TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Nearly 10,000 people waited in line Saturday at Chiayi High-Speed Rail Station for shuttles to the Taiwan Lantern Festival, where crowds saturated parking and attractions on the event's first weekend, per UDN.  

Chiayi County Magistrate Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁) urged visitors on Facebook to return another day as 12,000 parking spaces were filled and highways jammed. Over 50 shuttle buses and 1,286 personnel were deployed, including police and volunteers, but waits exceeded 25 minutes for Super Mario-themed zones and merchandise.

The free festival, running through next Sunday, features 16 zones and has nightly drone shows. Team Taiwan’s participation in the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo was also celebrated.

The event is expected to draw over 20 million visitors. Organizers anticipate NT$27 billion (US$828 million) in economic impact, surpassing last year's Taoyuan event. Despite strains, overall operations have been smooth, with an estimated single-day attendance of over 2 million people, per Newtalk.