Hsinchu New Year Festival – RODY Spring Celebration

This project originates from Hsinchu City Government’s annual festival brand, “Hsinchu New Year Festival,” aiming to extend the Chinese New Year atmosphere while revitalizing the historic urban core.
In response to recent population shifts and the impact of the pandemic, commercial activity around the moat area has gradually declined. This project introduces a lantern festival as an urban intervention strategy, using public exhibitions and spatial planning to attract foot traffic and stimulate gathering, thereby reactivating the city center.
The 2026 theme aligns with the Year of the Horse and incorporates the international IP RODY. The imagery of motion and progression is translated into the curatorial theme of “Leaping Forward.” Through a friendly and highly recognizable character, the festival creates a cross-generational experience while strengthening the city’s cultural identity and brand memory.
The exhibition is structured around one main lantern and eight thematic installations, forming a linear experiential axis along the moat that connects key nodes of the historic city. This creates a walkable and immersive urban narrative.
The main lantern features RODY in a dynamic jumping posture, innovatively capturing the moment of suspension in mid-air as a three-dimensional kinetic installation. A rotating mechanism introduces continuous motion, breaking away from the static presentation typical of traditional lantern festivals.
The eight lantern zones employ diverse materials and technologies, including LED fan projections that create floating imagery, as well as fiber-optic installations that generate flowing light effects. These elements shift with perspective and time, enhancing both interactivity and sensory engagement.
Through carefully designed circulation, visitors gradually accumulate experiences as they move through the space, forming a continuous and narrative-driven journey.
The event also integrates stage performances, lantern riddles, hands-on workshops, and food markets, combining “seeing, playing, creating, and tasting” within a single environment. This transforms the lantern festival from a one-directional viewing experience into a multidimensional urban cultural event.