Thousands of lanterns ascend to the dark sky above the village of Shifen in northern Taiwan during the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival, an event rooted in ancient traditions. It takes place during the first full moon of the Chinese Lunar New Year – a date that changes every year and attracts tens of thousands of visitors, who participate and watch the release of over 100,000 rice paper lanterns. People are writing messages on the lanterns, in reference to messages written by ancient farmers before the planting season, asking for good harvests and happiness.