With the white tung blossoms bursting into bloom starting this month, more than 106 Hakka communities from six counties in Taiwan invited the public to enjoy the lily-white drifts and experience the rich Hakka culture at a series of events nationwide.
The fourth annual Tung Blossom Festival, sponsored by the Council for Hakka Affairs to promote Hakka culture, promises to draw more visitors this year with a line-up of creative events and improved transportation services.
The white flowers and the sturdy trunks of the tung trees make them an excellent symbol of the Hakka people, representing the group's patience for hard work and the purity of their spirit, according to the council.
"The Tung Blossom Festival has become a successful model in the cultural industry by creating both cultural and economic values for the Hakka community," the council's acting chairman Lee Yung-de (
"With more exciting activities, such as tung blossom lighting shows at night, special train services and special tour guides for English and Japanese-speaking travelers, we hope to bring more visitors to experience the beauty of Hakka culture," Lee said.
The festival, which starts on April 16 with an opening ceremony at the Westlake Resortopia (
In addition, 21 "tung blossom sightseeing paths" have been created in the six counties hosing the festival. To make it more convenient for visitors to reach the destinations, the council will provide festival trains every weekend.
In an attempt to attract young people, the popular Taiwanese rock band Mayday will perform during the festival's opening ceremony.
"Japan has the famous cherry blossom festival each March and April. With the Tung Blossom Festival flourishing in Taiwan, we can enjoy the flower sightseeing, drinking lei-cha and listening to music without traveling far away," the band said.
Over 28 festival venues in the Hakka communities are encouraged to develop their own individual merchandise, such as pottery, with a tung-flower theme. Traditional Hakka snacks and food will also be featured in the festival.
Last year's festival generated NT$3 billion in revenues with a total of 2.7 million people attending, according to the council.
This year, the council invited travel agencies from Germany, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Japan to visit the festival, expecting them to bring foreign friends to experience the cultural event.
Tung trees have been valued as a source of lumber and for the water-resistant oil derived from their seeds. Although the trees are no longer as popular for industrial purposes as in previous decades, their wood is still used for carving and firewood.
Detailed information on the festival can be found on the Hakka council's official Web site at www.hakka.gov.tw.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
RSS