April's Snow White Romance: Hualien’s “Hakka Tung Blossom Festival” Kicks Off on the 12th

▲ April is the beautiful and romantic tung blossom season. (Photo / file photo, showing tung blossoms in Taimali, Taitung)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

The adorable tung blossom season is here again！The “Tung Yan 'Tung Yu ~ 2014 Hakka Tung Blossom Festival” event in Yuli Town, Hualien, from April 12 to April 20, features a series of cultural activities accompanied by snow-white tung blossoms, including concerts, tung blossom hiking tours, and tung blossom lectures.

On the mornings of April 12 and 19, the “Warakumi Trail Tung Blossom Hiking Tour,” with shuttle bus pick-up, takes locals to visit the secret garden of black bears—the Warakumi Trail. This 3.4-km round-trip (about 2 hours) national park eco-tour offers a glimpse into nature. On April 13, the “Warakumi Trail Tung Blossom Hiking One-Day Tour” is perfect for hiking enthusiasts, featuring a 10-km round-trip (about 4 hours) walk where you can admire the lush natural tung blossoms along the way. The hike ends at “Jiaxin,” offering a panoramic view of the majestic Laonong River valley. On the return trip, visitors can also explore the Hakka Life Museum in Yuli Town and view the “Tung Yan Tung Yu” tung blossom photography exhibition, appreciating the vibrant beauty of tung blossoms captured through the lens.

At 1:00 p.m. on the 12th, the opening ceremony of the Tung Blossom Festival at the Pushi Art Museum—“Tung Yan 'Tung Yu ~ Tung Enjoyment Mountain Song Concert”—features performances by the Hsieh Yu-wei Band alongside outstanding young Hakka musicians such as Tseng Ya-chun, Hsieh Shuan-chi, and Wang E... They will deliver a lively concert. Visitors can also experience the creativity and unique charm of Hakka specialty products, opt to try traditional indigo dyeing with strong Hakka flavors, or explore the world’s only stone craft—Pushi Art.

At 9:00 a.m. on the 20th, the closing Tung Blossom Literature Lecture at the Hakka Life Museum invites Professor Fan Wen-fang from the Taiwan Language and Literature Education Research Institute at National Hsinchu University of Education. With the theme “Writing and Appreciation of Hakka Literature,” she will discuss Hakka literature with the audience, introduce them to Hakka literary works, and explore the influence of Hakka literature on Hakka culture.