It’s summertime and that means the beaches are getting crowded. While some people like to go surfing or swimming, at one beach in southern Taiwan, people went kite watching instead.
Brightly lit animals hover in the night sky like cartoons brought to life. The kites look magnificent at night, and just as spectacular in the day.
The 2022 Cijin Kite Festival took place over this past weekend and drew hoards of people to the beaches of Kaohsiung. The southern city’s streets were absolutely packed with visitors. So many people came to see the kites that police had to direct and control nearby traffic. It’s estimated the festival attracted over 70,000 people in just two days.
Lines of cars and motorcycles packed the roads around Cijin. The wait was substantial. And, it wasn’t just cars that were jammed up. Ferries are another way to get to Cijin. But the boats were just as crammed. The primary ferry operator said they transported around 56,000 people over the weekend.
While people arrived from land and sea, the real showstopper here were the kites -- which dominated the skies.