Cloudlight Island

“Cloudlight Island” is inspired by the “Welcome King Peace Festival,” a triennial event held at Donggang Donglong Temple. It begins with the cultural practice of people “praying for their homeland,” integrating local characteristics and sustainability concepts. This has been extended into whimsical virtual stories and characters, with public art used to convey the narrative, expressing hopes and blessings for a future of “coexistence and prosperity” between humanity and the environment. “Cloud” symbolizes reverence and prayer, “Light” represents hope and the future, and “Island” signifies homeland and self. In the storyline and design of “Cloudlight Island,” four “cloud-like island” carriers are set up, each with its own “island master.” These themes and characters are inspired by the animal characteristics of the zodiac signs (Ox, Dragon, Goat, Dog) corresponding to the “Chou, Chen, Wei, Xu” years of the Welcome King Festival. Combined with symbolic elements from Donggang's landscape, daily life, and agricultural/fishery industries, the creations are straightforward, concrete, simplified, and personified. The narrative aims to introduce everyone to Donggang and invite them to visit and explore, while also implicitly highlighting Donggang's deep commitment to in-depth tourism, marine conservation, sustainable fisheries, and friendly agriculture. “Star Man, the All-Purpose Little Secretary of Lord Qiansui, hasn't had a vacation in over 300 years. For a rare special leave, he decides to visit Cloudlight Island to find friends, embarking on a small trip.” In the story, people's long-held wishes to the starry sky transform into tiny water droplets, slowly coalescing into four “Cloudlight Islands.” Star Man, Lord Qiansui's all-purpose secretary, acts as the protagonist, leading everyone to the four Cloudlight Islands to find the island masters and explore the local area in depth. The themes and island masters of the four Cloudlight Islands include: “Island of Beauty - Golden Silver Triplets,” advocating for in-depth local tourism; “Island of Guardianship - Ocean Woof Woof Dock,” continuing local marine conservation efforts; “Day-and-Night Upside-Down Fishing Vessel,” contemplating sustainable fisheries; and “Vibrant Three Treasure Trees,” representing the “Lidi” (local land) spirit of Donggang's agriculture. The corresponding sculptural designs incorporate and reinterpret related symbols such as: the tropical fish-shaped topographic outline of Donggang seen from the sky, Xiaoliuqiu's old name “Paofushan Yu” (Split-Belly Mountain Islet), Linbian's “wax apples” and its old name “Linzibian,” Beidawu Mountain, old-style “ice docks” by the harbor, sakura shrimp, distant-water fishing boats, red beans, and cantaloupe leaves.