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.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS