This exhibition, themed "Qiong Rhyme, Hidden Craftsmanship: Cross-Strait Heritage in Harmony," is jointly organized by the Hainan Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Association, Taiwan Humanistic Education and Culture Foundation, Xingyun Cultural Education Public Welfare Foundation, and the Chinese Federation of Calligraphy and Painting Promotion in Taiwan. Since its opening on 8 month 29, the exhibition has focused on core projects such as traditional Li ethnic group spinning, dyeing, weaving, and embroidery techniques, systematically introducing 2 national-level intangible cultural heritage representative projects from Hainan.
"Hainan and Taiwan share striking similarities in topography, area, climate, and ancestral migration patterns. Their maritime cultures are closely aligned, creating deep cultural ties," said Xie Feng, Deputy Director of the Hainan Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center. "Through text interpretation, photo exhibitions, and live craft demonstrations, we aim to help our compatriots in Taiwan connect with people, objects, and daily life, fully experiencing the charm of Hainan's intangible cultural heritage."
The corridor exhibition halls of the Buddha Memorial Center, spanning over 100 meters, showcase exquisite coconut carvings, traditional attire, and related cultural creative products. They also feature calligraphy, Chinese painting, and oil paintings created by Hainanese artists, offering a multi-dimensional portrayal of Hainan's cultural landscape.
"Although I've never been to Hainan, the familiar banana trees, betel nut groves, and thatched cottages in the paintings make me feel right at home." Mr. Su, a 70-year-old resident from Kaohsiung, visited the exhibition with his family recently. He said during the interview that he is determined to visit Hainan in person to see it for himself.
Beyond static displays, the exhibition's highlight is its living heritage approach: traditional crafts step out of display cases and into hands-on audience participation. From 9 to 6, we invited inheritors from Li ethnic dyeing and embroidery, Hainan coconut carving, agarwood crafting, Dongshan straw weaving, rattan and bamboo weaving, and traditional tea processing to demonstrate techniques firsthand, transforming intangible cultural heritage from something to be seen into an experience you can touch and feel.
"The coconut carving and grass weaving experience zone is the most popular," says Jiang Na, a volunteer at the exhibition hall. Many local residents have come specifically to watch the demonstrations and feel the warmth of traditional craftsmanship.
Chen Chun-lin, founding chairman of the Taiwan Zhonghua Hanwei Cultural Promotion Association, stated that the "Cross-Strait Intangible Cultural Heritage Month" has successfully held 12 editions across Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Taitung, and Hualien. The event is deeply loved by Taiwanese residents and will further strengthen cross-strait cultural exchange in the future.