TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — "Greetings from the Whale," a public art installation in Tainan, was recently recognized by the LIT Lighting Design Awards, according to the Tainan Tourism Bureau.

Created by Taiwanese artist Yang Shih-Yi (楊士毅), the 23-meter-long work received an honorable mention at the U.S. competition, its third major honor following the 2019 Taiwan Landscape Award and 2020 IESA American International Lighting Design Award. The Tainan City Government installed the whale in January 2018 to promote boat tours at Anping Harbor, and it has become a major tourist attraction for the area.

Art Light Design Consultants, the team that designed the installation, said it drew inspiration from its own imagination and passion for the land. It said the artwork compares Taiwan to a big, beautiful fish that swims gracefully in the ocean and provides shelter to its people, reported CNA.

Covered with 448 pieces of colorful glaze-fired glass, "Greetings from the Whale" is lit up each evening from 6-10 p.m. It also serves as an observation deck for visitors to take in sunrises and sunsets from the whale's mouth, 8 meters above the ground.