PINGTUNG (TVBS News) － Taiwan's Pingtung Luo Shan Feng Arts Festival has invited Dutch artist and inventor Theo Jansen to showcase his famous "Strandbeests" art sculptures, or beach beasts in English. The lifelike creatures made out of wood and plastic can stroll on the beach with the help of the wind. Some are even able to fly.
Jansen created the beasts with environmental protection awareness in mind. The Netherlands is at risk of rising sea levels. As the beasts walk, they pile up sand into dunes which can protect the coastline from the rising sea. One of the six creatures, the "Animaris Ordis," had to be adjusted since the "Luo Shan Feng" (drainage or fall wind in English) is strong in Pingtung.
"In the Netherlands, the winds are quite mild, so we're still settling Ordis into the winds of Pingtung, which are a bit stronger than what it's used to," the machine operator Tim Denshire-Key, said. The festival will unfold from Nov. 4 to Feb. 5, 2023, at Haikou Harbor in Checheng Township, Pingtung County with the theme of this year's festival is "The wind blows to the future."