One of the most colorful festivals around has got to be the traditional Chinese lantern festival, and every year Taipei puts on an excellent display with the Taipei Lantern Festival. The festival officially marks the end of the Chinese new year period and is held on the 15th day of the first lunar month. In today’s world however, events last much longer with lanterns being on display from a couple of days before the actual day until a week or so after. For anyone in Taipei who hasn’t had the opportunity to visit there’s still time. In past years it’s been held in the grounds of Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall but this year has moved to the former flora expo site at Yuanshan. Following the overwhelming success of the Flora expo in 2010/11, the area has been under-utilized and the placement of the lantern festival there makes a great use of the space. Below are a few highlights from the festival.