Hakka spirits high as festival begins

Tung blossoms carpet the ground at the Tung Lodge in Miaoli County. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TUNG LODGE

The third annual Tung Blossom Hakka Festival opened yesterday in Miaoli County with singing, dancing and poetry-reading. Draped with garlands of white tung blossoms, attendees at the opening ceremony listened as elementary school children recited poetry and sang.

The ceremony, held at the Westlake Resortopia, marked the beginning of a month-long festival sponsored by the Council of Hakka Affairs to promote Hakka culture. The festival's symbol is the tung blossom, a flower that blooms from mid-April to late May in central and northern Taiwan. Tung trees are also known as paulownias in English.

"The tung tree is representative of the Hakka people. Its pure white flowers and straight, sturdy trunks are symbolic of the Hakka people's patience for hard work and the ability and purity of their spirits," said council chairwoman Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) at the gathering.

The festival runs through May 16. In addition to attending the scheduled cultural activities, the public is invited to visit 21 "tung blossom sightseeing paths" in Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung and Nantou counties.

Along National Highway No. 3 in Miaoli, fields of white-crowned tung trees carpet the surrounding hills en route to the sightseeing routes. Although the flowers have been slow to bloom due to this year's cold weather, festival representatives assured the public that by May the flowers will be in full bloom.

Each recommended stop also offers Hakka foods and cultural exhibits. Tung Lodge, located along the Kung-kuan (公館) county route in Miaoli, has the largest tung tree in Miaoli. At Hwataoyau visitors can participate in the Hakka tea-drinking ceremony lay-cha (擂茶) underneath the tung trees.

Council of Hakka Affairs representatives said that, besides promoting Hakka culture, the festival aims to stimulate local economies.

"The first two times, we worked on establishing the festival," said council vice chairwoman Chuang Chin-hua (莊錦華) during a pre-festival meeting with the press. "This year, we are encouraging all festival venues to develop their own individual merchandise with a tung-flower theme."

Chuang said the council hoped that eventually the souvenirs would gain such popularity that they would become distinguishing logos for each locale.

Toward this goal, much of the merchandise available this year is in ceramic form, highlighting the importance of pottery-making as an industry in central Taiwan.

"Many Hakka were involved in pottery-making because land for farming was difficult to get by the time the third wave of Hakka immigration arrived in Miaoli," said Chen Yu-ping (陳育平), Hwataoyao executive director.

The Council for Hakka Affairs estimates that last year's festival generated NT$500 million in revenues.

Even 7-Eleven, the convenience store chain through which the council has distributed free festival guides, has profited from the festival, reporting record drink sales during last year's tung-blossom season.

This year's guides will be available starting April 21 in 7-Elevens, which also will sell a line of pre-packaged Hakka foods to promote the festival.

The council has arranged a tung-flower photo competition to encourage the public to participate in the festivities.

Tung trees have been valued for use as 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.

Business owners involved in the festival expressed pride in being part of the event.

"I'm Hakka myself, and it's been hard all my life to tell people that except in recent years. I think that the Tung Blossom Festival is a wonderful way to help the Hakka people gain understanding in the greater community and to increase tourism," said a representative of Lima, an art studio in Miaoli County involved in the event.

More information about festival activities and sightseeing routes is available on the festival homepage at: www.hakka.gov.tw/hakkatung/.