The Overseas Souvenir Awards: Foreigners love Sun Cakes and Dried Mangoes the most

By Chi Bing-hui, compiled and reported

Taiwanese people love giving gifts, and the diverse range of local specialties has also become a favorite among travelers. The "2011 OTOP Awards Ceremony and Local Characteristics International Carnival – A Century of Hearts, Local Sentiments, OTOP with Gratitude," hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, has recently concluded. The winners of the Overseas Souvenir Awards were selected through a one-month online vote and votes from foreign friends. The top three favorites were Sun Cakes, Dried Mangoes, and Rice Noodles. Next time you’re looking to give a gift to a foreign friend, you might want to consider these options.

Premier Wu Den-yih stated that the rich folk culture and local characteristics nurtured over Taiwan’s centennial history are a wellspring of endless creativity. Small and medium-sized enterprises have integrated creativity into Taiwan’s cultural products, successfully upgrading the local specialty industries and further expanding international business opportunities. The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ promotion of “OTOP” – one district, one specialty – allows the public to purchase all kinds of unique local souvenirs in one go at stores with the “OTOP” label, eliminating the need for long and tiring trips. In addition to the Taiwan Local Specialty Product Galleries set up at Taipei 101, the High-Speed Rail Wuri Station, and Sun Moon Lake, nine other distribution points have been authorized, including the Taiwan Handicraft Promotion Center, Heng Chang, Nan Ren Lake, Zhan Zhi Creative Design, and Shin Tung Yang. More locations will be added across Taiwan in the future.

This year’s inaugural OTOP Overseas Souvenir Awards, themed “Culinary Selections, Artisanal Gifts,” aimed to provide foreign friends who love Taiwan with the perfect gifts or mementos to bring home. A total of 32 items were selected in the first edition. Through an online popularity vote (August 25 – September 20, 2011), a 100-person tasting panel (September 14, 2011), and the OTOP Overseas Souvenir Taoyuan Airport Exhibition, foreign friends voted for the top three most popular overseas souvenirs and handicrafts. The items that received the highest popularity ratings were Sun Cakes, Dried Mangoes, Rice Noodles, Glassware, Lifestyle Ceramics, and Indigo Dyeing – all highly representative souvenirs.