By Sam Garcia / Staff writer, with CNA
Starting from Saturday next week, the Danjiang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to have a rotation for four weeks of all its seasonal and holiday-themed light displays, the Highway Bureau said yesterday.
The new bridge connecting the city’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts opened to traffic on May 12, becoming a new national landmark.
The bridge features different lighting designs for the four seasons and eight major holidays, as well as a late-night mode, said Chiang Chien-ming (江堅銘), director of the Highway Bureau Northern Region Branch Office’s traffic control center.
The Danjiang Bridge is pictured on Oct. 6.
Photo: CNA
The lighting was designed by Chroma33 Architectural Lighting Design and approved by the office of late renowned architect Zaha Hadid, Chiang said.
To ensure each of the displays would run smoothly during the four-week rotation, lighting tests are being conducted from Monday to tonight, with each setting lasting eight to 10 minutes, Chiang said.
When the rotation begins on Saturday next week, holiday-themed light displays would be shown from 6pm to 8pm on Saturdays and Sundays, while spring, summer, autumn and winter displays would rotate weekly from Monday to Friday, they said.
The bridge would return to its autumnal lighting display at 8pm, they added.
For Double Ten National Day, the bridge would be lit with the red, white and blue of the Republic of China flag, it said.
For Valentine’s Day and the Qixi Festival, the bridge would be lit red, pink and gold, the bureau said.
On Mother’s Day, it would feature red and pink lights, and white and light blue colors for Father’s Day, it said.
For Christmas, the bridge would feature green, red and golden lights, and change to red, light red and gold for the Lunar New Year, the bureau said.
The Mid-Autumn Festival display would use yellow and gold lights to evoke the full moon, while the Dragon Boat Festival display would combine dark green, green and white lights to convey symbols such as bamboo leaves, it added.
The lighting is switched on at sunset, with colors changing by the season, the bureau’s Northern Region Branch Office said.
The spring display runs from March to May, featuring white, green and blue lights, along with combinations of blue and white, while the summer display runs from June to August featuring white, green and blue lights, as well as combinations of green and white, it said.
The fall display runs from September to November and features different shades of white, orange and yellow, followed by the winter display from December to February, featuring shades of white, red, purple and blue, it added.
At about 12am, the bridge would switch to a dimmer, two-color mode to conserve energy, it said.
People should not watch the light displays while driving to avoid traffic accidents, the bureau said.
The bridge’s pedestrian walkway is the best place to view the lights at night, as people can enjoy the changing lights up close, Chiang said.