One of the things I absolutely love about living in Taiwan is how easy it is to discover seasonal surprises just a short trip from home. Usually, spring means chasing cherry blossoms or tung blossoms, but this weekend my husband and I decided to do something a little bit different. We went to Zaoqiao Township in Miaoli County to catch the annual Zaoqiao Pumpkin Festival (造橋南瓜季).
I had seen photos of this place online on Facebook, but experiencing it in person was something completely different. It was colorful, beautiful, and honestly a little bit mind-blowing to see how many types of pumpkins actually exist!
About the Zaoqiao Pumpkin Festival
The festival is an annual tradition held here in Miaoli, running from early May through early June when the pumpkin harvest is at its absolute peak. Zaoqiao’s hilly terrain and well-drained soil make it the perfect place for growing incredibly sweet edible pumpkins, but the festival has turned into a major seasonal attraction because of one special spot: Miaoxiang Ranch (苗翔牧場).
During the festival period, the entire ranch opens its doors to the public completely free of charge. In Taiwan, where so many seasonal flower and farm attractions charge an entry fee, that feels especially generous!
When you arrive at the ranch, the first thing that catches your eye is a huge, bright orange pumpkin display right at the entrance. It's the ultimate photo spot and everyone was queueing up to take pictures with it.
But the real highlight of the festival is walking through the spectacular Pumpkin Tunnel.
It’s a massive arched trellis stretching for over 100 meters, completely covered in lush green vines. Hanging right above your head are hundreds of pumpkins in every shape, size, and color imaginable.
I definitely did not expect to see so much variety!
Aside from the classic bright orange pumpkins, there were white ones, cream-colored ones, green striped ones, and even miniature pumpkins that looked like spinning tops or little pears. Some of the giant pumpkins hanging there looked so heavy that I kept wondering how the vines could support them, but everything is perfectly maintained and totally safe to walk under.
Walking through the shade of the tunnel with the green leaves filtering the bright May sunshine felt so peaceful.
Since the festival takes place on a real, functioning dairy ranch, there is plenty to do even after you finish walking through the tunnel.
Normally, Miaoxiang Ranch is a popular spot for families because it has a really nice, down-to-earth farm atmosphere. It’s not over-commercialized at all. They have cows, chickens, horse.
Inside the indoor exhibition area, local farmers set up stalls selling fresh agricultural products, and they even sell freshly harvested pumpkins that you can buy to take home for cooking.
Weekends can get incredibly busy with families and tour groups. If you want to take photos in the tunnel without too many people in the background, I highly recommend arriving early in the morning.
If you are looking for a fun spring weekend escape in Miaoli, this is definitely a place worth visiting!
Fire Horse Festival in Lucao – One of the Most Intense Festivals I’ve Seen in Taiwan. Well, because I don't dare to go to the Beehive Festival in Yanshui, Tainan, I guess this might be the most dramatic thing I’ll ever see lol.
Last weekend (March 7th) we went to Lucao in Chiayi County to see the traditional Fire Horse Festival (火馬祭) at Yuanshan Temple (嘉義鹿草圓山宮). I had seen photos before, but experiencing it in person was something completely different.
It was spectacular, loud, chaotic, and honestly a little bit shocking.
About the Festival
The Fire Horse Festival is actually a series of events leading up to the main ceremony. These activities include:
- Eating peace dumplings for good fortune
- Drinking traditional herbal wine
- Passing under temple palanquins for blessings
- Making DIY fire horses
- Temple processions around the town
- Praying for fortune coins and peace offerings
These rituals bring the community together and extend the celebration far beyond the single night of the fire ceremony.
Temple committee members and local volunteers work together to craft the horse by hand — weaving the frame and covering it with straw. The process intentionally recreates the way villagers would have made the original fire horses centuries ago.
This handmade craftsmanship adds an important cultural dimension to the ritual, preserving traditional skills alongside religious belief.
Normally, the Fire Horse ceremony takes place on Lantern Festival night (the 15th day of the Lunar New Year).
