New Addition to the Changhua County Muslim Industry Chain! The “Magical Mushrooms Tribe” leisure farm in Puxin Township, Changhua County was certified as a Muslim Friendly Environment by the “International Muslim Tourism Industry Development Association” in December last year (2019) and was presented with the certificate yesterday (18th). The Magical Mushrooms Tribe is the first business in Changhua County to be certified as an environment suitable for Muslim recreation and leisure. According to Magical Mushrooms Tribe, the farm attracts crowds of visitors every weekend. The giant mushroom-shaped ticketing booth by the road is its most distinctive landmark, while the farm itself contains many family-friendly activities and facilities including the fungus cultivation area, event lawn, health restaurant, specialty shops, mini-locomotive, and DIY spaces. The founder quit his high-paying job and became a mushroom farmer because he loved eating mushrooms so much. Knowing that traditional cultivation relies on heavy use of chemicals to control pests and bacteria, he focused on the cultivation of organic mushrooms. He not only traveled around the world to study different methods of cultivation but also made the promotion of family leisure, eco-tourism and LOHAS cuisine his goals. The Magical Mushrooms Tribe leisure farm was established in 2009 and has now obtained the Muslim Friendly Environment certification. Halal restaurant certification is now being applied for as well. People of all ages as well as followers of Islam are welcome to come explore the world of fungi in Taiwan and embark on a fun fungus journey. The Changhua County Government Department of City and Tourism said that the 1.8 billion Muslims in the world accounted for approximately one-quarter of the global population. Around 60% live in Asia as well. Last year, more than 660,000 visitors to Taiwan came from major Muslim countries in Asia such as Indonesia and Malaysia. The county government has been actively promoting Muslim-related certifications to help Changhua County businesses take advantage of the global Muslim market. The “2020 Changhua County Symposium on Muslim Tourism” held in February 13 this year provided businesses with an overview of current Muslim tourism in Taiwan, hosting tips, and halal-certification. The symposium was enthusiastically received by 46 local businesses and improved their understanding of Muslim tourist culture, taboos, dietary habits and certification information. The county government will continue to assist businesses with obtaining Muslim-related certification. The county government hopes that its promotion of certifications will progressively build a Muslim friendly environment. In the future, it plans to connect the tourism resources of nearby regions such as Taichung City, Nantou County, and Yunlin County to expand travel itineraries from points to counties and then to entire regions. The building of tourism word-of-mouth among Muslim tourists will help win them over so they can eat without fear and play to their hearts’ content when they come to Changhua.

The town of Mugi is located on the southern coast of Tokushima Prefecture in Shikoku, Japan. It became sister towns with Puyan Township in Changhua County on July 22, 1983. The agreement came about due to increased ties between the two townships after a Taiwanese doctor from Puyan opened a clinic in Mugi in 1983. Though the towns’ mayors exchanged visits in 1988, more than twenty years passed with no further contact after Mugi provided aid to Taiwan after the September 21 Earthquake in 1999. A girl named Monica Hsu (徐妙弦) from Changhua County received a Master/Ph.D. Degree study-abroad loan from the Changhua County Government in 2019 and is now studying for a Global MBA in Innovation Management at Hosei University in Japan. In mid-January this year, she was assigned as an intern to the Regional Revitalization Department of South District Administration Bureau (Minami Office) in Tokushima Prefecture. While researching Tokushima before her internship, Hsu discovered the past link between Puyan Township in Changhua County and Mugi Township in Tokushima. When she returned to Taiwan during her Christmas and Japanese New Year holidays last year, she made a pilgrimage to Shunze Temple in Puyan and received a blessed cap. She also told the story of Gustav Iden to her department director and supervisors. At the end of her internship, Regional Revitalization Department Director Koichi Kusaka (日下浩一) arranged for her to meet with Mugi Mayor Osamu Masutomi (枡富治). She presented the mayor with the blessed cap and tourism pamphlet for Changhua County, and told him that she was glad to revive the link between the two towns. She also hoped that it will become an enduring friendship as he will always be welcome in Changhua. During her internship, Hsu not only helped make suggestions on regional revitalization in Tokushima but also promoted the tourist destinations and culture of Changhua, her hometown. She was instrumental in enabling mutual exchanges between their respective websites. The link for the Japanese version of Changhua’s tourism information website was added to the “The Lower Right of Shikoku” website (https://shikokunomigishita.jp/), while the link to the Chinese version of Discover Tokushima website was added to the “Travel in Changhua” website (https://tourism.chcg.gov.tw/) to help promote mutual tourism. Hsu also expressed her gratitude to the Changhua County Government as its study-abroad loan gave her the opportunity to fulfill her dream in Japan. She was particularly delighted to have the opportunity to give the Japanese people another channel for learning about Changhua. She will continue to promote Changhua in Japan if the opportunity offers itself so that more people from Japan can learn about Changhua and travel to Changhua. Links on their respective websites: Japanese version of Travel in Changhua website (https://tourism.chcg.gov.tw/index.aspx?l=JP) Linked by Tokushima Prefecture’s “The Lower Right of Shikoku” website (https://shikokunomigishita.jp/) Chinese version of Discover Tokushima website (https://discovertokushima.net/tw/) Linked by “Travel in Changhua” website (https://tourism.chcg.gov.tw/)

