Taiwan's Mid-Summer Ghost Festival marks 170th anniversary

KEELUNG, TAIWAN - AUGUST 17: Believers release blazing water lanterns into the river during the 170th anniversary of the Mid-Summer Ghost Festival, in Keelung City, Taiwan, on 17 August, 2024. The Keelung Mid-summer Ghost Festival began 1855. Rituals such as saying prayers to local gods and goddesses, doing dragon dance, parading with floats, and doing other performances, are held to pay tribute to ancestors and ghosts for seeking safety and peace. This Festival, also known as Zhongyuan Festival in Taoism or Yulanpen Festival in Buddhism, is mainly celebrated among East Asian and Southeast Asian places such as China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia or Singapore, with the aims to commemorate the opening of the gates of Hell and Heaven, permitting all ghosts to receive food and drink. (Photo by Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images)