Taiwan Today

Miaoli County is renowned for its vibrant festivals, exquisite traditional arts and crafts, and slow-living lifestyle.

Sanyi in northern Taiwan’s Miaoli County welcomed a record 60,000 visitors during the township’s annual woodcarving art festival running for 10 days at the beginning of October 2017. Featuring bazaars, competitions, exhibitions, guided tours of Hakka villages and historical sites, hands-on classes, local foods, performing arts and woodcarving demonstrations, the event is one of the most eagerly anticipated in the region.

Albert Lin (林彦甫), director of Miaoli County Government’s Culture and Tourism Bureau, said the 17th edition of the festival was one for the books as it included for the first time an array of innovative activities themed Slow Craft, Slow Living. “Our goal was to spotlight Sanyi’s slow-living credentials and traditional woodcarving practices,” he said. “This enriched and expanded program of events also introduced festivalgoers to lesser-known cultural aspects of the community and helped boost the local tourism industry.”

Traditional Approach

Slow living has been alive and well in the sleepy township for many decades. But in February 2016, the practice took on a more formal character after Sanyi and nearby Nanzhuang Township were admitted to Cittaslow International—an Italy-headquartered organization assisting smaller urban centers pursue alternative development programs aimed at improving quality of life. The Cittaslow network is made up of 236 towns in 30 countries and territories across Asia, Australasia, Europe and North America.

According to Lin, Sanyi and Nanzhuang got the thumbs-up from Cittaslow on the strength of heritage preservation programs, environmental protection measures and cuisine promotion concepts. “It’s important to safeguard assets that reinforce the distinct identity of a community and foster growth in the cultural and creative sector,” he said.

Part and parcel of this commitment extends to ensuring local traditional arts and crafts remain on the development track—a mission made somewhat easier by Miaoli’s abundance of high-quality materials and deep skills base. The rude health of rush weaving, woodcarving and wood-fired pottery, and indigenous tribal dyeing and weaving is not by accident, Lin said, citing some of the artisan industries responsible for establishing the county as one of Taiwan’s leading hubs for related artistic exchanges and ventures on the domestic and international fronts.

Human Quiltwork

Another often overlooked reason for Miaoli’s status as a cultural mecca is its people. Comprising Hakka—whose members make up about a fifth of the Han population in Taiwan and can be found in large numbers in many parts of Southeast Asia and the rest of the world; Holo—the largest ethnic group in Taiwan; indigenous tribes; and new immigrants from Southeast Asia, the county is a veritable melting pot of cultural influences and thinking. Local government statistics show that of Miaoli’s 554,652 residents, 64 percent are Hakka, 31.5 percent Holo, 2.5 percent new immigrants and 2 percent members of the main regional indigenous tribes Atayal and Saisiyat.

Safeguarding this human asset has long been a top policymaking priority for the county government. Numerous subsidy and training programs have been rolled out to great effect, and are credited by Lin for sustaining the cultural environment. “Such a deeply ingrained respect for the different ethnic groups builds cohesiveness and adds luster to Miaoli’s appeal as a world-class destination for culture-based tourism,” he said.

One benefit of this approach is the assortment of festivals and rituals taking place in any given year across Miaoli. Two of the biggest are the Baishatun Mazu procession and the Pasta’ai ritual of the Saisiyat—both designated by the Ministry of Culture as national folk customs.

Dating back at least 170 years, the pilgrimage is centered on Gongtian Temple in Baishatun of Miaoli; Chaotian Temple in Beigang Township of western Taiwan’s Yunlin County; and Jenn Lann Temple in Dajia Township of central Taiwan’s Taichung City. The nearly 400-kilometer route is determined according to the divinations of Mazu—the goddess of the sea—and changes from one year to the next. No less colorful is the Pasta’ai ritual, which expresses through song and dance the Saisiyat’s repentance for massacring a race of dark-skinned pygmies described in tribal lore as the original inhabitants of the area.

