Watching Fireworks at Penghu Island, Taiwan
For a reunion, a group of friends and I are planning to have a short getaway. They prefer to have one at the beach, So far, I have only known certain beaches in Taiwan like Chishingtan Beach in Hualien and Kenting in Kaohsiung. Well, with that being said, basically my knowledge of beaches in Taiwan is nearly zero. Until someone suggested we should go to Penghu. Fast forward a few months after, we have arrived in Penghu Island. A totally spontaneous decision, once again.
Penghu is a large archipelago incorporating the Penghu, Paisha and Hsi Islands, between mainland China and Taiwan. If you are looking for an island with wide grassland plains, Penghu is a location you should go for. You will not get this kind of nature anywhere else in the mountainous Taiwan.
The water of the sea is very clear and beautiful on that wonderful summer day. I am one of those people who prefer beach over mountain. I can find a lot more things I can do at the beach compared to when I am at the mountain. I guess one of the main reason is because I really don't like climbing. Or hiking. Or trekking.
One of our main to-do-list in Penghu is to watch fireworks show at night from the beach. Penghu actually hosts the annual firework festival called Penghu Ocean Fireworks Festival. The festival is usually held from April to June. But on other months, there are fireworks going on on every other day (schedule need to check beforehand).
Recently there is a news about some fireworks festival went haywire in Taiwan. That news actually made us kinda concerned for our safety whenever we are going to watch fireworks show. But at least in Penghu, the fireworks are lit pretty far away from us.
This is how far the fireworks are. The fireworks are usually lit up to celebrate the arrival of summer and is one of Penghu's top events for tourists. Before the fireworks show at 9PM, there are a lot of pre-fireworks song and dance performances by local students, students and bands. And of course, there will be a lot of food stalls open too. Nom!
In order to go to Penghu Island, you need to take domestic flight from big cities in Taiwan like Taipei, Kaohsiung or Taichung. If you are flying from Taipei, you will depart from Songshan Airport instead of Taipei Taoyuan Airport.
A word of warning though: Try not to visit Penghu during the typhoon season as it can get pretty dangerous and you don't want to be stuck on a island when the typhoon comes.