Miaoli County -- Introduction

Archeological research shows that there were people living in Miaoli County in northern Taiwan in the prehistoric era, mainly around the river terrace. They mainly led an agricultural life and engaged in hunting and fishing for extra food sources. About a thousand years ago, Taokas, a group of the indigenous Taiwanese, settled here. The aboriginal name of Miaoli is "Maoli", which means "plateau" in Taokas.

Starting from the mid-17th century, Han Chinese gradually settled in Miaoli. Local indigenous Taiwanese were forecd to assimilate with Han Chinese or more to the mountain areas.

Today, Miaoli is home of people from different origins, including Hakka, Southern Min, Atayal, and Saisiyat. One of the famous Hakka foods popular in Miaoli is pickled vegetables. In the past, Hakka people lived an unstable life. Since they might be foreced to relocate their homes at any time, they had learned to save food for difficult times. Long-term food preservation techniques, such as sun-drying and pickling, had also proved useful in Miaoli, where the land was very mountainous and collecting or purchasing food was not easy.

Dry radish, dry cabbage, dry bamboo shoots, dry beans, dry yams are examples of Hakka people's pickled vegetables. Other foods that can be pickled include gingers, cucumbers, plums and pork.

Here is an interesting article to read:

• Nanchuang dye workshop offers Atayal arts and crafts and more (March 29, 2006)

The following is a map of Miaoli County: