One of the historic buildings of Hsinchu County, Zhuangjia New Village, also known as “Yi Village,” will be revitalized by the county government through a restoration subsidy provided by Ministry of Culture. Zhuangjia New Village used to be residences for military dependents; thus, the meeting of the revitalization project was specially scheduled on the Armed Forces Day, Sept. 3rd. At the meeting, veterans who had lived in the village were invited to share their stories. In addition, attendants watched a documentary on military dependents’ villages, viewed old pictures, and savored traditional Chinese food such as Shandong baozi and Hunan milk tea.
In addition to looking back to the past with the veterans, Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun looked with great favor on the revitalization of Zhuangjia New Village, which will be divided into multiple galleries and areas featuring culture, life stories, literature, homeland education and recreation space for the community. In the future, the village will serve as a base to promote national defense education, the culture of military dependents’ villages and tourism.
Ms. Zhang Yizhen, the Chief of Cultural Affairs Bureau, revealed that Zhuangjia New Village (Yi Village) in Hukou Township was the key area of national defense education in Hsinchu County. Due to the relocation of military dependents and disrepair, the precious cultural heritage was falling into ruins. To preserve the village as well as the culture, Hsinchu County Government has made great effort to get a subsidy approved by Bureau of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, for the revitalization project. The project will soon be carried out in stages.
At the meeting on Sept. 3rd, the government detailed the overall restoration plan and design and this year’s training sessions. It is hoped that the revitalization project can be on the move through a series of sessions and activities that follows. Moreover, people are encouraged to visit and learn from other successfully revitalized villages and get involved in the preservation work in person. By doing so, not only will the participants have more acquaintance with the culture integration of Hakka people and military dependents, but they can also share the revitalization experiences with more people.