Those of you in southern Taiwan might not want to miss the annual pole climbing event in Hengchun....The 2007 Cianggu, a pole-climbing event that has been annually held during Ghost Month in the southern Taiwan township of Hengchun for over a century, will be the largest ever and will enjoy the addition of some "international flavor," an official said Monday at a press conference.
The pole-climbing competition, in which competitors of each team have to climb barehanded up an 11-meter column heavily greased with beef tallow and snatch the "lucky flag" at the top, will be expanded from four columns to 36 columns, meaning that there will be 36 teams participating, including two teams of foreigners, said Pingtung County Magistrate Tsao Chi-hung.
The event will be held on the night of Aug. 27, the last day of a three-day festival which also includes various cultural events, such as a street dance competition, parade, and rock concert.
Cianggu is one of the most popular folk Ghost Month -- the seventh lunar month -- events in Taiwan, though its human origins and background have always been well represented, said Tsao, who explained that the festival was held to distribute the offerings worshippers made to ghosts to society's homeless, poor and starving people.
[Taiwan]
That's quite a misleading title, there, Mr. Turton.
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