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The Nantou Lantern Festival has entered its tenth year, and the 2025 Nantou Lantern Festival commenced with a grand lighting ceremony at the Nantou County Expo Center on the 25th. The event attracted a large crowd eager to get a first look. Nantou County Mayor Hsu Shu-Hua, along with the popular cartoon character "Bugcat Capoo (貓貓蟲咖波)" and other distinguished guests, lit up the main lantern, "Great Prosperity (拾來富貴)," which stands 13 meters tall, officially launching the vibrant 22-day celebration. Moreover, stars turned out at the Water Dance Plaza on the opening night, with popular singers like Nick Chou (周湯豪) taking the stage in turn. The highlights of the night were the dazzling drone light show, where drones flew in the shape of giant Bugcat Capoo, and the amazing fireworks display, which illuminated the night sky of Nantou.

County Mayor Hsu pointed out that 2025 marks the tenth anniversary of the Nantou Lantern Festival. This year’s theme, "Harvesting the Past (拾光豐稔)," symbolizes a review and appreciation of the past decade and the rich achievements in culture and tourism. Additionally, the inclusion of the beloved Taiwanese character IP "Bugcat Capoo" makes this tenth anniversary celebration even more engaging and enjoyable for all attendees. The 2025 Nantou Lantern Festival features 11 themed lantern zones, including collaborative art, interactive technology, urban lanterns, and brand lantern zones, showcasing the accumulated experiences of the past decade and the boundless possibilities for the future. This event will span the Lunar New Year and Lantern Festival and will end on February 16th.

The lighting ceremony of the festival began with an excellent dance performance titled "Snake Dance for the New Year." Following this, the adorable blue character "Bugcat Capoo" went to the stage and then posed for some cute photos with County Mayor Hsu Shu-Hua. Afterwards, County Mayor Hsu, along with Deputy County Mayor Wang RuiDe, Legislator Yu Hao, County Councilors Lin Yi-Ru, Song Huai-Lin, Lin Ju-Yang, Chien Chien-Hsiang, Chang Wan-Tzu, Lin Yo-Yo, Chuan Wen-Tsai, Huang Chun-Lin, Lin Fang-Yu, Tsai Meng-Eo, Su Yu-Cheng and Chang Hsiu-Chih, Lin Ming-Tien (Chairman of Jonsa Technologies Co., Ltd.), Liu Jui-Tou (Chairman of Sun-Link-Sea Resort), and other distinguished guests, lit up the main lantern, "Great Prosperity," right after the enthusiastic countdown from the crowd. Furthermore, the lantern show in the form of Disney parade floats around the main lantern created an innovative and visually captivating display.

In addition to the themed lantern zones, the Nantou Lantern Festival features another major highlight: the Water Dance Plaza. Starting at 6:00 PM, the plaza unveiled the Water Dance Theater, with a stunning brand-new soundtrack created by Fan Yang-Jing, the music director of the Golden Bell Award, kicking off an audiovisual feast. The special New Year performances followed, with a star-studded lineup that ignited the audience's enthusiasm, including David Lin (林道遠) from "Million Star (超級星光大道)," Li Zhi-Ting (李芷婷) from "Jungle Voice (聲林之王)" and Nick Chou at the grand finale, who shot to fame with his hit song "So Handsome We Broke Up." Following these performances, a collaborative drone show featuring Bugcat Capoo showcased giant images of the beloved character humorously visiting Nantou's famous landmarks in the night sky. The opening night culminated in a magnificent and brilliant fireworks display. The million worth of fireworks illuminated the dark sky and provided a perfect ending to the opening night.