Hakka culture festival is underway in Hsinchu

2015/10/19

The 2015 Taiwan International Festival of Hakka Culture is underway in Hsinchu County, showcasing the vibrancy of Taiwan’s second largest ethnic group and the diversity of the local cultural scene.

Organized by the local government and Cabinet-level Hakka Affairs Council, the 12-day event features a cultural and creative industry fair, a global Hakka development conference, folk drumming performances and lantern displays, as well as an array of other activities comprising animated film screenings, tea tastings, robotic lion dances and traditional wedding ceremonies.

“We are pleased to launch the festival and invite those from home and abroad to celebrate this occasion with us,” Hsinchu County Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun said.

“As this year’s edition is being held in cooperation with the World Hakka Federation and in conjunction with the International Folk Drum Arts Festival and the Hakka Cultural and Creative Industry Fair, it is certain to further raise the profile of the event and attract a healthy number of visitors.”

Highlights of upcoming galas include an Oct. 17 folk drum parade around the county hall and Guangming commercial zone featuring 53 Taiwan and foreign troupes.

In addition, as part of the International Folk Drum Arts Festival, 100 dancing and drumming groups from more than 10 countries and territories will strut their stuff until Oct. 25.

With troupes from Brazil, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, New Zealand, Paraguay, Russia, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Thailand, the U.S. and mainland China taking part in their respective traditional attire, the folk drum arts festival is sure to offer a global flavor.

Equally eye-catching is the world’s first 3-D animated film about Hakka migration. Produced by students from Ta Hwa University of Science and Technology, the movie explores five waves of Hakka migrations from northern to southern China starting from around the year 317.

Members of the ethnic group first settled in Taiwan during the fourth migration between 1645 and 1843, and currently make up one-fifth of the Han population of the island. Hsinchu was a main settlement location, with Hakka people now comprising around 70 percent of the county’s population.

“Combining history with modern technology to portray the process of these migrations, the work provides viewers, especially younger generations, with an opportunity to better understand the Hakka ethnic group as well as its beautiful and rich culture,” Chiu said.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=237852&ctNode=2194&mp=9)