Special Exhibition On Liudui Games Kicks Off In Pingtung

In celebration of the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the Liudui Hakka settlements, a special exhibition on the Liudui Games kicked off on April 1 at the Liudui Hakka Culture Park in Pingtung County. Its opening event was attended by Hakka Affairs Council (HAC) Deputy Minister Chung Kung-chao (鍾孔炤), Director-General Ho Chin-liang (何金樑) of the Taiwan Hakka Culture Development Center (THCDC), Director Ku Hsiu-fei (古秀妃) of the Tainan Hakka Affairs Commission, heads of the townships/districts in the Liudui region, and exceptional athletes who have participated in the Liudui Games.

HAC Deputy Minister Chung said that the special exhibition is not only to warm up the 56th Liudui Games that will take place on April 10 and 11 at Meinong Junior High School, but also to help the public gain an understanding of the efforts made by Liudui residents to protect their hometown and maintain ethnic traditions over the past 300 years.

Chung noted that the exhibition presents itself with bountiful historical documents and interactive displays, including the handbook of the inaugural Liudui Games, the animated adaptation of the picture book “The Secret of the Liudui Games (六堆運動會的秘密),” and the re-constructed scenes of the events of tennis, volleyball, field and track, and tug of war.

The so-called "Liudui (六堆)" is not a place name, but a collective appellation for the Hakka settlements in Kaohsiung and Pingtung, which are made up of 12 townships/districts, including Meinong District (美濃區), Shanlin District (杉林區), Jiaxian District (甲仙區), and Liugui District (六龜區) in Kaohsiung City; as well as Changzhi Township (長治鄉), Linluo Township (麟洛鄉), Zhutian Township (竹田鄉), Jiadong Township (佳冬鄉), Xinpi Township (新埤鄉), Neipu Township (內埔鄉), Gaoshu Township (高樹鄉), and Wanluan Township (萬巒鄉), all in Pingtung County.

It has been over 70 years since the first Liudui Games took place in 1948. Although the sports event had been suspended for 18 years due to political and economic factors, the second edition was resumed in 1966 with the local people’s support. Since then, the township offices have hosted the Games on a rotational basis, hoping to show each township’s distinctive characteristics in the Liudui region.