The Penghu Islands, just off Taiwan’s west coast, are known for plenty of things—seafood, sun, and sand being just three of them. But the islands are also a destination when it comes to spectacular public displays. Fresh off the success of a summer-long series of fireworks shows, the islands are now welcoming in the autumn with a dazzling, dizzying light show.
If you thought the fun in the Penghu Islands stops with the end of beach season, well, the islands have a surprise in store for you. From Saturday, September 12 through November 14, the islands are lighting up with the 2020 Penghu Bay International Light Festival.
Appropriately for Penghu, a place closely tied to the sea, this year’s festival will have a maritime theme. A combination of LED lights, projected artwork, water features, and interactive sculptures will give visitors to the islands during the fall season a lot to look at, to put it mildly.
The main sculpture for this year’s festival, a mermaid, has been the target of some criticism on design grounds, but that hasn’t dampened the excitement on the ground, where the organizer’s attitude appears to be that any publicity is good publicity.