2020 Changhua Flower Festival has already begun, lasting until February 9. It is the first time to construct a “Floral Water Dance Zone” at Changhua Fitzroy Gardens with the landscapes there. With one hundred moles, a thousand diamonds, and ten thousand roses, it presents visitors with a marvelous water dance. During the exhibition, a show is presented every 30 minutes from 6:00pm to 8:45pm. Accompanied with beautiful music, the water dances with flowers and shadows in different sessions pluck people’s heart strings. On the day of its opening, it attracted more than 140 thousand spectators. Mayor Wang, Huei-Mei of Changhua County welcomed visitors to spend their Lunar New Year holidays in Changhua. They can visit Changhua Fitzroy Gardens and enjoy walking among the flowers during the daytime, and watch the lanterns and water dance at night, enjoying a happy Lunar New Year there. In addition, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, February 4 to February 6, the Coming True Fire Group, Yingbei Junior High School in Nantou, Chio-Tian Folk Drums & Art Troupe, Taiwan Acrobatics Troupe, W.H.O Theatre, and more are invited to perform exciting shows for three days there. Changhua County Public Health Bureau expressed that although there is no local Wuhan coronavirus case in Taiwan, to prevent its outbreak, since the first day of the festival a precaution notice has been posted at the entrance of the gardens. People are educated to conduct self-health management by washing their hands frequently and paying more attention to conduct to protect the respiratory tract. Visitors are not required to wear surgical masks or check their temperature when entering the park.

The National Development Council held the “2019 Government Open Data Award Ceremony” in Avenue, Taipei City on the 17th. After winning the Gold Medal in the 2018 “Open Data Award” in Category 2 – Regional Government, Changhua won the Gold Medal again this year. Director Shih, Min-Hua of the Planning Department, Changhua County Government attended the ceremony and received the award on behalf of Magistrate Wang, Huei-Mei from Director-General Chen, Mei-Ling of the National Development Council. “Open data” is the opening of electronic data, including texts, references, graphics, images, audio files, and metadata in accordance with the law, obtainable and conducted under the authority of each agency. The data is put on the internet in an open format for the use of people, schools, groups, enterprises, or government agencies in accordance with different needs, The “Gold Medal for Open Data Award” presented by the Executive Yuan aims to encourage agencies at all levels to promote data quality and provide accurate, easy-to-use, and structural data. It is reviewed in three aspects of “obtainability,” “easy processing”, “easy understanding”, for data set on open platforms of government agencies at all levels. Then, the results will be further evaluated in accordance with the integrity. Winners will be presented the Gold Medal, Silver Medal, and Bronze Medal. At present, on the open platform of the Changhua County Government, 378 data sets are provided. All of them were presented with the Gold Medal. It is a difficult task indeed. In the future, the Changhua County Government will continue to open its data to promote the quantity, quality, and value of open data to provide innovative government services. Authorizing the use of open data to private sectors, it will satisfy the needs of the general public for the demand of open data. Likewise, the governance will become transparent and open, promoting data exchange among agencies, quality of decision making, the development of diverse customer service, and the transformation of information industry, and other benefits to constitute win-win situations among people, the government, and businesses.

