Hot air balloon festival opens in east Taiwan

A hot air balloon festival opened June 29 in Taitung County, east Taiwan, attracting over 10,000 visitors from the island and elsewhere.

A total of 24 hot air balloons met visitors at the opening ceremony. They were mostly in the shapes of cartoon characters and animals such as Sponge Bob, butterfly, bee and pig.

Many of this year's balloons are in shapes related to the dreams of children, aiming to attract people of different age groups, said Rao Ching-ling, magistrate of Taitung, at the ceremony.

The festival will last 45 days until August 12. Visitors can book hot air balloon trips scheduled twice a day during this period.