Thousands in Taiwan and China celebrated the Lantern Festival on Wednesday by releasing paper lanterns into the night sky, visiting light installations and snacking on glutinous rice dumplings.
For Charlotte Cadinot, an exchange student from France, the fascination with wish lanterns started when she watched the Disney movie “Tangled,” which features a scene where Princess Rapunzel and her beau wish upon lanterns floating above a lake.
At the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival in northern Taiwan, thousands lined up in the rain to light up and observe wish lanterns.
People in China also celebrated the Lantern Festival, although no officially-organized event there sees the release of large amounts of paper lanterns.
Some visitors came from as far as Europe and Latin America to witness in person the iconic images of paper lanterns filling the night sky.
