Businesses work together to revive the cultural interest in Wulai

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on October 4, 2006. It features Wulai Township in Taipei County, whose "Aborigine Cultural Village" used to be a popular place for local and international visitors to experience the singing and dancing of Taiwan's indigenous tribes. But the village gradually declined over the years.

Now, businesses in Wulai have decided to round up a new generation of young people from local indigenous tribes and have them once again put on shows of Atayal dance and song. It is hoped that the combination of Wulai's indigenous tribe culture and famous hot springs will put the town on the map as a "must visit" for tourists. It is further hoped that the renaissance of the Atayal cultural shows will help boost tourism in Wulai to new heights.

According to this article, a group of young dancers from the Atayal tribe have formed a dance company and found a home at the Gaga international theatre in Wulai's Huoli Village. A noted aboriginal musician, You-lao You-gan, has also been invited to compose music. Together, their song and dance will display the history and marriage customs of the Atayal tribe.

Over 50 years ago, traditional song and dance performances were quite popular in Wulai. In 1949, a woman from a tribe in Wulai and a young university student began a romance. The two of them built a wooden structure on the edge of the Nanshih Stream and sought to recruit young women from nearby tribes to stage a cultural show. This was the first tourist-oriented business to show off aboriginal song and dance in the Wulai area. The organization was later transformed into the Wulai Aborigine Tourism Company.

Indeed, Wulai is very close to the Taipei metropolitan area. Given the scenic and cultural highlights in the area, it became a place that international and overseas Chinese visitors had to visit when they came to Taiwan. Within a short period of time, the Wulai Aborigine Tourism Company came to be quite well known, and its dance troupe even went abroad to perform many times and became the pride of Wulai. However, as the tourism industry in the area went into a gradual decline, the company also went under.

Today, according to the Wulai Tourism Development Association, although hot springs are the core competitive feature of Wulai's tourism market, efforts should be made over the long term to also highlight the culture of the area's indigenous people. By integrating song and dance, hot springs and the food and beverage industry, a new boom in tourism for Wulai should be just around the corner.