On a certain day, the Council of Hakka Affairs held the “2010 Hakka Tung Blossom Festival – A Family Wonderland” event at the Daxi Flower Sea Farm in Taoyuan, attracting over 20,000 visitors. Adults and children alike sat, lay down, enjoyed the shade, or wandered through the sea of blossoms, making the most of the rare holiday. Due to the overwhelming turnout, the entire Taiwan Route 7 was heavily congested—even Council of Hakka Affairs Chairperson Huang Yuzhen and Taoyuan County Magistrate Wu Zhiyang were stuck in traffic and almost didn’t make it to the stage on time.
The day’s theme was “A Family Wonderland,” hosted by children’s favorite “Blackie” (Zhang Shanwei), with MOMO TV’s Peachy Sister, Jelly Sister, and Caramel Brother also taking part. The event was bursting with energy as kids and adults sang and danced to tung blossom-themed performances, perfectly capturing the festive spirit of the festival.
Many families came specifically to see the tung blossoms, but interestingly, quite a few looked up to see “giant tung blossoms” floating about, which seemed increasingly strange. It turned out to be a “man-made cloud machine,” which created fluffy tung blossom-like clouds similar to bubbles, stacking up a dreamy, childlike atmosphere. The pure white, soft clouds slowly rose before everyone’s eyes, adding a touch of romance.
In addition to the exquisitely arranged tung blossom displays, there was also the creatively themed “Future Postcards” activity, which drew many people to pick up beautifully designed postcards. They wrote their heartfelt messages, dropped them in the tung blossom mailbox, and all the postcards will be mailed out during the 100th year of the Republic of China Tung Blossom Festival. By then, participants will receive their own well-wishes and reminders.
To help children engage with Hakka culture, the organizers invited the If Kids Theater Troupe to perform the play “Grandpa and Grandma Bok,” featuring fun interactions between the stage and audience. Local performance groups were also invited to captivate the crowd with music and movement. The cutest tung blossom plush toys even danced to an original tung blossom-inspired tune, allowing families to enjoy the power and beauty of the tung blossom melody together.
The venue also featured a Hakka specialty goods exhibition and sales event supported by the Council of Hakka Affairs. A limited-edition set of 3,000 eco-friendly tung blossom festival tableware kits was available for free exchange and was quickly snapped up. Huang Yuzhen noted that this year’s Tung Blossom Festival involved 11 counties and cities, 36 townships, and 81 organizations, making it the largest in scale, most spectacular in performances, and most attended to date—with the first three main events drawing over 100,000 visitors and the official website receiving more than 3 million page views.