By Nancy T. Lu / Taiwan News, Staff Writer
Tourists find many good reasons to visit Kending the whole year round. The Spring Scream, which is privately organized in March or April every year, is one happening which has been attracting an ever-growing crowd, especially the younger set. The foreigners love it, accounting for their big turn-out. So do the local young people, who come from northern, central and southern Taiwan to experience several days of fun so close to nature. Live bands, as many as 250, turn up to fan excitement through their hot, heady and nonstop music-making.
| The Hengchun Peninsula phenomenon known as "wind dropping down the mountain" creates some inconvenience in winter. The monsoon rushes in, slamming against the mountain slopes and then dropping below. But the Pingtung County Government has turned the foul weather condition around, even exploiting it by organizing the Wind Bell Festival in Dawan to usher in an auspicious new year. |
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| Roots of an old tree./Tourism Bureau |
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Hanging up chimes and leaving them to make music in the wind have been inspired by the Paiwan tribe's traditional practice of suspending wind bells made of bamboo and stone to keep out the evil spirits and intruders.
Meanwhile the Pingtung Peninsula Arts Festival of the Pingtung County Government also annually brings in artists from far and wide to celebrate the beauty of the place through their art at year's end. In the beginning, Dajianshan - recognized as Kending's icon - dominated their works of art. The 5th year of the arts festival in 2005 coincided with the 130th founding anniversary of Hengchun, thereby turning for a change all attention to the ancient city with four well-preserved old gates. Yang Mao-lin, Lai Chun-chun, and Chen Ching-rong are some of the prominent local artists who have participated in the arts festival.
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| Cows at pasture/Hou Tsung-hui |
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Hengchun, meaning "forever spring," was called Long Jiao, an aboriginal allusion to orchids, in ancient times. It adopted a name descriptive of its year-round spring climate much later.
The place used to be inhabited mainly by the Paiwan tribe. The name of Kending, now a popular tourist destination, refers to the able-bodied men encouraged in the Cing Dynasty to claim Hengchun and open up the land for farming. |
Residents in recent years have been encouraging honeymooners to visit Kending in order to be blessed with sons.
The town of Hengchun hosts the Ghost Month spectacle of men and women scaling poles, which are greased heavily with cow fat, in a race to grab the flag at the top. Each team in the event, held once every three years, has about 12 members. Before reaching the pinnacle of success, individual participants usually lose control and keep sliding down.
The event this year promises to be much bigger. The plan, in fact, is to invite foreigners to participate for the first time. Training will be arranged.
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