Hakka Focus

Given the majority of Miaoli’s residents are Hakka, it is hardly surprising that the culture of this group is considered representative of the county and attracts the lion’s share of local government preservation and promotion efforts. Support is given to all manner of community programs seeking to revitalize traditional Hakka dances, dramas and songs.

But there is only so much that can be achieved on a local scale, Lin said. One undertaking he is particularly excited about is the central government’s four-year interagency project aimed at transforming a 150-kilometer section of the 438.7-kilometer-long Provincial Highway No. 3—also known as the Inner-Mountain Highway—into the Hakka Romantic Avenue.

Commencing in Longtan District in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City, the project encompasses 16 Hakka townships dotted over Hsinchu County in northern Taiwan, Miaoli and Taichung’s Dongshi and Shigang districts. It falls under the urban-rural projects category of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, and is a core component of the government’s policy of preserving Hakka culture for future generations.

“The project is key to helping Hakka villages retain a traditional way of life defined by slow food, slow living and a slow travel ethos,” Lin said, adding that it also represents a resurgence of interest among the young in Hakka culture.

Ku Cheng-ching (古鎮清), an assistant professor in the Department of Cultural Tourism at National United University (NUU) in Miaoli, considers the project well-planned and believes it has every chance of success. If objectives like cultural landscape shaping, environmental improvement and industrial development are implemented effectively via partnerships between the central and local governments, as well as the public and private sectors, the project will deliver upgraded facilities, enhanced services and more meaningful travel experiences, he said.

Born and bred in one of Miaoli’s Hakka communities, Ku hails from a family once involved in the county’s traditional industries of lumber and tea production. He anticipates the project breathing new life into such sectors, while spurring the creation of fresh opportunities for the youth in modern industries such as cultural and creative and ecotourism.

Attractions Aplenty

“Miaoli’s cultural, historical and natural resources make it a viable option for young people looking to remain in their hometowns,” Ku said. “The many old homes, streets and walking trails, as well as arts and crafts studios, cultural parks and leisure farms, also position it as an outstanding choice for tourists.”

A total of 41 buildings and 10 monuments in Miaoli—most constructed during Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945) and adequately preserved—are afforded heritage listing by the county government. A good example, Ku said, is the popular tourist destination Shenghsing Station in Sanyi.

At 402.3 meters above sea level, the wooden structure fashioned from locally harvested timber occupies the highest point on Taiwan Railways Administration’s western trunkline. Built in 1906 to transport charcoal, citronella oil and fruit, the station was renovated in 1996 but ceased operations two years later following large-scale damage to the tracks caused by an earthquake.

There are also about 100 easily accessible walking trails originally used for hunting, seasonal migration and trade by indigenous peoples, Ku said. “Those walking the routes are literally journeying into the past and experiencing sights and sounds largely unchanged by the march of time.”

Living Memories

As a devoted amateur historian and self-professed culture vulture, Ku thinks nothing of spending his days researching and publishing texts on Miaoli’s cultural, economic, political and social development. An important part of this process involved recording the living memories of 193 local seniors 20 years ago.

“Many of the interviewees, who came from all walks of life, have sadly passed away,” Ku said. “But their experiences and perspectives are preserved for posterity and now serve as an invaluable reference source.”

Huang Ding-song (黃鼎松), a lecturer at Miaoli Community University and NUU, shares Ku’s passion for documenting the county’s rich and colorful cultural landscape. “Miaoli is brimming with tangible and intangible cultural properties, especially those related to Hakka culture,” he said.

Equally bullish on the prospects of the Hakka Romantic Avenue project, Huang views it as a valuable platform for optimizing cultural and scenic sites, as well as capturing the cultural history of Hakka communities. He is currently working on a book about the history of Miaoli and hopes the project will serve as a fitting conclusion to his 300,000-word tome.

“I’m a third of the way through and racing against Father Time,” the septuagenarian said. “As a Miaoli native, I feel obligated to finish the task and let more people know about this special part of the world.”

Write to Kelly Her at kher@mofa.gov.tw