After being selected as one of the classic towns by the Tourism Bureau, MOTC in 2019, Lukang, Changhua County won the Gold Medal in the Taiwan Town Brand Award, exceling among 30 towns or more. It has become an exemplar of the Taiwan Town Brand with a deep culture. The Changhua County Government expressed that it is the second anniversary for the Taiwan Town Brand Award. Last year, Lukang won the Silver Medal. This year it won the Gold Medal. Other than the historic relics and historic architecture that are preserved intact in Lukang, each of these sites is unique and has its own value. Moreover, many artisans, national treasures dedicated themselves in the town, teach traditional skills. It can be said that Lukang is an origin of traditional culture in Taiwan, gathering handicrafts, folk opera, literature, and art in one place. Each of these genres has its own achievements, being the heart of Taiwan culture. More importantly, Lukang would like to thank the adjudicators for their preference. This year is the first year of the birth of the local region. In Taiwan, there is a saying, “first, Tainan; second, Lukang; and third, Mengjia.” It explains why Lukang is an important place of origin regarding Taiwanese culture, with more than 300 years of history. The streets of Lukang are the epitome of the development of towns in Taiwan. It still retains the streets built during the Qing Dynasty. Traditional Minnan culture still permeates the streets and alleys in Lukang. There are also two National Historic Monuments: Longshan Temple and Tianhou Temple. In addition to sponsoring folk activities in Lukang’s historic monuments and historical architecture to allow traditional artisans to develop their regional features, it also promotes cultural tourism and trade opportunities in night markets. For example, oyster omelets, mantis shrimp, roasted wheat flour, steamed pork buns, beauty’s eye cake, and many other Lukang snacks are the cultural wealth of Lukang. It provides the happy Lukang feast, which is fully booked instantly, promoting the town’s economic benefit. The International Dragon Boat Contest in the Dragon Boat Festival is also included in the Taiwan International Sightseeing Calendar. It creates the economy of night life. Indeed, it deserves the award. All Changhua folks really feel excited for Lukang to win the Gold Medal in the Taiwan Town Brand Award. The Changhua County Government will contribute more to promoting cultural sightseeing. In addition to maintaining Lukang as an exemplar in the Taiwan Town Brand, the Changhua County Government is enthusiastic to promote its international profile as well.

Camping has become the most popular leisure activity in Taiwan, becoming the first priority of families. Subsidized by the Tourism Bureau, MOTC, the refurbishment of the “Shetou Qingshui Yan Hot Spring Camp Site” conducted by the Changhua County Government is going to be completed. The landscape of the park has been renovated. Connecting with the towns and townships in the neighborhood, it provides routes for minitours. Hopefully, it will become a popular leisure site in central Taiwan. On December 1, the Changhua County Government sponsored a pioneer tour group, inviting many bloggers to experience the “Baquashan Mountain Ecology Explorer Minitour in Nature” conducted by the Qingshuiyan Ecological Culture and Creative Cultural Industry Association. With interesting environment education and DIY activities, it is expected to exploit the influence of internet leaders, who were welcomed to visit the brand new Qingshuiyan Hot Spring Camp Site. The “Shetou Qingshuiyan Hot Spring Camp Site” was formerly named the Qingshuiyan Boy Scout Camp Site, located by the path on the foothill at the west slope of Baquashan Mountain. The Changhua County Government obtained NT$200 million from the Tourism Bureau, MTOC to refurbish the site. It is estimated to be completed at the end of this year. In the camp site, there are facilities of grassland, water space, and a covered playground. Providing at least 233 quality camping spaces, it can accommodate a maximum of 1500 people in largescale camp activities. To the southwest side of the camp site, there is the Qingshuiyan Hot Spring, regarded as the best hot spring in Changhua, including a public hot spring spa, outdoor hot spring, foot spa pool, and more. The hot spring water is carbon nitrate in nature at a temperature of about 40oC. When the construction is to be completed in the future and the entrusted management is done, it will become a dream camp site with the appeals of a hot spring spa and camping. In addition to the hot spring camp site, Qingshuiyan, Baquashan Mountain in Changhua has rich ecological resources, with more than a hundred indigenous species. There are things worthy of exploring in different seasons. As a County Historic Monument, Qingshuiyan Temple has simple and elegant architecture, beautiful and tranquil. The “Changhua County Qingshuiyan Ecological Culture and Creative Cultural Industry Association” that has been operated in the region for a long time educates people to preserve the natural ecology and environment. With ecological and cultural education, food, and agricultural education as its major appeals, in recent years, it provides interesting and prolific experience tours, which are always fully booked instantly. In collaboration with the development of the camp site, it has launched the themed tour of “Baquashan Mountain Ecology Explorer Minitour in Nature.” Integrating nature and humanities, it is saturated with educational meaning together with good food and an in-depth tour guide. The venue is closer to the camp site. In the pioneer group, led by bloggers from different parts of Taiwan, people wandered along the evergreen path with rich ecology. They took deep breaths of fresh air in forests and experienced interesting DIY activities, from beautiful plants and flowers to egg coloring, from praying birds to sock dolls. Both adults and children developed their creativity. At noon, herbivorous plants, butterflies favorite, were transformed into gourmet dishes on the lunch table. They were beautiful as well as tasty, satisfying people tastes and visual pleasure. Enjoying good food, they also learned more about ecology. The pioneer group also visited “LOHO Original Socks” to experience the making of socks and learn more about the “home of socks.” This is a socks sightseeing factory integrated with the functions of education and leisure all under one roof. In addition to the exhibition and sale of functional socks, the first-generation manual sock weaving machine to the fully automatic sock weaving machines, sock materials, and more are exhibited. Soon, the exceptional persimmon-dye sock experience will be presented. Along the way, they also visited “Fu Jin Restaurant” – a famous spot among railroad culture lovers in Taiwan and abroad. The owner, Chen, Chao-Chiang, grew up in a railway family. He loves to share his private collections of TRA relics. Moreover, there is the popular No. 135 patrol train. No matter whether you are a railway fan or a dilletante of railroads, you don’t want to miss the trip. In the future, with the Qingshuiyan Camp Site as the base, it will be extended to neighboring towns and townships in more minitours, taking you to visit top scenic spots and popular shops. It will be a highly recommended choice for one-day or two-day tours.

