TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwan-themed float sponsored by China Airlines has won the International Award in the annual Rose Parade in Los Angeles, California.

The float, themed “Biking Around Taiwan,” is 16 meters long and two stories high. It shows a family of five riding a tandem bicycle surrounded by Taiwanese flora and symbolic elements such as boba tea, braised pork rice, pineapples, mangoes, and the Alishan forest train.

The designer of the float, John Ramirez, is married to a Taiwanese woman. He designed 10 other floats in this year's parade but said he is most proud of the China Airlines one. “When I was designing the float, on one hand, I needed to let the world get to know and appreciate Taiwan, while on the other I needed to include elements the Taiwanese are most familiar with and most proud of,” he told CNA.

This year’s award marks the 30th award China Airlines has received since the company began participating in the Rose Parade in 1987. Louis Huang (黃敏境), director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Los Angeles, said the theme of this year’s float highlighted Taiwan’s role as a leading bicycle designer and manufacturer and as a great cycling destination.