Meinong Yuan-Hsiang-Yuan Paper Umbrella Culture Village

Cultural heritage

The Yuan-Hsiang-Yuan Paper Umbrella Culture Village lies in Meinong, Kaohsiung, founded by the third-generation umbrella maker Mr. Li Hong-jun and devoted to preserving and promoting the fading Meinong oil-paper umbrella craft. The village gathers umbrella-making demonstrations, painting experiences, Hakka artefacts and Hakka food in one place, one of the key sites for understanding Meinong Hakka culture.

Visiting: Inside the village one can watch craftsmen shave bamboo, mount paper and apply tung oil on the spot, and paint one's own umbrella on a blank canopy; the displayed Hakka floral cloth, old farm tools and finished umbrellas, paired with a bowl of ban-tiao noodles or lei-cha tea, let visitors taste the living aesthetics of Meinong's Hakka through hand and palate alike.