Miaoli County's "Qiding Watermelon Cultural Festival" Kicks Off with Fanfare on the Morning of the 11th

To promote Zhunan Qiding watermelons, the Miaoli County Qiding Community Development Association held the "Qiding Watermelon Cultural Festival" on the morning of the 11th at the plaza beside Baoxing Temple in Zhunan Township, with on-site watermelon judging, freshly cut watermelons for visitors to taste, and market-style sales of watermelons, allowing consumers to interact directly with farmers; despite the scorching summer heat, the venue was still packed with crowds and buzzing with excitement.

Whenever watermelon season comes around, the Miaoli County Qiding Community Development Association holds the "Qiding Watermelon Festival" to aggressively boost sales; it is now in its fourth year and regularly draws large crowds. Zhunan Qiding watermelons are mainly of the Huabao large watermelon variety; because the area has sandy soil, the watermelons grown here are especially fresh, sweet and refreshing, with a crisp texture that leaves watermelon lovers full of praise.

In his speech, County Magistrate Hsu Yao-chang praised Qiding watermelons as fresh, sweet and refreshing, and joked that Qiding watermelons are free if they are not sandy, highlighting the watermelons' excellent quality. He also said the county government will continue to promote various agricultural policies and, together with local farmers' associations, market the hard-earned fruits of farmers' labor across the country, so that more residents and visitors can see Miaoli County's quality agricultural products and drive overall industry development.

Lin Yung-hsiang, chairman of the Qiding Community Development Association, said that through holding the Watermelon Cultural Festival, people can taste the sweet Huabao large watermelons without traveling all the way to the east, and it is hoped this will raise the profile of Qiding watermelons. In addition, this year the event was combined with the Wennei, Haikou and Gongguan communities of Zhunan Township in a farmers' market format to display and sell various agricultural products, allowing people to buy directly from farmers.