Beehive Rocket Festival
Oops, forgot to turn on
the microphone, I guess.
I
swear, my microphone
was on, but the bottle
rockets were just
too loud, not to mention
painful too. This
is undoubtedly one
of the craziest festivals
in the world.
Lin
Yi-ren, Wu Temple
Caretaker:
Emperor Guan is the
main deity in Wu Temple.
This temple was built
in the Ching dynasty,
343 years ago. As
for the Beehive Rocket
Festival, it is held
once a year here and
it has been going
on for 203 years.
During the Ching dynasty,
there was a plague
and each day many
people died. Emperor
Guan said through
a medium that he wanted
to go around town
and for people to
set off bottle rockets
when he went by. The
packs of rockets used
to look like honeycombs
and the sound they
made was kind of like
a bee. Then the plague
went away.
And
that��s how the epidemic
was stopped and the
Beehive Rocket Festival
came to be.
Michella
Jade Weng, Presenter:
Gosh, last night was
exciting! Still a
little bit hoarse
from all the screaming
and a little bit shaky
from all the excitement.
But I still have all
10 fingers, all 10
toes and all of my
limbs. So I think
we're going to go
explore the rest of
the town. Shall we?
Yanshui
was one of the four
most prosperous regions
in Taiwan because
of its harbor, but
unfortunately not
anymore. These days,
it��s mostly known
as a historical town
and of course, for
shooting millions
of bottle rockets
in one night on the
Lantern Festival every
year. The other 364
days, it��s pretty
quiet, and is a good
place to take a walk.
And
when you��re here,
you��ll want to try
the fried wontons
made with not just
ground pork, but with
some fish paste mixed
into the filling as
well. Oh, and don��t
forget the flat, thin
and very al dente
duck egg noodles with
meat sauce. Mmmm.
As
the festivities wind
down in Yanshui, life
returns to normal
for the residents
here. But even when
you��re not here during
the Lunar New year,
it��s still a nice
place to travel through
on your way to someplace
else.