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All Taiwan Tainan City Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival

Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival

A festival where people vie to be bombarded by exploding clusters of fireworks.

Tainan City, Taiwan

Added By
Morgan Randall
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Helmeted spectators watch as a beehive ends in fireworks.   Morgan Randall / Atlas Obscura User
Helmeted spectators watch as a beehive ends in fireworks.   Morgan Randall / Atlas Obscura User
At minimum, a helmet is necessary for attending this festival.   Morgan Randall / Atlas Obscura User
Watching a beehive explode can be as exhilarating as it is terrifying.   Morgan Randall / Atlas Obscura User
A beehive erupts farther down the street.   Morgan Randall / Atlas Obscura User
A group of palanquins wait in front of a brightly lit temple for the next beehive to be set off.   Morgan Randall / Atlas Obscura User
Even from a distance, crowds can expect to be hit by rockets.   Morgan Randall / Atlas Obscura User
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About

While much of Asia believes red decorations or sky lanterns can bring good luck in the new year, locals in the Yanshui district of Tainan believe that the more times you’re hit by a rocket, the better.

Fifteen days into the Chinese lunar calendar, on the evening of the Lantern Festival, the district launches millions of fireworks directly into eager crowds. Thousands don motorcycle helmets and protective gear, take a swig or two of liquid courage, and take to the streets for a chance to be battered by explosions. At this festival, nearly catching fire is considered a good thing.

The festival begins with a parade of palanquins, each carrying a holy figurine. Giant cylinders known as beehives are stuffed with bottle rockets and placed every couple of yards along the parade route. As the parade inches through town, crowds rush to huddle around the beehives. Sirens wail to warn anyone with second thoughts, and then the hives are lit.

Within moments, trails of light scream in all directions like a swarm of angry bees bursting from a nest. Flaming cardboard rolls ricochet off helmets, leave bruises, and explode at random inside the crowd. People will throw down their own rockets from apartment balconies above, contributing to the mayhem below. The blast lasts only a minute or two before culminating in a dazzling skyward fireworks display. 

The origins of this strange custom date back to the late 1800s, when a cholera epidemic ravaged the town for more than 20 years. The locals asked the Chinese god of war, Guan Gong, to ward off the disease. On the day of the Lantern Festival, firecrackers were set off along the road in the hopes of inviting Guan Gong to the village. The epidemic subsided, but the tradition continued—and grew.

Today, one beehive can hold anywhere from 10,000 to several hundred thousand rockets. These can cost up to $2,000 to construct but the luck they bring is worth the cost.

Far from being just a burn threat, a rocket trapped inside a helmet can cause temporary hearing loss or permanent blindness. Nevertheless, people from all across Taiwan continue to travel to Yanshui for a shot at some luck of their own.

Related Tags

Festivals Parades Chinese New Year Fireworks Explosions Fires

Know Before You Go

The Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival occurs 15 days into the Chinese lunar calendar each year. It can be disorienting for outsiders, and public transport from Tainan City to Yanshui district is complicated. For the best possible experience, try to attend with someone who is a festival veteran. In addition, visitors who would like to come away with functioning sensory organs should plan to wear flame retardant clothes, a scarf, gloves, and a full face motorcycle helmet.

Community Contributors

Added By

Morgan Randall

Edited By

Molly McBride Jacobson

  • Molly McBride Jacobson

Published

March 28, 2017

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Sources
  • http://www.eventaiwan.tw/cal_en/cal_19954
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanshui_District#Festival
  • http://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/17/travel/taiwan-yanshui-beehive-fireworks-festival/
  • http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2017/02/explosive-start-chinese-year-taiwan-170209070243672.html
  • https://www.wandertooth.com/yanshui_fireworks_dangerous_festival/
Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival
No. 87, Wumiao Rd.
Yanshui District
Tainan City
Taiwan
23.323839, 120.265751
Get Directions

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