster Lin Po-tung (林伯東) said. The storm is forecast to make its closest approach to Taiwan tomorrow and on Friday, Lin added. According to
SEA WARNING EXPECTED: As atmospheric conditions are unfavorable for its development, the storm’s intensity is continuing to weaken, a CWA official said Typhoon Saudel is continuing to weaken and shift its path northward, with a sea warning expected to be issued this evening, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency did not rule out issuing a land warning for outlying Lienchiang County (Matsu) tomorrow morning, although all storm warnings could be lifted by Friday night. Saudel is expected to be closest to Taiwan from tomorrow night to Friday, bringing localized heavy rain to northern and southern Taiwan, as well as central mountainous areas, the agency said. As of 2pm yesterday, the center of moderate Typhoon Saudel was about 890km east-northeast
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