The Hakka Affairs Council (HAC) joined hands with 14 county/city governments across Taiwan to jointly organize the Tung Blossom Festival, and held the 2025 Tung Blossom Festival Launch Press Conference at the Nanmen Branch, National Taiwan Museum in Taipei on April 9. HAC Minister Gu Show-faye invited everyone to step inside the forests to view tung blossoms and explore Hakka villages, appreciate the beauty of mountains and realize the depth of coexistence with nature and sustainability.
HAC began organizing the Tung Blossom Festival in 2002. As it enters the 23rd year, Minister Gu expressed that tung blossoms grow in Hakka-populated areas and acted as a major profit crop to help Hakka families make a living in the past. Times have changed and the flowers now attract streams of tourists to scenic spots in Taiwan. Aimed to promote development of local industries, the Tung Blossom Festival stands out as the first iconic event that put Hakka people in everyone’s radar.
Minister Gu also mentioned that for the first time, people would vote on the most popular tung blossom tree this year, with 33 candidates collected with the help of counties and cities. People can vote online and are welcome to submit any tung blossom sceneries overlooked so far. Finally, the hallmark Call for Tung Blossom Three-Line Poems of many years will be open until May 20. In addition, the selected works for 2024 will be displayed simultaneously on the Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung Metros, allowing passengers to appreciate the beauty of three-line poems.
To offer people a better traveling experience and delight in tung blossoms, the HAC’s Hakka Tour website also has 20 tung blossom scenery monitoring locations that leverage smart technology to deliver bloom forecasts. That way, people can obtain the latest news on tung blossoms and choose the best timing for their flower-viewing journey.
Moreover, HAC is collaborating with 70 businesses to launch Tung Blossom Festival exclusive offers, so people can experience Hakka cultural events and take in tung blossom art while appreciating the flowers and exploring Hakka villages. Visitors shouldn’t miss on the chance to buy local Hakka specialties and share them with loved ones back home. For related information, go to the Tung Blossom Festival Facebook fanpage or the Hakka Tour website.
