Text by Wei Ruyu, compiled and reported
How beautiful is the small town of Meinong in Kaohsiung? Wang Yifeng, a local director who has been documenting Meinong for ten years, captures through his lens the fading culture of tobacco leaf “cooperative farming,” including the development of paper umbrellas, Hakka folk songs, Hakka cuisine, and the Paper Worship Festival, conveying the area’s unique cultural character and bringing us the film "Lohas Meinong? Heartfelt Charm." As the voting for “Taiwan’s Top Ten Small Tourist Towns” nears its end, Director Wang Yifeng also hopes that this film will allow people to see the richness of Meinong and cast their votes in support.
"Lohas Meinong? Heartfelt Charm" is a work by Wang Yifeng that won first prize in the Council of Agriculture’s “Rural Lohas” film competition last year. With its realistic documentary style and personal travelogue approach, it stood out among numerous entries and caught the judges’ attention. Wang Yifeng said that Meinong’s beautiful mountains and waters were the main reason he chose to make a documentary there; moreover, Meinong’s beauty is not only in its pleasant seasonal scenery, but also in its rich cultural charm. The elderly encountered in the countryside—grannies and grandpas alike—are all kind and warm-hearted. In this hometown embraced by mountains, fields of flowers bloom and yellow butterflies flutter—it’s the most wonderful place in the world.
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Director Wang Yifeng spent a long time documenting to create the film "Lohas Meinong? Heartfelt Charm." (Photo provided by Kaohsiung City Tourism Bureau)
"Lohas Meinong? Heartfelt Charm" follows a Hakka girl who comes to the countryside to experience traditional Hakka culture, rural life, and cuisine. The film features a natural, fresh visual style and weaves together personal stories through interviews to connect viewers with memories of Hakka rural life, thereby presenting a renewed image of Meinong’s charm. It can be viewed online at youtu.be/PmufKFQ3dLE or searched on YouTube as “Lohas Meinong Heartfelt Charm.”
The vote for “Taiwan’s Top Ten Small Tourist Towns” is drawing to a close. Postcard voting will end on March 7, and online voting will close at 12:00 noon on March 9. Netizens can visit the “Kaohsiung Tourism Website” (khh.travel/tw) to join the Facebook fan page campaign “Only Support. Meinong Striving for Top Three in Small Tourist Towns,” and go to the official Tourism Bureau website (tenthsmalltowns.tw) to vote daily for Meinong. If Meinong makes it into the top three of the vote, it could win 28 prizes, including round-trip air tickets between Kaohsiung and Macau, and free luxury suite vouchers at Kenting Swan Lake.
Additionally, before March 9, visitors to Meinong can join the “Endless Fun and Food – Eat to Your Heart’s Content” series of delicious and entertaining activities. With the event DM, you can enjoy complimentary authentic Meinong handmade noodles at recommended shops, get discounts on “iced drinks” and on “bike rentals” to tour Meinong by bicycle. DMs can be picked up at major transportation hubs such as Kaohsiung Railway Station and Meinong Bus Station, where staff will be on-site to distribute them. For event inquiries, call 07-7275611 (Miss Su) or 5668488 (Manager Dai).
● Read more: Vote for Meinong in the Small Tourist Town Poll, Enjoy 15% Off Accommodation & Enter to Win Prizes
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