Spinning tops are at the center of Daxi District’s cultural heritage.
Once a common childhood toy, spinning tops have long since fallen out of favor. Daxi District in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City is a notable exception.
There are a number of locations across the area where visitors can explore locals’ enduring passion for the balancing marvels. The small shop owned by Yang Jin-fu (楊金福) is the perfect place to start. The 80-year-old, who has been making and playing with the toys since childhood, is one of the few remaining craftspeople in Taiwan who still produces the tops by hand, and eagerly displays his carving skills for curious customers.
Five minutes by car from Yang’s shop is Zhongzheng Park. Its Spinning Top Plaza is typically packed with local enthusiasts, who are more than happy to teach tourists a trick or two.
Additional information about the history of the game in Daxi and a collection of tops from around the world are housed at the Mei-Hwa Spinning Top Museum, opened in 2007 at Mei-Hwa Elementary School. Such is the popularity of the toy locally that the school even has a spinning top team. Since the troupe was founded in 1998, it has performed at numerous local temple festivals and international children’s fairs.
No trip to Daxi is complete without a visit to some of the district’s souvenir shops and the purchase of a locally made and decorated top.
—by Jim Hwang
Decorated tops are popular souvenirs among visitors to Daxi.
Daxi resident Yang Jin-fu transforms a chunk of camphor into a top. He is one of the few craftspeople in Taiwan still making wooden tops by hand.
Spinning tops are an important aspect of local cultural heritage.
Members of the Mei-Hwa Elementary School Top Team practice their skills. Founded in 1998, the troupe has performed around the country and overseas.
Each top’s characteristics and the technique used to throw it determine whether it spins steadily.
A girl receives a lesson from a local player at Spinning Top Plaza in Daxi’s Zhongzheng Park.
Art installations inspired by spinning tops can be seen in various locations around Daxi such as Mei-Hwa Elementary School (top and right) and Zhongzheng Park’s Spinning Top Plaza (above).