00:00The Qingshan King and his entourage are making sure that Taipei's Wanhua district remains free of evil spirits.
00:11The Qingshan King festival is an ancient tradition marking the god's birthday, and fireworks light the way as he sets out on his patrol.
00:20The eight generals, their faces painted red or green, march to capture, torture, and scare off any evil spirits haunting the neighborhood.
00:29They wield weapons like those of ancient China.
00:33This night patrol marches alongside buglers, announcing the king's arrival upon a palanquin, shouldered by faithful volunteers.
00:42Every year we will participate.
00:44We have no decision.
00:46From childhood to childhood, this活動 is a year.
00:51It's like our new year, a small year.
00:54The tradition has survived pandemics, two world wars, and multiple governments.
00:59The festival still looks much like it did in the 1850s, when immigrants from Fujian brought the Qingshan King to the area.
01:06For almost two centuries, it has seen the city grow, sprawling far beyond its original borders and filling the surrounding basin.
01:15Known variously as Wanhua, Mongka, or Bangka, the neighborhood used to be a small settlement in northern Taiwan.
01:22It later joined with neighboring Dadaocheng to become part of Taipei Prefecture, what eventually became the modern capital city.
01:29Today, the crowds are bigger than ever.
01:36The festival has gone from a neighborhood ritual to a national spectacle.
01:42The Qingshan King Festival remains a defining part of Wanhua as Taipei continues to transform and evolve.
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