Taiwan's Baoshan Hakka Cultural Festival to Revive Village Traditions

The Baoshan Township Office in Hsinchu County, Taiwan, in collaboration with the Hakka Affairs Council, is launching the "Baoshan Hakka Cultural Festival." This event series will span from August 29 to October 4, encompassing six distinct activities spread across the Hakka villages of Shuangxi, Sanfeng, Youtian, Baoshan, Daqi, and Xincheng.

The festival's core aim is to transform the traditional temple plazas of these villages back into vibrant centers for community interaction and cultural exchange. By presenting Hakka opera performances, hands-on craft workshops, and local culinary experiences, organizers intend to foster a deeper connection between different generations and backgrounds within the community.

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We hope to extend from 'care' to 'companionship' and 'cultural well-being'. Through temple plazas, opera, and traditional culture, we can help elders recall childhood memories and give parents and children opportunities to participate together.

Baoshan Township has a rich Hakka heritage, with Hakka people historically making up about 95% of the population. While the development of the Hsinchu Science Park has led to an increase in non-Hakka residents, Hakka people still constitute approximately 70% of the current population. The township office is committed to promoting Hakka culture and ensuring that both long-term residents and newcomers can appreciate and engage with the local heritage.

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I often followed my grandparents to the temple fairs to watch Hakka opera and eat sugar-coated haws, play marbles. These seemingly simple activities became the warmest grandparent-grandchild memories.

Township Mayor Chiu Chen-wei highlighted the initiative's connection to the township's ongoing elder care and meal delivery services. He expressed a desire to move beyond basic care towards "companionship and cultural well-being." Chiu recalled his own childhood memories of attending temple fairs with his grandparents, enjoying Hakka opera and simple games, which formed warm intergenerational bonds. He hopes the festival will allow elders to relive these cherished memories while enabling younger generations to create their own meaningful experiences within the Hakka community.

Each festival event will feature traditional opera, unique craft activities (with a limit of 100 participants per session), and Hakka food tasting. The organizers invite the public to explore Baoshan's villages this autumn, immersing themselves in Hakka culture through these engaging activities, thereby ensuring the continued transmission of the region's distinctive human warmth and cultural identity.

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I hope that through this cultural festival, the familiar temple plaza culture will return to the lives of the residents, allowing the elders to find their memories and the younger generation to create their own Hakka village memories.