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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Lights, music to usher in new year
People watch fireworks from the shore of New Taipei City’s Bali District Dec. 31 last year. Photo: CNA
COUNTDOWN: CNA has compiled a list of programs, featured performers and fireworks shows being held from north to south to celebrate the dawn of a new year
/ Staff writer, with CNA
With 2023 just around the corner, the Central News Agency has compiled a list of countdown parties and fireworks displays across the nation to help people choose where to celebrate the arrival of the new year.
Celebrities, singers and dancers will entertain New Year’s revelers across Taiwan to say goodbye to 2022 with a blast.
The New Year’s Eve countdown party and Taipei 101 fireworks display in the capital are to be celebrated with performances by about a dozen celebrities and groups from 7pm on Saturday next week to 1am on Sunday.
South Korean singer Hyolyn, nicknamed “Korea’s Beyonce,” is to headline the celebrations.
Other featured performers include female singers Tanya Chua （蔡健雅）, Rene Liu （劉若英）, 9m88, Julia Peng （彭佳慧） and Abao, as well as male solo acts such as WeiBird （韋禮安） and Henry Hsu （許富凱）.
The Bestards （理想混蛋）, Flesh Juicer （血肉果汁機）, Bisiugroup Amazing Show （美秀集團） and Nine One One （玖壹壹） are among the groups set to take the stage.
This year’s annual Taipei 101 countdown fireworks display will be themed “Taipei is the Future” and celebrate the return of the Taiwan Lantern Festival to the capital for the first time in 23 years.
It is to last five minutes and feature 16,000 fireworks accompanied by light displays on all four sides of the skyscraper to mark the beginning of the New Year.
The light show will emanate from a brand-new mesh screen or T-Pad, moving light beams, laser lights, animation and music, and feature a variety of patterns, including peace pigeons, smiley faces and the tree of life.
The city is to host a 13-minute, 14-second fireworks show, with fireworks being launched simultaneously from Tamsui’s Danjiang Bridge and Fisherman’s Wharf, as well as Bali District’s （八里） aquatics center, to create a visual spectacle on and above the area’s waters.
The show has been touted as the earliest celebration in Taiwan, set to begin at 8:22pm on Saturday next week.
The local tourism department on Thursday last week said that the northern port city would rock its way into the new year.
Since 2017, Keelung has featured indie bands at its new year’s countdown; this year, seven groups are set to perform throughout the night at Guomen Square from 7:20pm.
A major attraction is an 18m-tall LED tree with a meter-high star of Bethlehem put up by the city’s religious congregations.
The fireworks display for the countdown event would be 7 minutes long, the city said.
Opening the “Show Taoyuan” countdown event is the Japanese music and dance troupe Exile — featuring Akira, the husband of Taiwanese supermodel Lin Chi-ling （林志玲）— and Shokichi.
The Kpop phenomenon would also hit Taoyuan, with South Korean girl group Viviz performing as the featured act of the “Show Taoyuan” extravaganza. Also set to appear is the queen of Taiwanese drama themes, Della Ding Dang （丁噹） and other popular local acts.
Taoyuan Deputy Mayor Li Hsien-ming （李憲明） said the city government has arranged two free shuttle bus routes to take people to the city’s A21 Huanbei metro station, where they can continue their commute to the A18 Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station, with the celebration being held at the square outside the station.
The shuttle buses will be available from 6pm on Saturday next week to 2am on Sunday, and connect the Huanbei metro station with Taoyuan Railway Station on one route and Taoyuan Bus Jhongli Station on the other.
The city’s metro system is to remain operational for 41 consecutive hours, Lee said.
The countdown performance is to start in front of the Hsinchu County Government in Jhubei City （竹北） at 5:30pm and feature Taiwanese solo acts Bii （書盡） and Eric Chou （周興哲）, and a 180-second fireworks display.
The countdown celebration is to be held at Taichung Central Park for the third year in a row.
A six-hour concert is to start from 7pm on Saturday next week to 1am on Sunday, featuring popular Taiwanese band 831 （八 三夭）. Another featured performer is South Korean musician Shaun.
The Lihpao Land theme park and resort is to put on a 330-second fireworks display paired with a light show highlighting the park’s main Ferris wheel.
An eight-minute fireworks show over Sun Moon Lake will welcome in the new year in Nantou County. The fireworks will frame the lake’s beautiful setting and waters by setting off fireworks simultaneously from Shueishe Wharf and Ita Thao Pier at the stroke of midnight.
There will be no shuttle service to get people to the lake, and organizers urged visitors to try to get to the lake as early as possible to avoid traffic.
One of the longest new year’s fireworks shows in central and southern Taiwan is to be held in Yunlin County at the Janfusun Fancyworld theme park.
The theme park said it would deploy 400 drones in the sky near its Ferris wheel to create a light show lasting 13 minutes and 14 seconds.
The city has since Dec. 3 been hosting a month-long celebration, with Christmas being a part of it. Of the 20 groups of performers that are to take the stage on Saturday next week, the headliners are Japan’s seven-member idol group Fruits Zipper and South Korea’s eight-member boy band Epex, who promise to bring younger revelers out to the city’s countdown bash.
Aside from the Japanese and South Korean groups, local acts will include Aaron Yan （炎亞綸）, Waa Wei （魏如萱） and Eve Ai （艾怡良）.
The port city of Kaohsiung has promised “back to back” spectacles. The city will first launch a celebration at 7pm on Saturday next week at the flagship Dream Mall.
The performance stage would be an open theater where singers, dancers and program hosts can interact more with the audience. It is to be set up between two roads, allowing it to accommodate double the number of attendees at the event.
A 180-second fireworks show is to blast off at midnight to celebrate the arrival of the new year.
On New Year’s Day, the Kaohsiung Music Center is to hold a second celebration at 8pm. There will also be a fireworks show at 12am on Jan. 2.
The center said the fireworks would be set off at Kaohsiung Harbor Piers No. 3 to No. 10, promising a visually stunning sight for people looking for a second night of new year’s celebrations.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
People gather near the Taipei 101 skyscraper to celebrate the New Year in Taipei on Jan. 1. Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
