Dragons in Clouds Playing with Pearls
“A gold dragon with clouds is skillfully carved, thin layers cut with unrivaled skill.” The ivory ball carving techniques seen in the Palace Museum’s collection are used to interpret Hualien’s abundant cultural resources. Multiple layers are stacked to reveal “the unfolding layers of Hualien and the unfolding layers of the Year of the Dragon.”
Artwork Description 1: Main Lantern Show- Dragons in Clouds Playing with Pearls
Dragons in Clouds Playing with Pearls is the event’s main light show. With a ring structure 15m high, this 3D water, sound, and light show is the finest in Taiwan! Planned by the team led by the Hualien-born curator Kun-Ying Lin, this light display utilizes 3D animation technology to mimic the ivory ball carvings in the National Palace Museum’s collection. Combining water curtain, lasers, and animation, the show reveals “the unfolding layers of Hualien and the unfolding layers of the Year of the Dragon”, highlighting Hualien’s unique local attributes and deep cultural heritage.
Artwork Description 2: Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate
Carp Leaping over the Dragon Gate was created by master designer Chun-Liang Chen. This work alludes to the legend of a carp that leapt higher than any other and transformed into a dragon. Like the remarkable carp, Hualien stands out in Taiwan due to its abundance of natural and cultural treasures, making it the pearl in the east. The lighting design is combined with a “favored by heaven and leaping dragon gate” backdrop to welcome visitors, and the carp-dragon is posed against the gate in mid-leap to welcome the new year in 2024—the Year of the Dragon!
Artwork Description 3: Ten Thousand Lucky Lanterns
Children from 21 local elementary schools in Hualien—most of whom were born in the Year of the Dragon—painted 1500 lanterns to create the body of a dragon, while lights form the outline of its head and tail. It appears as though the dragon is carrying the children’s dreams and wishes, and it represents an even greater wish: that the children’s creativity gathered in the night sky can showcase their boundless potential!
Artwork Description 4: Colored Lanterns Shining Luck Interactive Area
Multimedia interactive technology is meticulously applied to create a Year of the Dragon peace and blessings wall. Enter the area using your mobile phone, edit the text of your blessing and your beautiful image, then share it on the lantern festival-themed LED video wall. This exhibit allows all visitors to view their own wonderful moments at the appealing Hualien Pacific Ocean Lantern Festival and leave behind a lasting memory.
Artwork Description 5:
Seasonal Dragons
Inspired by the changing seasons, four lanterns with distinct shapes and colors are presented, displaying the unique characteristics of each season in Hualien and creating a vivid image of the alternating seasons. This work serves as a tribute to natural cycles and seasonal changes.
Four Stages of the Carp-Dragon
This work shows the four stages of a carp metamorphosizing into a dragon. These four stages represent the process of growth throughout life and the magnificence of transformation, echoing the Hualien Pacific Ocean Lantern Festival’s respect for the vitality of life and the inheritance of history.
Work Description 6: Collaborating Lantern Sites
Businessmen from Hualien’s famed local tourism industry and souvenir industry have been invited to participate in this festive occasion. These lantern displays showcase each company’s unique characteristics and history, giving lantern festival guests a chance to experience the diversity and originality of Hualien’s local industries.
Artwork Description 7: Dragon Scale Fireworks Corridor
Dragon scales are created from vividly colored, magnificent, lustrous sequins and cleverly arranged to reveal the winding shape of a dragon’s body. Working in concert with the “favored by heaven and leaping dragon gate” at the welcome entrance, it reinforces the image of the carp-dragon “entering a dragon’s body”. Within the dragon scale outlines, at night, the lighting design reveals an incredibly dynamic dragon scale curve, and dragon and carp totems are projected on the ground to create a rich and colorful scene.
Artwork Description 8: Radiant Dragon Balls and Auspicious Clouds
The design of
Radiant Dragon Balls and Auspicious Clouds merges multiple elements traditionally associated with dragons. Each sphere resembles a precious dragon ball, and lights are skillfully applied to draw the outline of a dragon’s claws. It represents a wish that in the Year of the Dragon, we should all be as fortunate and delighted as a soaring dragon carrying dragon balls. The imagery is completed with the addition of auspicious clouds, conveying the auspicious atmosphere of the Year of the Dragon.