Hakka Culture & Customs

Liudui Hakka Cultural Park

Liudui Hakka Cultural Park

Liudui Hakka Cultural Park was established to help preserve the lifestyles and culture of 12 Hakka townships in Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County. The design concept of the park is to inherit local traditions instead of copying them. The designers have absorbed Hakka spatial elements to remold Hakka's villages. and architecture using modern techniques instead of replicating typical Hakka buildings. Especially eye-catching are the six large umbrella stands, the design of which was based on Hakka bamboo hats. Under the umbrellas are introductions to Hakka traditional industries and cultural clusters. In addition, on top of the umbrellas are solar panels that generate power and reduce carbon emissions.

Han Yu's Temple

Founded in the eighth year of Emperor Jiaqing's reign (AD1803), Han Yu's Temple is the only temple in Taiwan dedicated to worshiping Han Yu, the first of the eight literati of the Tang and Song dynasties. The temple used to hire famous teachers to give lectures and inspire local people to read. As a result, this area produced a lot of first-rate scholars and imperial civil servants in the Qing Dynasty. These days, Han Yu's Temple is still replete with incense smoke and offerings, especially during exam season. In addition, Han Yu Jin Bang Fu (a Taoist magic figure who helps examinees succeed in their exams) and Han Yu's Temple Print sent out during the annual Han Yu Festival are very popular.

Zhutian Station Park

Zhutian Station is more than 60 years old and a notable wooden structure on the Fangliao Section of the South Link Railroad. The park created around it features a wooden depot building, the station it self, a barn, a bathhouse, and old well, the Li Xiu-yun  Photography Memorial Hall,Zhutian Cultural Museum, Dexing Rice Mill, and Fountain Ecological Pond. In addition, there's also a room established to commemorate military doctor Ikegami Ichiro,who served the poor for free.

Liu Family Ancestral Hall in Wugou Village

The Liu Family Ancestral Hall has two halls and four surrounded residences. It is located in Wugou Village in Wanluan and is the best-preserved Hakka courtyard building in southern Taiwan. Originally only the left residence and right residence were built. Then two outer residences, Chongguang Hall and Ranli Hall, were added later. The garden, Baroque-style enclosing walls, and pavilion - as well as the construction scale and quality - all show the power and status of the Liu family. The materials used to build the ancestral hall, such as pillars, door panels, columns, the censer and koji pottery, were all sourced from Fujian in China. Two sides of the gate and roof are swallow-tailed, symbolizing that family members succeeded in imperial China's national civil-service exams or was appointed to official posts.