The official opening of Taiwan’s Hakka Poetry Route (客家詩路) was held at the Liudui Hakka Cultural Park (六堆客家文化園區) in Pingtung County on Dec. 11.
  

The newly constructed pathway aims to integrate Hakka literature with local landscapes. Poems and lyrics created by contemporary Hakka poets and singers — including Tseng Guei-hai (曾貴海),  Yeh Ri-song (葉日松), Chang Fang-tsu (張芳慈), Lin Sheng-xiang (林生祥), Lo Sirong (羅思容), and Chen Yung-tao (陳永淘) — are displayed on signboards along the road for visitors to explore various themes spanning Hakka cuisine, traditional Hakka old houses, childhood in Hakka villages, religious beliefs, and customs.

Visitors ambling along the route will also come upon several installation pieces featuring Hakka elements such as unique window grills, red-brick roof tiles and urns, and patterns of Hakka blue blouses. Surrounded by thriving plants and blooming flowers, the Hakka Poetry Route is comparable to a literary garden.

At the opening ceremony, Hakka Affairs Council Minister Lee Yung-de stated that the Hakka can be considered the very foundation of Hakka culture, adding that recent efforts in language preservation gave rise to the idea of constructing the Hakka Poetry Route.

Minister Lee noted that, with the flourishing of contemporary Hakka literature, many remarkable authors portray their life experiences with timeless words that have expanded the presence of Hakka culture within the world of Taiwanese literature.

According to Lee, the Taiwan Hakka Culture Development Center (THCDC, 客家文化發展中心) took 2 years to select the literary works that are shown on the route and complete the infrastructure of this spot. He explained that, as an interactive facility, the Hakka Poetry Route also provides visitors with an audio experience via scannable QR codes attached to the end of every literary signboard.

The minister extended a warm invitation for visitors to enjoy Hakka rhythms and rhymes brought to life by the exclusive literary road in Pingtung.