Tainan Travel

Yanshui Fireworks is a folk tradition that originated during the rule of the Qing Dynasty. An epidemic had swept through the Yanshui region so the local people prayed for a miracle. In the end, a divine decree was issued by Emperor Guandi of the Martial Temple for a procession to exorcise the evil spirits. On the night of the Lantern Festival, the divine palanquin of Emperor Guandi  set off with Zhou Chang, a minor deity, in the lead. Believers followed the procession as it made a circuit of the epidemic area and set off firecrackers until dawn. The epidemic in Yanshui subsided once the procession was completed. To thank the gods, the people made the procession a part of the annual Lantern Festival. Over time, it evolved into the famous beehive fireworks festival we see today. The most impressive of these beehive rockets are the firework cities for thanking the gods. The firework cities vary in size but are made from tens of thousands of rockets. As the divine palanquin passes by a firework city, its owner would pull the red cloth aside and fire off all the fireworks. The spectacular shower of sparks is what makes the fireworks festival so exciting and captivating.