In the 15th meeting of the 7th Historic Monument Review Conference held on August 30, 2019, the Ministry of Culture approved Lukang Tianhou Temple to be promoted to a National Historic Monument. On the morning on the 3rd, Minister Cheng, Li-Chiun presented the National Historic Monument in person. Deputy Magistrate Hung, Jung-Chang of Changhua County, Director-General Shih, Kuo-Lung of the Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture (BOCH), and Chairperson Chang, Wei-Tung of the Lukang Tianhou Temple Management Committee attended the ceremony to witness the memorable moment. Worshipping Matsu, Lukang Tianhou Temple is a local religious center. In accordance with the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, the Changhua County Government filed the application to list “Lukang Tianhou Temple” as a national historic monument on November 20, 2017. Magistrate Wang, Huei-Mei was very concerned about the case after her inauguration. The Ministry of Culture approved the application to be a National Historic Monument in the review meeting on August 30, 2019. At present, there are seven National Historic Monuments in Changhua County, including the Lukang Tianhou Temple, Changhua Confucius Temple, Lukang Longshan Temple, Yuanching Guan, Daodong Academy, Maxing Chen Yi-Yuan Family Mansion (Yi Yuan Mansion), and Shengwang Temple. Lukang Tianhou Temple is the 106th National Historic Monument in Taiwan. Worshipping Matsu, Lukang Tianhou Temple is a local religious center. In 1985, it was listed as a Class 3 National Historic Monument. In 1997, due to the amendment of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, it was changed to a County Historic Monument. With the endeavor of the central and local government and private sector, Lukang Tianhou Temple has been promoted to a National Historic Monument. Deserving its renown and importance, the wood crafts, stone engravings, and paintings were all done by superb artisans. For example, the wood crafts were made by Wang, Yi-Shun, Wu, Hai-Tong, Wang, Shu-Fa, and Huang, Lian-Ji. The stone engravings were the work of the Jian, Xing family of Huian. The paintings were done by Kuo, Hsin-Lin and Ke, Huan-Zhang, both of whom were excellent artisans of their time. With the careful protection of the Tianhou Temple Management Committee, the architecture and crafts are preserved in good condition.