However, because the Taiwan Lantern Festival was held in Chiayi County in 2026, Yuanshan Temple consulted the temple deity Wang Sun Da Shi Gong (王孫大使公) and decided to postpone the large Fire Horse ceremony so more people could attend. It was held on a Saturday instead of during the week, and I am so grateful for that — otherwise we would not have made it there.
The festival is an old local tradition that dates back to the Qing Dynasty. In the past, people believed burning a “fire horse” could drive away disease and bad luck from the village. Villagers would build horses out of straw or paper and burn them in a ritual so the gods’ soldiers could carry away epidemics and misfortune.
The ceremony disappeared for almost 60 years, but it was revived in 2021 and has become one of the most unusual festivals in southern Taiwan!
Something I Did Not Expect…
Before the horses were burned, a ritual took place that I definitely did not expect to see.
A spirit medium — a person believed to be temporarily possessed by the temple deity — walked around the horses performing a ceremony. He was spitting alcohol onto the horses, almost like blessing them before the fire.
Then the ritual became even more intense.
He started hitting his own back with different weapons as part of the ritual. Eventually his back was bleeding, but he continued the ceremony while people watched quietly. It was very powerful and honestly quite shocking if you have never seen something like this before.
Taiwanese temple rituals can sometimes be very intense, but this was definitely one of the strongest I have seen.
I had only watched some of these rituals on YouTube before, when my husband accidentally discovered a channel about temple rituals and spirit mediums. I watched a few and was quite shocked — actually I asked my husband to stop watching those things because I didn’t have a very good feeling about it.
Preparing the Fire Horses
After the ritual finished, the horses were prepared for the main event (放火馬).
They were covered with gasoline, many strings of firecrackers, and long fuses running through the structure. You could already imagine what would happen next.
When they finally lit the fuse, everything happened very quickly.
The horse suddenly burst into flames, firecrackers started exploding everywhere, and the flames shot high into the night sky. The heat became extremely strong almost immediately and the firecrackers were shooting in every direction.
Some people quickly stepped back, and a few even moved away completely because the fire and explosions became so intense.
It was chaotic, loud, and absolutely spectacular.
At the end there were even fireworks, but I was shielding my eyes from the flying pieces so I didn’t really look up at the sky. Luckily we caught it on video though.
About Yuanshan Temple
Yuanshan Temple (圓山宮) in Lucao Township is dedicated to Wang Sun Da Shi Gong (王孫大使公), a local deity believed to protect the community and drive away evil spirits and disease.
Yuanshan Temple has been an important religious center for local residents for many generations. Like many Taiwanese temples, it’s not only a place for worship but also a place where the community gathers for traditional events and festivals.
The Fire Horse ritual is one of the temple’s most unique traditions. It originally came from customs that were once common in the coastal areas of Fujian, where people believed that burning a “fire horse” would allow divine soldiers to carry away epidemics and disasters.
For a long time the ceremony had disappeared, but in 2021 the temple revived the Fire Horse Festival, bringing the tradition back to Lucao after almost sixty years. Since then the event has grown bigger every year and more people come to see this spectacular ritual.
Another part of the ceremony that caught my attention was the spirit medium ritual.
In many Taiwanese temples there are people called “tang-ki” (乩童) or spirit mediums. During certain ceremonies they believe the temple deity temporarily enters their body so they can communicate the god’s will and perform rituals.
Little Sum Up
Even though the scene looks dramatic, the meaning behind it is actually very positive.
People believe the burning fire horse takes away bad luck, illness, and misfortune, leaving the community with a fresh start and blessings for the new year.
Watching the flames, hearing the constant explosions of firecrackers, and feeling the heat from the fire made the whole experience feel very powerful.
Taiwan has many famous fire festivals like the Beehive Fireworks in Yanshui or the Bombing Dragon in Miaoli, but the Fire Horse Festival in Lucao feels very different.
It doesn’t feel like a performance for tourists. It feels like a real local belief that people still take seriously.
For me, it was definitely one of the most memorable and surprising cultural events I’ve seen in Taiwan.
One of the things I love about living in Taiwan is how easy it is to turn a normal day into a small adventure. This trip started in Huwei, a town in Yunlin County known for its old sugar factory history. From there, we decided to explore a few famous spots in Chiayi County before heading to the lantern festival in the evening.
