Magic Planet Earth

My Scholarship entry - Yanshui Beehive Fireworks

TAIWAN | Tuesday, 2 July 2013 | Views [432]

Some people prefer to keep a safe distance away from the happenings which is rated as one of the top 5 most dangerous festivals on earth. The explosions, smoke, noise and the hordes of unruly people indeed make it a highly hazardous place to be.

During the event, several processions with goddesses in vividly decorated palanquins make their way on pre assigned routes through the jammed streets. The God's are carried around town to bless the sponsor and location of a particular 'beehive rack' in the belief that it will strengthen the force of the fireworks to get rid of negative energy like illness. On the way they pass the hills of fire crackers, that's when they start to shake the palanquins wildly in all directions.

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The 'Beehives', as they're called, are racks made of wood or metal. Some are small and carried by two people while others are huge wheeled apparatus. All of them are filled with hundreds of bottle rockets. A number of them store large amounts of fireworks on the top which are set off vertically in the air either to create a monstrous bang or a feast for the eyes. Once the majority of the rockets are fired, the racks need to be cleared with water. There are always some unignited rockets left which may suddenly decide to launch on their own. These are very dangerous as the crowd has expected the 'beehive' to come to rest.

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Magic Planet Earth

My Scholarship entry - Yanshui Beehive Fireworks

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