Esta página ainda não foi traduzida para português; mostra-se o texto original em inglês.
On the 14th and 15th nights of the first lunar month, the palanquin of Guan Di, the god of war, tours the streets of Yanshui, and from doorways along the way racks of bottle rockets are fired towards it — and into the crowd in helmets that follows.
A god against the plague
The most popular story of the festival’s origin tells of an epidemic that raged through Yanshui in 1885. Residents prayed to Guan Di, the god of war, at the local Guan Di Temple, and carried his statue through the area in a palanquin from the 13th to the 15th days of the first lunar month, setting off vast numbers of firecrackers along the route. The plague ended, and from then on it became the custom to fire off firecrackers whenever Guan Di paraded through town at the Lantern Festival. People believe that running through the flying fireworks rids them of bad luck and brings a prosperous new year.
Rocket towers
At first, strings of firecrackers were set off to thank the god. Bottle rockets appeared soon after the Second World War, in 1945; rocket towers followed in 1980, and in 1984 plastic replaced the paper wads in the rockets, making them louder and more powerful. Today a tower, or gun deck, has a metal base and several levels, topped with a metal net on which thousands or even hundreds of thousands of rockets are fixed to fire in every direction from one central fuse. The towers wait indoors until Guan Di’s palanquin arrives, then are rolled out and lit in his honour.
What was once a one-day event now lasts two days, with processions by day and by night along set routes. In 2026 a main rocket rack was also set up on the sports field of Yanshui Junior High School, where visitors in protective gear could experience “running through the beehive fireworks”. Together with the Pingxi sky lanterns, Yanshui’s rockets are Taiwan’s two great Lantern Festival events.
Quando acontece
The procession of Guan Di’s palanquin and the rocket barrages run from the morning of the 14th day to late at night on the 15th day of the first lunar month, with the climax on the night of the 15th. In 2026 the festival was held on 2 and 3 March.
- 19 – 20 de fevereiro de 2027Calculada
- 8 – 9 de fevereiro de 2028Calculada
- 26 – 27 de fevereiro de 2029Calculada
- 16 – 17 de fevereiro de 2030Calculada
Visitar com respeito
Evite
- Do not enter the firecracker zone without full protective gear. Rubber raincoats and fabrics that burn or melt easily are unsafe.
Segurança
- Participants need a full-face helmet, a scarf or towel around the neck, a cotton or denim jacket, long trousers, gloves and flat shoes or sneakers. Vendors in downtown Yanshui sell thick jackets, helmets and gloves.
- Downtown Yanshui is closed to traffic from 3 pm; park outside the centre and walk in.
Fontes
Esta entrada foi escrita a partir das fontes seguintes.
- Yanshui Beehive RocketsMinistry of the Interior, Taiwan Religious Culture Map · consultado em 17 de setembro de 2026
- Tainan Yanshui Beehive Fireworks FestivalTourism Bureau of Tainan City Government · consultado em 17 de setembro de 2026
- Traditional FestivalsTourism Administration, Republic of China (Taiwan) · consultado em 17 de setembro de 2026
- Taiwan travel advice: safety and securityUK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office · consultado em 17 de setembro de 2026
Festas relacionadas
Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
平溪天燈節
Around the Lantern Festival, thousands of paper lanterns inscribed with wishes rise into the night sky over the hill town of Pingxi — a custom that began as a signal to villagers hiding from bandits that it was safe to come home.
20 de fevereiro de 2027Calculada
Rouketopolemos (Rocket War of Vrontados)
Ρουκετοπόλεμος
On the island of Chios, two rival parishes on facing hilltops mark Orthodox Easter night by firing tens of thousands of homemade rockets at each other’s church belfries — a “war” that neither side ever admits to losing.
1 de maio de 2027Calculada
Las Fallas
Falles
In March, Valencia fills its streets with giant satirical sculptures of cardboard and papier-mâché, shakes to the midday thunder of firecrackers, and then, on the night of 19 March, sets every one of the monuments on fire to welcome the spring.
15 – 19 de março de 2027Calculada