The sound of rockets shooting into the air is followed by loud bangs. In front of Fengtian Temple on Xingang’s Zhongshan Road, volleys of fireworks ring in the ears all day long and there is an endless stream of worshipers carrying Mazu statues from daughter temples all over Taiwan on pilgrimages back to their mother temple.

Whenever Xingang is mentioned one is sure to think of Fengtian Temple. Besides its being the destination of the annual Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage, each year an average of more than 5,000 Mazu statues from daughter temples are brought on pilgrimages to Fengtian Temple, so it is always filled with worshipers.

A flourishing port

Today Xingang is a major center of religious culture, but 400 years ago it already appeared on maps as an important river port.

Huang A-yu, a professor in the Department of Applied History at National Chiayi University (NCYU), says that in olden times the place where Xingang is located was called Bengang. It appeared with the spelling “Pankam” on the southern bank of the Bengang River on a large-scale map of Taiwan drawn in 1623 by Dutch cartographer ­Moses Claesz Comans. A road which departed from this location was an important highway for the Dutch heading north.

Huang says that before 1784, the only harbors that were permitted to trade between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan were Lu’ermen in Tainan and Xiamen in today’s Fujian Province. Bengang was an important transshipment center for rice being transported to Lu’ermen from the then Zhuluo County. Commerce and trade flourished, and the Qing authorities even set up a county magistrate’s office in Bengang.

Changes to Xingang

Bengang prospered thanks to its harbor on the ­Bengang River (today’s Beigang River). In the early 18th century there was already a division between the northern part of Bengang, Beijie (part of today’s Beigang in Yunlin County) and the southern part, Nanjie (part of today’s Xingang). Back in the day Bengang could even be considered as a rival of the then capital, Tainan (then known as Taiwan Fu). As Nanjie prospered, it grew to be second in size only to Tainan among Taiwan’s coastal and near-coastal cities prior to 1784, and was nicknamed “Little Taiwan.” In the early 19th century, the Bengang River flooded frequently, and gentry from Nanjie relocated some three or four kilo­meters east to Mayuanliao, which then became known as Xingang.

The land at this new location was flat, and agriculture thrived. Major crops in the early days included sugar cane, peanuts, sesame, and asparagus.

Huang A-yu says that in the era of Japanese rule (1895–1945), railroads took over the transportation role previously played by rivers and river ports. The main north–south railway was connected to the narrow-gauge sugar-industry railway that ran from Chiayi to Beigang via Xingang. This sugar railway carried worshipers to Xingang’s Fengtian Temple and Beigang’s Chaotian Temple, and because it offered quick and convenient access to these religious sites, it also became known as the “pilgrimage railway.” However, the Chiayi–Beigang line, the last route operated by the Taiwan Sugar Corporation, closed down in 1982, and the Xingang station was abandoned and became overgrown with wild vegetation.

Fengtian Temple, a center of popular faith, stands at the geographic center of Xingang.

How Mazu came to Fengtian Temple

According to records kept by Fengtian Temple, Xingang’s most famous religious site, to ensure the safety of their journey Han Chinese settlers crossing the Taiwan Strait from China in 1622 brought with them a Mazu statue, which became known as the Mazu of the Boat. The deity took up permanent residence in Bengang, but it was only in 1700 that local residents got together to construct Tianfei Temple. Huang A-yu says that this was the earliest Mazu temple built in Zhuluo County, and it was later renamed Beigang Tianhou (Empress of Heaven) Temple.

However, floodwaters from the Beigang River swept away the temple, and after local residents moved east to Xingang they built Fengtian Temple, which was completed in 1813. Because the Mazu enshrined there had protected Bengang’s first Han settlers, she was also called “Pioneer of Taiwan.”

In 1906 a powerful earthquake in Chiayi almost ­completely ­destroyed Fengtian Temple. Lin Bo-chi, head of the World Mazu Culture Research and Document Center, based at the temple, says that during the Japanese era, although the Japanese authorities promoted the kominka policy to Japanize the Taiwanese and repressed traditional Taiwanese religious practices, they did permit Fengtian Temple to raise funds from the general public, and the temple’s reconstruction was finally completed in 1918. From these events one can see the close relationship that has existed between the people of Xingang and their Mazu temples.

Temple repairs and renovations

The earthquakes of September 21 and October 22, 1999 again seriously damaged Fengtian Temple. The temple selected respected elder craftspeople to repair and renovate the structure, making it even more beautiful and majestic.

