Meatball Soup is a magazine launched by a group of National Tsing Hua University students in an old house off campus in Hsinchu. It introduces its readers to less-known sides of the city, including century-old shops in Hsinchu’s old town and people striving to realize their personal and idiosyncratic dreams in hid- den corners of the city. Does your knowledge of Hsin- chu stop at the Science Park and the City God Temple?
Meatball Soup wants you to know that Hsinchu defi- nitely extends far beyond there.
The magazine Tentioncy represents just one of the efforts made by the young returning native son Chiu Hsing-wei to transform industry in the rural township of Nanzhuang in Miaoli. Unwilling to let his hometown be transformed beyond recognition by outsiders, he has begun planning itineraries that offer in-depth tours to introduce travelers to “the real Nanzhuang.” Chiu has established a youth hostel that allows for visitors to exchange work for room and board, and in Tentioncy he explores the glories of Nanzhuang’s past. He is working nonstop to change his farming village for the better.
Inscrutably named, the magazine 952 Vazay Tamo is aimed at the youth of Orchid Island. The work of six women who have overcome obstacles such as the island’s notoriously fickle weather and lack of a proper printing plant, the magazine puts a fresh and lively spin on things without neglecting the island’s traditional culture.
Culture animates normal everyday life, and every lo- cale brims with a variety of viewpoints. Pick up a local magazine and take a look for yourself: Taiwan’s authen- tic down-home spirit is there for you to behold.