Known as the “Mini-Olympics of the Dawu Mountain,” the 58th Liugdui Hakka Games, which is a must-go event and unique southern Taiwan’s Hakka culture for local residents, will take place on March 11 and 12 in Pingtung.

(Exhibition on 2023Liugdui Hakka Games and Wanluan’s Hakka village culture)

During the sporting event, an exhibition on the history of the Liugdui Hakka Games and Wanluan Township will be held, showcasing previous highlights and cultural relics of the Hakka Games and precious photos and videos by photographers Liu An-ming (劉安明), Lee Hsiu-yun (李秀雲), and Chi Po-lin (齊柏林) as well as cultural workers Chiu Tsai-yen (邱才彥), Tsai Sen-tai (蔡森泰), and Peng Chi-yuan (彭啟原). The exhibition will also display the Hakka village culture of Wanluan Township where this year’s Hakka Games will be hosted, allowing visitors to know more about the Hakka settlement in Pingtung.

(Director Ho Chin-liang of Hakka Culture Development Center (second from left) and Yang Chiu-ping (fourth from left), the long jump record holder of the Hakka Games)

(Lin Kuo-shun (third from right), Wanluan Township mayor of Pingtung County, 97-year-old local elder Lin Pu-his (third from left), cultural worker Tsai Sen-tai (first from left), and Chen Mei-yen, official of Hakka Culture Development Center at the exhibition venue)

According to Director Ho Chin-liang (何金樑) of the Hakka Culture Development Center, the images and objects on display at the exhibition will revive the memories of different generations of the Liugdui Games. The Liugdui area is the cradle of many domestic sports players, cultivating many excellent athletes and coaches. The exhibits include the handbook of the Hakka Games in 1968 when it was hosted by Wanluan Township Office for the first time, videos and record documents of athletes from Wanluan, including sportspersons Pan Mao-jung (潘茂榮), Hsieh Yu-hsing (謝裕興), Hsu Mei-chiao (許美嬌), Yang Chiu-ping (楊秋平), and Chung Tsai-jung (鍾彩榮).

(Director Ho Chin-liang of Hakka Culture Development Center said the exhibits of the Liugdui Hakka Games revive the memories of different generations of the Games)

(The exhibits of the Liugdui Hakka Games revive the memories of different generations of the Games)

The Hakka Culture Development Center stressed that, apart from exhibits that depict the Liugdui Hakka Games’ history, the exhibition will also feature rare old photos provided by local cultural workers. For instance, exhibition-goers can see images of tennis matches in a Neipu Township’s elementary school in 1926; award-winning cheerleading team in 1936; Wanluan’s Wugoushui (五溝水) settlement, which is the first to be registered as a traditional Hakka settlement in Taiwan; and Chung’s Mansion in Wanluan of 1932.

(Tennis matches in a Neipu Township’s elementary school in 1926, photo courtesy of Tsai Sen-tai)

(Chung’s Mansion in Wanluan of 1932, photo courtesy of Tsai Sen-tai)

Everyone is welcome to attend the Hakka Games and visit the related exhibition at Wanluan Junior High School. More information about the Liugdui Hakka Games and the exhibition can be found on the Hakka Culture Development Center’s Facebook fan page.