The Six Clans Blessing Sharp Cannon Fort Festival kicks off for 5 days & challenges a 16-meter extreme feat!

▲ This year, the Six Clans Blessing Sharp Cannon Fort has specially added a “Extreme Sharp Cannon Fort” towering 16 meters high. (Photo provided by Pingtung County Government, same below)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

2015 Hakka 12 Major Festivals –Six Clans Blessing Sharp Cannon Fortkicks off with a festive buzz in Pingtung for 5 days. This year’s event not only takes place in Wugou Shui Village, Wanluan Township, the birthplace of the tradition, preserving its century-old customs, but also innovatively introduces a mobile APP game and an extreme Sharp Cannon Fort standing at a towering height of 16 meters. The blend of old and new makes this year’s celebration even more exciting.

The Six Clans Sharp Cannon Fort, which was included in the National Hakka 12 Major Festivals by the Council of Hakka Affairs in 2010, has this year’s event theme centered aroundthree major series: “Sharp Cannon Fort Competitions,” “Blessings at the God of Land Shrine,” and “Flower Arrangement Competitions.”The 5-day activities commence at the Wugou Shui Community Park, the birthplace of the festival. Zeng Meiling, Director of the Hakka Affairs Division of Pingtung County Government, explained that the traditional Sharp Cannon Fort in Wugou is unique because the community still maintains the use of single bamboo poles and single cannon cages. The bamboo poles are freshly cut from local green bamboo on the morning of the event, adorned with traditional-style cannon cages made from fruit baskets, and fixed onto bases to create the structure—reviving the scene of how Hakka ancestors both trained in groups and celebrated Lantern Festival hundreds of years ago.

▲ The Six Clans Blessing Sharp Cannon Fort.

Then on the 7th and 8th, two consecutive days of competitions will be held at the County Stadium Park, featuring events such as the Soaring Sharp Cannon Fort and the Six Clans Volunteer Army Sharp Cannon Fort, which reenacts the departure of the Hakka volunteer soldiers from the Six Clans region for battle. This year, the organizers have also introduced a new individual competition featuring the extreme 16-meter-high “Extreme Sharp Cannon Fort.” The site will also host a Six Clans Hakka market, live music performances, and other activities.