One of the prime activities (other than penguin-walking on the railway track) to do in Shifen is to send off a sky lantern. Visitors flock by the hundreds to the many vendors lined up along the railway track and pen their wishes on the sides of these paper hot-air balloons. They strike a pose, light the lantern, and give it a final shove into the air. Some say problems get sent away with the lanterns, while the more fanciful view it as sending their hopes and prayers to heaven.
This practice of lighting up sky lanterns is not unique to Taiwan, but also observed in Thailand as well. In fact, some celebrations involve mass lighting of such lanterns at night, and it will be quite a sight to behold. This is also where Disney’s Tangled got its inspiration from. Of course, if the lanterns catch fire and start to fall en masse, the scene will probably resemble a storm of fire from the ten plagues of Egypt. But until then, preeeetty. =)
Afterword: For those interested, click here to see what happens during a sky lantern festival.
A Certain Slant of Light Photography 
I’ve always been fascinated by the flying lanterns “thing” but I’ve also always been worried about what can happen after they catch fire…. can they set fire on the ground too?? :-O
Yes, they can set fire on the ground. Happened quite often here, destroying a few houses. Now they’re quasi banned (you need a permission to use them which you won’t receive).
So it is…. thank you for your reply!
It would be a humongous blow to the tourism economy if Taiwan and Thailand banned em. 🙂
True, I’m from Germany 😉 And since these lanterns (way smaller ones, btw) were new to us and just started to become popular, there was no industry of any kind that could have been hurt.
They may be harmless in less “combustible” areas, still.
I come from a country famous for fines- littering, drinking on trains, chewing gum you name it. The idea of floating paper lanterns willy nilly wherever the wind carries them is utterly unthinkable. Heh.
I’m pretty sure they can set fire easily. In fact, I always wonder what happens to the lanterns after they float away… they must all be landing nearby.
They come down all over the countryside. When you take the trains in this area, watch the trees. You can see them hanging all over the place. They’re very beautiful, but I’m sure they’re a pain to clean up … if they clean them up. 😉
I figured as much. Hopefully the paper eventually disintegrate by themselves. The frames on the other hand…. Shudder.