The repeated rebuildings and renovations of Fengtian Temple created demand for craftsmen skilled in Koji (a.k.a. Cochin) ceramics and cut-and-paste ceramics (decorative mosaics made with pottery shards), turning Xingang into a major center for these skills in Taiwan. In particular, the master craftsman Shi Lianchi hails from Xingang and has recruited apprentices to study with him there, earning Xingang the nickname “nest of cut-and-paste and Koji.”

Lin Bo-chi remarks: “Today Xingang is the only place where you can buy the raw materials for Koji ceramics and the hand tools for cut-and-paste ceramics.”

Ho Wen-ling, a professor in the Department of Visual Arts at NCYU, writes in a book on the temple's history that the craftsmanship displayed in the architecture and decoration of Fengtian Temple is of considerable artistic value.

Chen Zhongzheng, an apprentice to folk artist Lin Zai­xing, founded the Bantaoyao Crafts Studio in Xingang’s Bantou Village, specializing in Koji and cut-and-paste ­ceramics. He has added modernistic elements into his work and also offers experiential classes where people can try their hand at these traditional crafts.

Chen Zhongzheng, a master craftsman of Koji and cut-and-paste ceramics, founded the Bantaoyao Crafts Studio, which combines tourism with the teaching of traditional artisanal skills.

This work by Chen Zhongzheng on the auspicious theme of “100 birds venerating the phoenix” expresses the phoenix’s exalted status.

Fengtian Temple has been renovated several times, helping to underpin the craft industries of Koji and cut-and-paste ceramics.

From commercial hub to farming community

While Xingang was a bastion of commercial activity during the Ming and Qing dynasties, after its relocation eastward agriculture developed there. In earlier times Taiwan was known as an asparagus kingdom, and Xingang was an important producer of this crop. Today the township is still a major center of farming in Chiayi County.

According to county government data, Xingang has the largest paddy rice harvests of all Chiayi’s townships.

Besides rice, another flourishing area of agriculture in Xingang is greenhouse horticulture. He Lizhi, director of agricultural extension at the Xingang Farmers’ Association, says that greenhouse crops including leafy vegetables such as water spinach and sweet potato leaves as well as colored bell peppers and prairie gentian are local specialties. Of these, the one grown in the largest amount is water spinach, which supplies nearly 60% of the wholesale market for this product in Taiwan.

Prairie gentian, meanwhile, comes in myriad varieties, shapes, and colors, and is mainly exported to Japan.

In coordination with efforts by the Agriculture and Food Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture to promote cultivation of mixed staple crops, the Xingang Farmers’ Association has assisted farmers in switching over to black soybeans in place of a second annual rice harvest. The soybeans produced are used to make soy sauce, soy milk, and processed foods.

Besides agricultural products, Xingang also offers many culinary delights. Particularly well-known is “Xingang candy.” Inventor Lu Qitou blended sugar, peanuts, and malt to make a candy that he renamed Xingang candy after moving to Xingang and opening a shop there. During the era of Japanese rule, Xingang candy was shown at many inter­national exhibitions in Japan and repeatedly won prizes, making it famous far and wide. Even today it is one of the best souvenir gifts one can buy in Xingang.

Xingang Xuan (SGS Food), a food producer located in front of Fengtian Temple, not only makes Xingang candy but also many other nostalgic foods, including “Xingang large pastries,” traditional Chinese cakes, “premier scholar” wedding pastries, winter-melon-and-fried-pork cakes, and almond cookies (made with almond slices wrapped with crispy rice that has been soaked in mashed malt). These are also gift items purchased by Fengtian Temple for use when Mazu goes out to visit other temples.

The thick duck-meat soup served in the temple courtyard, made using shredded crispy bamboo stir-fried with fresh duck meat and a broth thickened with sweet-potato flour, is a can’t-miss dish for tourists.

The prairie gentian flowers grown in Xingang are mainly exported to Japan. (courtesy of Xingang Farmers’ Association)

The water spinach grown in Xingang supplies 60% of Taiwan’s wholesale market for this crop. (courtesy of Xingang Farmers’ Association)

Colored bell peppers are among Xingang’s most important crops. (courtesy of Xingang Farmers’ Association)

The Hsin Kang Foundation

In the 1980s, Taiwan’s economy was soaring and people were rolling in money. At this time, one of the most popular activities in society was the illegal gambling game dajiale. Small-town doctor Chen Jinhuang, seeing the ill effects of gambling on social morals and people’s health, invited Xingang native Lin Hwai-min to bring his Cloud Gate Dance Theatre home to perform in Xingang.

