Taiwan-themed jigsaw competitions held across 20 cities in North America — including one in Vancouver on Saturday — aim to introduce Taiwan to international audiences.
While the competition in Vancouver originally had slots for 25 teams, demand led the North American Taiwanese Women’s Association to add two more spots.
Participants ranged in age from five to 85, including young families, Taiwanese living in the area and many of their non-Taiwanese friends.
Photo courtesy of Team Taiwan Club via CNA
For example, Caine Ruiz from the Philippines and Dhundup Tsering from Tibet were invited to the competition by their classmate, Skye Huang (黃威澄).
“The Taiwan puzzle is so beautiful. Skye told me about the attractions and local foods featured on the puzzle,” said Ruiz, who is 15 years old.
“Taiwan seems like a really great place and I’m definitely going to try to convince my parents to take me there when I go home,” he said.
Tsering said his father worked in Taiwan before and speaks highly of the country, making his whole family want to visit.
“We’re planning to visit Taiwan next year and I’ve already started making a list of things to eat and places to visit,” he said.
Huang and his brother said they invited friends to join as soon as they heard about the competition.
“Taiwan is really well-known and everyone has a good impression of it,” Huang said. “Everybody really enjoyed the competition.”
Teams have 90 minutes to complete the puzzle, which features night markets, Taipei 101, Taiwan’s flora and fauna, mountains and local foods.
The team Peggy & Friends led by Peggy Hua (華思然) won in Vancouver, completing the puzzle in just 44 minutes — the fastest time so far.
The team members found the event particularly meaningful, as they got to interact with people from different generations and cultural backgrounds, and learn about Taiwan through teamwork, Hua said.
The event is an easy, natural and engaging way for people overseas to connect with Taiwan’s culture, stories, land and people, association chair Huang Fei-lin (黃斐琳) said.
“One person can get things started, but a group can take it much further. We hope everyone can come together to piece Taiwan into the world,” said Lin Yi-chun (林儀君), chair of the Team Taiwan Club, which co-organized the event.
The competition, called Piecing Taiwan into the World, was started by Lo Hsiao-wen (駱筱雯) of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who hoped to use jigsaw puzzles to help more people learn about Taiwan.
The idea quickly gained support from Taiwanese organizations across North America, which have organized various puzzle competitions and activities to help deepen awareness of Taiwan.
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