The Liudui Hakka Cultural Park in Neipu Township in the southern county of Pingtung, the first national-level park of its kind, is slated to formally open to the public Oct. 22.
“I’m excited about the launch and hope that citizens around Taiwan will use the weekend to come down and share the honor and celebration of history being made with the Hakka people,” said Huang Yu-cheng, minister of the Council for Hakka Affairs.
The park, featuring four main theme areas, combines Hakka traditions, architecture and customs with such modern concepts as environmental protection. It boasts a multimedia exhibition hall, performance arts theater, as well as handicrafts, a market area, and guided tours of the traditional settlement.
Among the noteworthy installations are the “umbrella pavilions,” giant metal framework structures based on traditional Hakka roundhouses, which are fitted with solar panels to meet the energy and lighting needs of the entire park.
Liudui, which roughly translates as “six camps,” is the collective name for the 12 townships in Pingtung County and Kaohsiung City that are inhabited mainly by people of Hakka ancestry.
“Without Liudui, the Hakka people would not be complete, and in turn, Taiwan itself would not be whole,” Huang said.
“Liudui is the cultural and industrial center of southern Taiwan’s Hakka community, and it has a scenic charm that differentiates it from the Hakka culture of northern Taiwan,” he noted.
To welcome visitors to celebrate the opening of the new park, Huang said, free shuttle bus services will be provided from the Pingtung and Jiadong train stations and the high-speed railway’s Zuoying Station Oct. 22 and 23. (SB)