Taichung City Government held the “Century Festival Event of Taichung” today, which will include major events of “Taichung Train Station”, “Second Market”, “Taichung Century Seven Mazu Festival” and others to present the theme of “Cultural Town within the City”. These events will also be connected with local itineraries, cultural & creative commodity production, creative marketing, hundred-year anniversary of Taichung Train Station, music concerts, railway trips and others, making it an event with rich contents. Mayor Lin Chia-lung stated that with this Century Festival Event, he expects to bring about the Renaissance of Taichung, preserve and carry forward past cultural features, and make Taichung worthy of the name “Cultural City”.

Director Wang Chih-cheng of Cultural Affair Bureau, Director Lu Yao-chih of Economic Development Bureau and Director Tsai Shih-yin of Civil Affairs Bureau gave a briefing reports regarding “Reproducing the Century Glory: Hundred-Year Anniversary of Taichung Station”, “Celebrating Its Hundred-Year Anniversary and Innovating: Series Events on the Hundred-Year Anniversary of the Second Market” and “Overturn the Lively Festival of Central Taiwan: Century Seven Mazu Festival” on February 20th at the city government meeting and explained the planned details of each event.

Director Wang Chih-cheng of Cultural Affair Bureau stated that the “Hundred-Year Anniversary of Taichung Station” that represents its century glory will hold a series of events including Taichung Overpass Music Festival, railway cultural lectures, railway trips and others. Events include the Trains Station Century Press Conference held by TRA on March 31st, railway trips and railway cultural lectures on April 8th and 9th, and Ever-young Funfest, Overpass Market, family events and Taichung Overpass Music Festival will be held on April 15th and 16th. These events intend to awaken the citizens’ memory and recognition on the century-old station, enhance the city’s visibility and create a sense of glory.

Among those events, four itineraries were designed for the railway trips in leading the participants to comprehend the “town within the city” with a wide game. As for railway cultural lectures, railway expert Su Chao-hsu will be invited to give a speech on “Looking Back at the Hundred-Year Transformation of Taiwan Railway and Stations” and Prof. Liou Shuenn-ren from NCKU Department of Architecture will introduce his research on Art Stock 20 and Taichung Station to learn more about the history and construction aesthetics. Taichung Overpass Music Festival will warm the Taichung Overpass Plan up by coordinating with Overpass Market and inviting various artists, local bands and Malaysian singers to join the festival.

Director Lu Yao-chih of Economic Development Bureau stated that the city government has completed constructions such as rain & sewage water diversion, floor repairing, toilet repairs, leakage improvement, changing market signboards and others. It also renovated the ceilings and vendors at the food center, so that the ceiling will remain clean in order to provide more hygienic, brighter and more ventilating dining environment.

After the renovation of the Second Market, to celebrate the hundred-year anniversary of the Second Market with a nostalgic and retro atmosphere, besides decorating the market with red lanterns to create a joyous and celebrating atmosphere, retro advertisement boards along with photography works of Lin Chuan-chu will be displayed at the entrances and exits of Liujiao Building to present the hundred-year image of Taichung.

Director Tsai Shih-yin of Civil Affairs Bureau pointed out that when Wan Chuen Temple asked Goddess Mazu with burning incense and casting moon blocks for further instruction on 2015, they received the sacred instructions from Mazu allowing them to hold the hundred-year anniversary event of “Taichung Century Seven Mazu Festival” at Taichung this year. With the city government as the instructor and Wan Chuen Temple as the implementer, seven temples including Wan Chuen Temple of Central District, Leh Cherng Temple of Hanxi, Chaoyuan Temple of Wuci, Nanyao Temple of Changhua, Lugang Mazu Temple, Chao-Tian Temple of Beigang and Feng Tian Temple of Xingang has held two preparatory meetings and reached initial consensus on the touring of Mazu, the sequential order of the seven Mazu idols and other issues.

Director Tsai stated that other events include Mazu touring and blessing, hanging lanterns for safety, traditional parade formation to thank the goddess, charity events, cultural and art performances and other rich contents will also be organized to present the citizens with a brand new experience and different flavor.

Mayor Lin stated that, due to the 100-year anniversary of Taichung Train Station, the “Century Festival Event of Taichung” held this year by the city government will combine with other events to reproduce and hundred-year glamour and construction the century vision for the next generation. “We must understand that the development of the whole city of Taichung is what we have to do for many years to come!” He stressed that this is the Renaissance movement of Taichung and presented these past and precious cultural heritages by allowing the new and the old to coexist together in order to make Taichung worthy of the name “Cultural City”.

Mayor Lin further explained that, besides large-scale hardware construction plans such as railway elevation, the Greater Taichung Station Project and Cultural Town within the City, the city government also dedicates itself to the preservation and promotion of cultural soft power. The mayor expected Taichung City to become the best cultural preservation and reusing place of Taiwan. “Culture is alive!” Events to be held by the city government are not meant to totally return to the old ways, but are ways that allow precious cultural heritages interact with each other to produce new possibilities through time advancing means. This is the reason why the culture of Taichung is flourishing.

Mayor Lin also mentioned that, besides the “Century Festival Event of Taichung” held by the city government, it can also combine with poems related to Taichung and hold poetry reading, play performance, concert, photography exhibition and other events in order to enhance the participation of civil bodies, schools and companies. By doing so, the “Century Festival Event of Taichung” can further become a movement with civil participation and become a power to promote the Renaissance of Taichung.