Minister Gu remarked that she found this first experience of reading a story on the light rail fresh and delightful. She recounted that the narrative of this day’s Legend of Three Bag-Gung is set 40 to 100 years ago, from the perspective of a couple, Jubilee and his wife. It deals with the impacts brought about by shifts on the land and rural villages, the contradictions and frustration of villagers regarding land sale, and population outflow and aging. Through the lens of land, the book touches on the deep connections of culture, emotions, and family roots, offering readers food for thought.
In the activity, Minister Gu, Kaohsiung Public Library Director Lee Chin-yang, picture book author Bei Lynn, and 30 groups of parents and children (around 60 adults and kids) explored Kaohsiung’s urban landscape through the story. Minister Gu shifted between Hakka, Mandarin, and Hokkien while telling the tale, allowing young listeners to experience the cultural beauty of multilingualism. Kids and adults listened attentively in an atmosphere of warmth and laughter.
The Kaohsiung Reading Festival is organized every year by the Kaohsiung Public Library, assembling independent bookstores, publishing houses, and cultural institutions at the grand reading celebration, with the goal of fostering reading in Kaohsiung and around the globe. The Reading Festival took place from November 15 to 30 at the Kaohsiung Main Public Library. This year, the theme was “Beyond Borders, Within Ports—a Reading Festival for Those on the Road, a Touching Occasion in Search of Happiness”. For this first time collaboration with Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation, picture book author Bei Lynn made a chief visual for the Kaohsiung Reading Festival that covers the Light Rail. Taiwan’s first light rail train dedicated to reading echoes the theme of “on the road”.
