John Saboe's Far East Travels

The Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival is held every year in Yanshui District in Southern Taiwan. Locally known as the Feng Pao it  is considered one of the most dangerous festivals in the world as well as being the third largest folk celebration.  Why do they blow off millions of bottle rockets and firecrackers you ask? It all started with a cholera epidemic in the late 19th century. Due to the underdeveloped state of medicine victims multiplied daily and the people of the district lived in fear. On the day of the Lantern Festival, 15 days after the 1st day of the Lunar New Year, town folk paraded Gaun Di, the God of War on a palanquin around the streets.  Firecrackers were lit until dawn. In one night the people of Yanshui rid their district of the plague and the festival has been carried on ever since.I found my first Pao Cheng or artillery fortress with an impressive God statue, battle ready, and placed above the bottle rockets.  The larger pyrotechnics stacks on top of the walls you’ll see are usually ig