KEY POINTS:
The packing list for our trip to Taiwan was intriguing.
"Take tough old jeans, thick cotton socks, old running shoes and a padded jacket. We supply a fire-proof coat, a helmet, cotton gloves, towels and earplugs."
This turned out to be the kit required to attend the Rocket
Hive, a bizarre fireworks festival that takes place every year in the town of Yenshui in southwest Taiwan. The tradition started around 200 years ago, when an epidemic decimated the local population.
In desperation, the villagers called on Kuan Yu, the Chinese God of War, to help end their plight. His image was paraded through the town on a palanquin, accompanied by a barrage of noisy fireworks. The ritual apparently worked, and every year since then Yenshui has shown its appreciation by hosting the loudest, most dangerous and most exciting fireworks event that I've attended.
Each so-called "rocket hive" consists of a stack of thousands of rockets arranged in tiers that resemble a huge beehive. They're positioned throughout the narrow streets and once they're ignited, rockets swarm randomly through the air - some screaming skywards, some whizzing just overhead and others thudding directly into the crowd.
And as I found out when one exploded right at my feet, individual fireworks can be set off anywhere, anytime - so even if you're not near the hives, you have to expect the unexpected.
It's an event for daredevils and every year tens of thousands of locals come to Yenshui to play chicken with the rockets - kind of the Taiwanese equivalent of Spain's running with the bulls.
I prefer fireworks to be pretty and distant, but I dutifully donned my attire and - feeling like a cross between a surgeon (we wore a face mask under the helmet), Darth Vader and famed firefighter Red Adair - I joined the thrill-seekers marching into the fray.
All but the very brave (or foolhardy) wore similar gear, with not a centimetre of burnable flesh or hair showing, and many carried makeshift shields to deflect incoming incendiaries. Hundreds of unseen explosions echoed from up ahead and when we rounded a corner, I felt as if I was caught up in a live version of a video game.
A spray of low-flying rockets zoomed overhead and when another exploded at my feet, the impulse was to run.
But putting my inherent cowardice aside, I moved slowly closer to one of the hives, ducking behind other people and holding up one arm, then the other to protect myself from rockets spitting all around.
At the hive, scores of young Taiwanese were gathered in close, almost as if they were taunting the rockets to do their worst. Some were bare-headed and lightly dressed, showing great bravado that I suspect was assisted by another kind of rocket fuel.
My bravado was short-lived. When dozens of rockets suddenly ignited and flew just centimetres from my head, I beat a less than graceful retreat and joined our driver and guide for a glass of cool, calming chrysanthemum tea.
The Yenshui Rocket Hive always coincides with Taiwan's Lantern Festival, which is celebrated in different ways all over the country. Earlier in the evening we'd spent a couple of hours at the official Taiwan Lantern Festival, which in 2007 was held in Chia-Yi Tai-pao, not far from Yenshui.
The two events were a great contrast, with the family-friendly Lantern Festival exuding an aura of harmony and goodwill.
It covered an area of 4ha, including a huge food court offering all kinds of Taiwanese fare and a central performance area where top-notch national and international artists entertained the crowd.
We wandered amongst thousands of glowing lanterns of all shapes and sizes. Some were more than 10m high and others were tiny; some professionally built displays centred on a theme, while others featured random creations by school kids and other amateurs.
All the animals in the Chinese zodiac were represented, but in the Year of the Pig, porcine designs were the rage and hundreds of families queued patiently to get their free piggy lantern.
When it was fully dark, all eyes turned to the only lantern that remained unlit - a multi-coloured, 20m high caricature of a pig that loomed darkly over everything around it.
It apparently represented a Taiwanese wild boar, and all I can say is that if I saw such a psychedelic monster in the bush, I'd be gone faster than a Yenshui rocket.
Both Taiwan's Premier and President were present, and after the speeches traditional drummers launched into some frenzied drumming, the whole site was plunged into darkness and the countdown began. The dull blue glow of thousands of 21st-century lanterns surrounded the pig as everyone held up their pic-phones to capture the light-up.
It happened right on cue and the gigantic, rotating pig became the centrepiece of a spectacular sound and light show of bouncing lasers and crashing crescendos.
When the lasers and music died down, the fireworks began and we were treated to a brilliant display that even the Sydneysiders in our group reckoned was better than the New Year's Eve extravaganza on their harbour bridge.
And if you can get Australians to admit that without coercion, you know it must be good.
Heather Ramsay was a guest of Taiwan Tourism.
Getting there: EVA Airlines flies direct Auckland to Taipei twice weekly, with extra flights during holiday such as Chinese New Year.
Contact: (09) 358 8300.
On the web: www.evaair.com.
Getting around: The new high-speed rail reaches speeds of up to 300km/h, connecting Taipei in the north and Kaohsiung in the south in just over two hours. The regions are well-served by regular trains, a good bus network and many domestic flights.
On the web: www.thsrc.com.tw/en.
Lantern Festival: The festival begins on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar.
Climate: October and November are said to be the best times, but the weather is always changeable. During my March visit (spring) we had mostly balmy days around 23C, with one very cold day and misty rain in the mountains.
More information: www.taiwantourism.org, email: anna.friend@wildbluegrp.co.nz.