The Christmas tree, 6m tall, in the Changhua County Government square will be lit up until January 12, 2020. At 7:30pm on December 20, 2020, a Christmas Thanksgiving Concert will be held. We welcome you to attend. In this year, in addition to the neat and cute Christmas tree and decorations on it, the Changhua County Government has designed a FB check-in spot. People checking-in after 5:00pm from today until December 31 are eligible to claim a small gift – promotional materials at the help desk on 1F. From Monday to Thursday, 30 gifts will be given out. On Friday to Sunday, 100 presents will be presented. With a limited number of gifts, first come, first served. Christmas customs are available at the help desk for taking pictures. You are welcome to borrow them. We wish you a merry Christmas. Different from the decorations last year, there are only Christmas lights in the county government square. This year, the twinkling lights will be extended to the side gates of the county government. Along the wooden plankways, colored balls are installed, dreamy and lovely. After the lighting party, it is nice to take a short walk along the plankway to enjoy the romantic night. Starting from today until December 31, street musicians will perform there from 6:00pm to 9:00pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights (except December 20). On December 20, a Christmas Thanksgiving Concert will be held. We welcome people to come and celebrate a merry and touching Christmas.

When the construction of the Lukang Folk Arts Museum was newly completed, it was called “DaHe Cuo.” Its spatial design and elegant look became a classic in the history of Taiwan’s architecture. It will be the centenary of its construction soon. To celebrate the centenary of its construction, a series of activities with the theme “Lukang Tai Hou 200” will be launched. On the afternoon of the 7th, the “Centenary of the Lukang Folk Arts Museum and Ladies Fashion Culture” was held. Magistrate Wang, Huei-Mei, Koo, Kwang-Ming, the presidential advisor and the former president of Lukang Folk Arts Museum, Jeffrey Koo, Jr, the President of the Lukang Folk Arts Museum, and honorable guests attended the ceremony to witness the centenary of DaHe Cuo. During the ceremony, the commencement of “Lukang Tai Hou 200 – Ladies Fashion Culture,” a special exhibition was announced. The exhibition will end on April 5, 2020. We welcome visitors to share the joy of Lukang. From December 8, 2019 to January 10, 2020, there is a vote for a popular collection pk. Visitors are invited to vote for their favorite collections. In addition, on December 14 and 15, the “Taishou Roman: Nostalgic Fair” will be held. We welcome visitors to come and experience nostalgic Lukang.

With the help of the Taiwan Visitors Association HK Office, Tourism Bureau, MOTC, Changhua County and Taichung City, the first cruise of the Costa neo Romantic will anchor at Taichung Harbor on the 24th – Christmas Eve, bringing 1,600 visitors to travel around Changhua and Taichung. It will be the first cruise anchoring in Taichung and travelling around Changhua over the past years. The Taichung City Government has arranged a minitour and the Changhua County Government will collaborate with the Changhua County Tourism Association to welcome visitors. In the reception of visitors from Hong Kong, there will be seven routes. Different from traditional routes focusing on scenic spots, the trip will arrange tours to sightseeing factories. Director Zhu Jia-yi of Travel Experts, Hong Kong arrived in Taiwan on December 4 to discuss issues such as the venue decoration, quarantine, welcome ceremony, and more in detail with the Port of Taichung, Taiwan International Ports Corporation, Ltd., Taichung City Government, and Changhua County Government. On December 5 and 6, they visited Lukang Old Street, the Ribbon Museum, BRAND'S Health Museum, J Wood Garden, the School of Cookies, the Kuan Yuan Lian Gallery, the Magic Mushroom Tribe, and Taiwan Glass Gallery to understand the travel route and content of visits. The Department of City and Tourism, Changhua County Government arranged trips for Director Zhu to visit the sightseeing factories, DIY cookies, and plant mushrooms to learn daily life knowledge through experiencing it. They also visited Lukang Old Street to experience its rich cultural atmosphere and taste Lukang snacks, which were praised highly. Director Zhu expressed that in this trip she learned further about Changhua’s leisure agriculture, sightseeing factories, and more. This allows visitors to know more about the merchandise, production process, quality control, and related products, subverting people’s stereotypical impression about sightseeing factories that persuade people to buy their products. It is believed that the trip will live up to the expectations of Hong Kong visitors. In the past, Changhua was a place for local tourism. Nevertheless, Lukang is attractive to visitors from Japan and China. After the inauguration of Magistrate Wang, Huei-Mei of Changhua County, she has been promoting Lukang’s international profile enthusiastically. This year, travel agents and media from Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia visited Changhua. Certified Muslim cuisine and accommodations were also promoted. Likewise, visitors from different countries can visit Changhua with peace of mind. Constructing a friendly environment for international tourism, Changhua endeavors to promote its tourism economics.