Sketch of Archilife Study Tour, May 2018
2018年5月份見識之旅縮影 ![]() For the study tour of May 19, 2018, Ms. Lu Ming-yun led 14 ARF interns and their parents on a discovery trip to Wumile Rural Community in Jingliao, Tainan. At the start of the day's activities, team leader Ms. Lu Ming-yun reminded everyone about things to note and what to observe, and provided the interns some general background knowledge. ![]() The focus of the tour was the Jingliao community in Tainan and the tour was guided by local residents. Jingliao was the center connecting the north and south during the Qing Dynasty. Despite its decline due to changes over time, its rustic agricultural village culture have remained. In fact, the documentary "Let It Be" was filmed in Jingliao. The study tour began with an explanation of the origin of the name "Wumile", translated as "let it be", which is an allusion to the optimistic attitude of local old farmers toward life. During the tour of the rural community, the tour guide explained that, in the early days when resources are scarce, every household would grow fruits and vegetables in place of flowers for their values as decorative ornaments for the living environment as well as food for the family. A wide variety of fruit trees can still be seen in the community today. Upon arriving at Jingliao Old Street, the tour guide said that the street used to be the place to shop for wedding supplies. There was an old-fashion ice-cream shop where young men and women met on blind dates, and a shop where the bridal bedding sets could be customized. Everyone visited the shops and even saw the elaborate setting for weddings in early agricultural society where bridal dowry was loaded on an ox cart. In the DIY activity that followed, onion skins were used as dye. After learning the basic techniques and patterns, rubber bands and ice-cream sticks were used as tools for dyeing square pieces of cloth, and the interns felt a great sense of accomplishment upon seeing their creations. ![]() After lunch, everyone toured the community riding an ox cart, and experienced the rural scenery and friendliness which were different from the city. At the experiential area for rolling rush grass, the tour guide began by explaining that rush-grass weaving was mainly a part-time job in the early days. The rush grass were harvested and sun-dried, and flattened using a stone drum operated by foot. The interns tried stepping on the stone to experience the hardship of women who had to roll the rush grass in the past. The next stop of the tour was the Jingliao Catholic Church. The tour was guided by a French priest who spoke fluent Taiwanese. He explained the reason for the church's establishment and taught everyone the importance of having faith. The final destination of the tour was Jingliao Elementary School. Introducing the school, the tour guide said that it was built during the Japanese Occupation. It once had 2,000 students but there are now less than a hundred students due to severe population loss caused by industry decline. It also prompted everyone to think about solutions to the issue. At this point, the day's itinerary came to an end. Everyone took a group photo before heading back and looked forward to the next study tour. |