First Stop: Xingang Fengtian Temple (新港奉天宮)
Our first destination was Xingang Fengtian Temple, one of the most important temples dedicated to Mazu, the goddess who protects sailors and travelers.
The temple has a long history dating back more than three centuries and is a key stop during the famous Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage, one of the largest religious events in Taiwan. During this pilgrimage, hundreds of thousands of people walk over 300 kilometers across Taiwan to escort the goddess’s statue between temples.
Even outside festival time, the temple is always busy. Visitors come to pray, burn incense, and admire the intricate carvings and colorful decorations that cover the temple’s roof and halls. The atmosphere is calm but lively, with the smell of incense and the sound of prayers filling the air.
National Palace Museum Southern Branch (國立故宮博物院南部院區)
After visiting the temple, we continued our journey by scooter toward the National Palace Museum Southern Branch.
The weather was perfect: bright sunshine with a cool wind, which made the ride comfortable and refreshing. Taiwan’s countryside can feel very peaceful compared to the busy cities, and riding a scooter through these areas is one of the best ways to experience it.
The National Palace Museum Southern Branch is a modern museum focusing on Asian art and culture. It is part of the larger National Palace Museum system, which preserves the vast imperial art collection originally from China’s Forbidden City.
One of the most famous treasures associated with this collection is the legendary Jadeite Cabbage. This small jade sculpture shaped like a Chinese cabbage is one of the most recognizable artworks connected to Taiwan’s museum collections. The detailed carving even includes tiny insects hidden among the leaves, symbolizing fertility and abundance.
Although the original cabbage is usually displayed at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, the Southern Branch still hosts impressive exhibitions and offers a great opportunity to explore Asian art without traveling to the capital.
Another nice detail: entry was free after 3 PM during the Lantern Festival, which made it a great stop while traveling nearby in the afternoon.
The museum building itself is also worth visiting. Its modern architecture, open spaces, and surrounding lakes give it a very different atmosphere compared to traditional museums.
Lantern Festival in Chiayi
As evening approached, we headed to the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Chiayi.
Every year this festival transforms the host city into a giant outdoor exhibition of glowing lanterns, artistic light installations, and performances. The displays range from traditional lantern designs to huge modern light sculptures.
The venues are conveniently located near Chiayi Station, making it easy to arrive by high-speed rail. From the station, free shuttle buses run regularly to the festival areas.
The crowds were huge, but the atmosphere was festive and full of energy. Families walked through the illuminated streets, taking photos and enjoying night market food around the festival area.
The Taiwan Lantern Festival is the highlight of Lantern Festival celebrations across Taiwan every year. In 2026, the event takes place in Chiayi County from March 3 to March 15, marking the third time the festival has been hosted in Taibao City, after previous editions in 2007 and 2018.
Interestingly, the very first Lantern Festival I ever visited in Taiwan was also in Chiayi. When I first came to Taiwan years ago, Chiayi happened to be the host city that year as well. Coming back again in 2026 felt a bit nostalgic—it was like returning to the place where I first experienced the incredible scale of Taiwan’s lantern celebrations.
Like every year, the Taiwan Lantern Festival combines traditional lantern craftsmanship with modern technology. Visitors can admire classic lantern displays inspired by Taiwanese culture alongside large-scale light installations, interactive exhibits, and high-tech lighting shows that transform the entire area into a glowing nighttime spectacle.
The Fire Horse Festival
That night we also saw the dramatic Lucao Fire Horse Festival.
This intense local ritual involves a large horse structure that is set on fire and launched with fireworks, creating a spectacular and slightly chaotic show of sparks and flames. It’s loud, bright, and definitely one of the most unique festivals I’ve experienced in Taiwan.
But that experience deserves its own full story—and its own video. So I’ll save that part for the next post.
Hi! I'm Żaneta, a Polish girl living in Taiwan :) I love cooking and baking. I have both a travel blog and a cooking blog, as well as a YouTube channel. You're welcome to find me on my social media - feel free to ask questions or just chat! ~
