Foreign and local visitors flocked to the opening of the annual Tainan International Mango Festival on Saturday for a taste of the latest mango varieties as well as snacks and dishes made of the popular summer fruit.
The festival, which is being held at the Tsou-Ma-Lai Farm (走馬瀨農場) in Greater Tainan’s Danei District (大內), is to run until Sunday.
Nineteen foreign trade delegations, including representatives from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei and Canada, were present at the festival’s opening weekend.
Photo: Lin Meng-ting, Taipei Times
Two Japanese trade delegations — from Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, and Minakami Town, Gunma Prefecture — visited the festival for a second straight year.
“Mango and its many products are delicious and loved by everyone. It is a symbol of Tainan’s success in refined fruit production and agricultural technology,” Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) said. “Promoting mangoes not only boosts sales and international trade, it also promotes friendship with other countries.”
“At the first Tainan International Mango Festival last year, we garnered more than NT$35 million [US$1.17 million) in orders. We look forward to breaking that figure this year,” Lai added.
Aside from fresh fruit, the festival features mango ice desserts and pastries, mango gift packs, sliced green mango snacks and a host of activities, including mango picking and learning how to make mango-inspired snacks.
Festival organizers — the Greater Tainan Government, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council and the Tainan Farmers’ Co-operative Association — have also set up a “Mango Bus” to run during the festival.
People can board the “Mango Bus” at the Shanhua Rail Station and get off at Tsou-Ma-Lai Farm or Yujing (玉井), famed for its mango trees and mango ice dessert shops during summer.
The Mango Bus runs until the end of next month, according to the Greater Tainan Government, adding that passengers can keep their bus ticket receipt and exchange it for a free serving of mango ice cream at designated stores in Yujing, discounts on mango food dishes and purchase of mango gift packs.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS