Celebrating Indigenous Taiwanese Culture With the East Rift Valley (ERV) Festival & MyTaiwanTour
Taiwan is home to 16 indigenous groups and a large percentage of them now reside within the East Rift Valley. The East Rift Valley is a region of land in eastern Taiwan that lies between the central and coastal mountain ranges. This 160 km long stretch of land is known for its stunning landscape, endless rice paddies, rich indigenous culture, and ecological diversity.
I had the opportunity to attend the annual East Rift Valley Festival with MyTaiwanTour and cannot wait to share my experience with you. Below is a summary of everything I learned and my honest review of the weekend.
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The East River Valley Festival is an annual event that celebrates the indigenous culture on the eastern coast of Taiwan. This event is hosted by the East River Valley Travel Board and gathers over 12 different native nations over the course of a weekend to celebrate and educate on their group’s culture.
Festivities are sectioned into 6 different categories:
Mountain Hunting Ground: educates on several skills that different indigenous nations mastered in order to navigate and survive off the land
Mumu Kitchen: highlights indigenous cuisine and local foraging techniques utilized by different East Rift Valley indigenous groups
House Of Aesthetics: a deep dive into the different dyeing and weaving techniques used in traditional and modern life
Outdoor Picnic Exclusive: several elevated dining experiences that embrace traditional cooking techniques and highlight local indigenous ingredients
Valley Stage: performances from established and up-and-coming indigenous artists
Select Outdoor Market: crafts and produce booths hosted by local indigenous vendors
How It Works:
The East Rift Valley Festival includes two days of events and festivities
A Day Pass costs $900 NT (2023 prices) and includes three activities from the Mountain Hunting Ground, Aesthetics House, or Mumu Kitchen
Visitors have the option to add on a set meal voucher (meal + beverage) for $350 NT (2023 prices)
Special events like the Outdoor Picnic Feast require pre-registration and additional fees
Events and activities must be registered for beforehand
Why The East Rift Valley Festival:
This event gives indigenous creators and business owners a chance to showcase their work. It centers their culture and provides much-needed education to both local Taiwanese visitors and foreign visitors. Tourism is a key industry in the eastern part of Taiwan and while there’s much to be said about how we can sustainably grow this industry for the long-term, at the moment, it’s one of the most significant avenues for generating revenue and balancing out wealth distribution.
I was invited to this event as a courtesy of MyTaiwanTour. This organization strives to share Taiwan authentically with the world and highlights some of the most unique experiences that I’ve ever seen. Some exciting options include a Sun Moon Lake tea culture tour, a Taroko exploration with the Truku nation, and a bear country hot springs day trek. They create custom experiences that allow visitors to fully immerse themselves in Taiwan’s local culture and lifestyle and I have to say that my tour guides, Julien, and Ting, did an incredible job of both hosting and educating us.
So enough with the background information, here’s how my East Rift Valley Festival trip went!
All the logistics for this experience was organized by MyTaiwanTour. They purchased the train tickets, booked the hostel, and shuttled us back and forth whenever needed.
That being said, here’s some general information about East Rift Valley Festival Logistics
The East Rift Valley Festival is held at the Luoshan Visitor Center in Fuli Township in Hualien
There’s an hourly shuttle that runs from the Chishang Railway Station to the event grounds from 1:30 pm - 7:30 pm on both days.
You can also drive or take a local bus if needed.
In terms of accommodation, we stayed in the nearby Chishang township but there should also be rooms available in the nearby Fuli township.
Day 1: Traveling From Taipei, Lunch, Opening Ceremony, Outdoor Picnic Feast, Free Time, Making Shiokoji, Performances, Checking In To Hostel
Traveling From Taipei:
I took the 7:15 am train down from Taipei to Hualien. From there, I met up with the MyTaiwanTour group and we hopped on the tour bus for another hour or so until we arrived at our lunch destination. After our meal, we continued until we reached our destination at the East Rift Valley Festival.
Lunch at VictoryFamily (勝利不廢商號):
We drove for about an hour down from the Hualien train station and stopped for lunch at VictoryFamily. This third-generation owned grocery-store turned restaurant strives to preserve history through cuisine and storytelling. Their dishes blend the various spices and herbs from Yunnan and Thailand with indigenous crops from the Hualien region. Everything was extremely fresh and delicious and I appreciated that they shared so many personal details with us!
Opening Ceremony:
After checking in and grabbing our complimentary fans and camping chairs, Ting (our tour guide) gave us a quick rundown of the festival grounds. Around 2:30pm, the opening ceremony began. Golden Melody Award-winning grandma, Osay Hongay, along with the Afalong Cultural Arts Troupe opened the festival with ancient ballads from her nation.
Outdoor Picnic Feast with Fafalong Red Glutinous Rice Restaurant (太巴塱紅糯米生活館):
Despite having lunch just an hour before, we were ushered to our next experience at the Mumu Kitchen. We were seated in a stunning outdoor space and given a four-course meal highlighting dishes from the Fafalong Red Glutinous Rice Restaurant.
Course 1: Red Glutinous Rice Wine & Mexican Marigold Roselle Tea
Course 2: Cocktail Salad with Wild Vegetables & Deep Fried Red Glutinous Rice Pancake
Course 3: Rice Wine Infused Grilled Chicken Mimi Rice
Course 4: Red Glutinous Wine Ice Cream & Persimmon Pound Cake
Red glutinous rice is a highly regarded and versatile core crop of the Tafalong nation and this is exactly why it’s the star in every single course of this meal. I thoroughly enjoyed how fresh all the ingredients were and the variation in cooking method showcased across the experience. During the meal, Ting Chen explained each of the ingredients and their significance in the clan’s culture and this extra bit of care made the experience that much more special.
Read more about a similar experience on Francesca’s blog or book your experience here
Connect with the Fafalong Red Glutinous Rice Restaurant (太巴塱紅糯米生活館) on Facebook
Free Time:
After our outdoor feast, we were given a bit of free time to wander around the festival grounds. This was the perfect opportunity to go from stall to stall and chat with the local indigenous vendors. I particularly enjoyed the wild mountain boar sausage, summer sparkling water, and candle stands!
Making Shiokoji with Bayang Amis Cuisine (芭洋Amis美饌):
After a complimentary dinner, our second experience was with Bayang Amis Cuisine. During this experience, we created a traditional Amis condiment made with Changbin sea salt and sweet rice wine yeast. This shiokoji is used in classic clan cooking and adds an incredibly umami flavor to even the most basic dishes. We also decorated our own jars by eco-printing wild plants and flowers on handkerchiefs.
I really enjoyed the myths and stories that our instructor told during the experience including traditional rules behind the fermentation process (for example, not eating meat and abstaining from intimate relations for the sake of maintaining the sanctity of the fermentation space).
Performances:
We wrapped up the evening with performances by indigenous Taiwanese artists on the valley stage.
Fali (追風少女) is a three-part choral group that blends reggae, blues, and ballads with indigenous-based music. I really enjoyed their harmonization and the content of their music! It was also exciting to see how they blended multiple languages into one piece as that’s extremely accurate and representative of how indigenous youth these days might also use the languages they grew up with.
Check Fali (追風少女) out on Spotify or follow them on Instagram
Biung Wang (王宏恩) is a celebrated indigenous artist from the Bunun clan. He was the first artist to release an all indigenous language album in Taiwan and the first male singer of indigenous descent to win the Golden Melody Award with his album “Biung.” During this festival, he promoted his new album, “Breathe Together” and it was really heartwarming to see him interact with the clan aunties that were also at the festival.
Check Biung Wang (王宏恩) out on Spotify or follow him on Instagram
Checking In To Hostel:
The performances marked the end of the festival for the day and we headed back to the bus and checked into the hostel from there. We stayed at 池上米漾休閒民宿— a no frills but comfortable hostel!
Day 2: Exploring Chishang, Lunch, Persimmon Dyeing, Free Time, Heading Back To Taipei
Exploring Chishang:
The tour group was slated to meet around 11:30 am so we started the day off with plenty of free time. I took that time to wander around Chishang (the town we were staying in) and then rented an electric scooter to explore the famous rice paddies of the region.
Lunch At 稻米原鄉館:
At 11:30 am, we gathered in the lobby and checked out of the hostel. The tour bus picked us up and dropped us off at 稻米原鄉館, the only restaurant with a view of Brown Boulevard and the rice paddies. Lunch consisted of classic appetizers like fruit and soup, and a lunchbox. They let us take the handkerchief home!
Exploring Brown Boulevard (池上伯朗大道):
Since we had a bit of time before we were set to attend the festival, Julien decided to take us on a ride down Brown Boulevard! Brown Boulevard is one of the main attractions of Chishang township. It’s a large paved path that cuts through all the rice paddies that the area is known for. It’s particularly scenic in the daytime and an ideal spot for stargazing at night. We rented an electric four-person bike, separated into two groups, and took a quick tour around the region!
Persimmon Dyeing with Alupalan Tribal Workshop (阿魯巴染部落手作室):
The first activity on the agenda for the day was Persimmon Dyeing with the Amis Clan! “Alupal” in the Amis language means persimmon. This branch of the Amis nation settled in a place with a lot of persimmons and that’s how they came to be known as the Alupalan (Persimmon Dyeing) Amis.
The Aplupalan technique that we learned utilizes boiled and fermented persimmon to create a rich, warm, deep brown dye. We painted tote bags with stenciled patterns using this traditional technique and then were given follow-up instructions on how to care for our new goods. I particularly enjoyed the teacher’s perspective on how working with dyeing can be a metaphor and perspective for understanding life and community.
Connect with Alupalan Tribal Workshop (阿魯巴染部落手作室) on Facebook or on Instagram
Free Time:
After the persimmon-dyeing experience, we had a little more free time to explore the festival grounds. I met up with another friend who had recently moved to Hualien and she introduced me to some of the local vendors. From there, I purchased some of their chocolate and fermented soy paste.
Heading Back To Taipei:
At 5:00 pm, we gathered at the visitor center, boarded the bus, and then headed to the Fuli Train Station to go back to Taipei. MyTaiwanTour provided us with the tickets and a bento for the journey!
On the East Rift Valley Festival
I really enjoyed my time at the East Rift Valley Festival! It was a little intimidating at first but once I settled in and got to chatting with the locals, it made the experience that much more special. I appreciated that there was plenty of downtime to explore and to actually slow down.
Taiwan likes to distill things into bite-sized, easily digestible components. Because of the history of the erasure of indigenous culture here, I think a lot of what remains can be perceived as superficial. While I had hoped that there would be more in-depth discussion about some of the history of what happened and an exploration of the cultural significance behind the activities we were taught, I do also understand that this perhaps was not the setting to dive into it.
Overall, I think the East Rift Valley Festival is a great way to expose yourself to indigenous culture in Taiwan. It gathers so many different nations and allows you to understand so much in a very short amount of time. I found that a lot of the participants were open and willing to connect outside of the event, and that in turn allows for deeper understanding and long-lasting partnership.
On MyTaiwanTour
Once again, a huge thank you to MyTaiwanTour for hosting me on this experience. I appreciated how organized everything was and that I literally didn’t have to research anything. The guides were extremely knowledgeable, fun, patient, and clear with communication.
One thing that I wish MyTaiwanTour allowed us to do was to register for our own activities. I think learning some of the traditional weaving techniques or going on an outdoor exploration with some of the local tribes would’ve been more aligned with my interests but I had a great time stepping outside of my comfort zone and trying activities that I otherwise probably wouldn’t have pushed myself to try. I will say that if you’re booking a tour with them specifically, you’ll definitely have more flexibility to plan your own activities!