Good Pears and Good Gifts
Nanping Community Pear Blossom Lantern Workshop
Nanping pears are rich in nutrients from all 24 solar terms, making them an excellent offering and gift. We conducted a shaping experiment using sliced pears, pulp, skin, and gift bags to design a workshop manual for a hand-held lantern-making workshop that belongs to the residents of Nanping community in Xinpu Township.
Located in Xinpu Township, Hsinchu County, the Nanping community is known for its abundant pear production, although people may initially associate Xinpu with persimmons. Additionally, the community is rich in traditional cultural activities, such as the worship of Shennong, the god of agriculture, and the Tianchuanri Grand Lantern Festival, which is characterized by the production of large powered lanterns led by master lantern-makers and involving community residents. In 2021, the Nanping community commissioned Chung Hua University to create a lantern-making workshop for the Lantern Festival, with the community's pears as the theme. The two-day, 16-hour course included experiments with light, basic shaping, origami, and lantern assembly. The average age of the participating residents was between 60 and 70 years old, and some even brought their grandchildren to the workshop. Despite some of them having to pick and sell pears at the market in the morning before attending the workshop in the afternoon, the number of attendees did not decrease over the two-day course. Their impressive stamina was admirable.
Organizer: Xinpu Nanping Community Development Association
Co-organizer: Department of Landscape Architecture, Chung Hua University, USR Xinpu Project
Lead Designer: Wu Ming-Hung
Event Planning: Lin Yu-Ting, Wu Ming-Hung
Teaching Materials Production: Chu Meng-Yu, Huang Jie-Ni
Project Management: Lin Yu-Ting
Photography: Wu Ming-Hung
