Fulong, aside from having a wonderful beach, also hosts an annual Fulong Sand Sculpture Festival (福隆沙雕藝術季). Artists come from all over Taiwan to carve their art into the sand, spending hours in the sun to get things right to their smallest details. The result, as you can see below, is spectacular. I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like it.
Watch this introduction video from a Taiwanese TV stations (in Chinese):
And a nice introduction video of the sand sculptures …
Here’s some of what I saw at the festival :
Mind you, there are few other sand sculpturing festivals around Taiwan. Like this sand festival in Nantou County – 2009, 2010. Know of any others?
To wrap things up, I’ll just mention that upto 2008 Fulong also hosted the Hohaiyan Rock Festival (貢寮國際海洋音樂祭) each July, which is the biggest outdoor Indie festival in Taiwan. If it takes places again – don’t miss it.
In July 2000, sun, sand, waves, and rock & roll were packed together and served up to several thousand dancing music fans at Fu-Long beach in Taipei County. The Taipei County government put on the gig, brought TCM in to set it up, and it’s been growing every year since. Ho-Hai-Yan 2000 was the first rock festival ever sponsored by a government office in Taiwan, and featured local and international bands. In 2002, the festival extended to two days, and include bands from Japan, Australia, and Nepal. From the beginning, Ho-Hai-Yan has provided an open stage to give voice to solo and independent artists. A battle of the bands format brings an air of friendly competition to the performances, and also gives up and coming bands a chance to kick some ass and get their music out on the road.
Here’s more about the Fulong Sand Festival:
- Fulong Sand Festival @Taiwan Government website (mostly Chinese, a bit of English)
- Fulong Sand Festival @Touch your heart (Chinese)
- Fulong Sand Sculpture Festival