“Through this dance performance, it was my hope to give the children of Xingang a chance to see world-class performance art and internalize it into their lives,” says Chen, who founded the Hsin Kang Foundation of Culture and Education (HKFCE). At that time Lin was looking for ways to help the arts take root in society, and with the two men holding such similar views, he strongly supported Chen in setting up the foundation.

Established in 1987, the HKFCE was Taiwan’s first township-­level foundation, and it led the way in “bottom-­­up” community development work. Their first aim was to set down roots for the arts, and they started a bookmobile service for remote communities and schools. They now also provide services to the elderly in Xingang’s various villages.

To revive rapidly disappearing Beiguan music, the HKFCE promoted a project to recruit members into the century-old Wufeng Beiguan troupe, thereby extending the group’s life. They also established a Song Jiang Battle Array performance troupe at Gumin Elementary School, breathing new life into this aspect of traditional culture.

From the arts the HKFCE branched out into promoting environmental protection and the greening and beautification of communities. The foundation recruited volunteers to clean up the ash and debris left by the fireworks set off during religious processions. They created a tree nursery in a garden where Chen’s mother grew vegetables, known as the Green Garden, to raise saplings with which to beautify Xingang. They mobilized people to clean up the long-abandoned Xinkang station of the old sugar railway and founded Xingang Railroad Park, Taiwan’s first park with “railroad” in its name.

In view of the rapid aging of the rural population, the HKFCE extended its services to keep up with the times, and renamed the Green Garden the Suyuan Long-Term Care Center, which supports home care for elderly and severely disabled residents.

The HKFCE Café works with the ½ Nature Farm of the Hsin Kang Foundation of Education and Culture to promote cuisine made using locally grown ingredients. This program is highly valued by local residents.

The residents of Bantou Village have worked collectively to restore the Bantou station of the sugar railway’s Beigang line.

Duck meat and shredded bamboo shoots are stir-fried over a high heat to make the popular dish of thick duck-meat soup.

Street-making and revitalization

Daxing Road, also known as “Rear Street” because it runs behind Fengtian Temple, is Taiwan’s first ever example of bottom-up “street-making” and beautification through cooperation between citizens and officialdom. The renovated street is a blend of old and new, and includes an herb shop; a grocery store; the century-old shop Shuangxiexing, which sells dried foodstuffs; and a shop specializing in bridal cosmetics and wedding supplies. It’s a place that visitors will enjoy strolling around.

Lin Hwai-min’s grandfather Lin Kaitai, who was known as “the poet doctor,” had his clinic and residence on Rear Street. His children and grandchildren, carrying on his injunction to his offspring to “be selfless and act for the public good,” donated the house to the Chiayi County Government, which registered it as a historic building and renovated it, opening it to the public in 2023.

The Yuan Fa Hao company makes soy sauce using locally grown black soybeans.

Xingang candy and banana candy are well known gift items made in Xingang.

The Xingang candy, traditional Chinese cakes, and Xingang pastries made by Xingang Xuan make excellent gift items for processions of the Mazu statue from Fengtian Temple to other locations.

Lin Hwai-min’s ancestral residence

The plaque reading “Pei Gui Hall” over the main entrance to Lin Hwai-min’s ancestral home has calligraphy written by Lin Kaitai’s father, Lin Weichao. The old home has a simple exterior with a red tile roof.

The interior decor is sparse, and Lin Hwai-min relates: “The space is beautiful, comfortable, and tranquil. Few people who go inside speak while there, and some even sit and meditate in the living room for a long time. It feels good to be able to sit and think deeply about things.”

Next to Pei Gui Hall, a walkway lined with large-­flowered thunbergia leads to the back garden, where you will find the fragrance of coffee coming from a Starbucks located there. The combination of the greenery of the old residence and the aroma of coffee adds a cultured air to Xingang.

Xingang Township mayor Yeh Meng-lung notes that at the end of 2023 an art museum dedicated to the work of Lin Guozhi, known as “the painter of Tashan,” will open behind Pei Gui Hall. Besides visiting Fengtian Temple, travelers will be able to take in Pei Gui Hall, Starbucks, and the art museum at one go. They can also extend their itinerary northwestward to visit the Bantaoyao Crafts Studio and surrounding gardens or the ruins of the Fuxing Iron Bridge from the old sugar railway, or southward to admire the expanses of sunflowers in Anhe and Xibei villages.

Xingang has withstood the ravages of time, including floods and earthquakes, and become a resilient and multi­faceted community. The best way to get to know it is to take a leisurely stroll through its streets and discover the new stories in this venerable township.