Emerging Hakka industries: Construction begins on the Pingtung County Hakka Village Cacao Promotion Center

"Pingtung Cacao" has become an emerging agricultural brand in Taiwan, China. To accelerate the development of the Hakka village cacao industry, the Pingtung County Government has used a total of 31 million yuan in subsidies from the Hakka Affairs Council and self-raised funds to build the "Pingtung County Hakka Village Cacao Industry Cross-Domain Promotion Center." On the 13th, together with the Catholic Diocese of Kaohsiung, a juridical person, a groundbreaking and blessing ceremony was held to pray for the smooth and safe progress of the construction and for the cacao industry to advance by leaps and bounds. County Magistrate Pan Meng-an emphasized that Taiwan's cacao industry has already begun to stand out on the world stage, and that in the future local industry upgrading will be carried out step by step, building County Road 185 into a corridor of history and industry.

County Magistrate Pan Meng-an stated that, in addition to fully promoting cacao cultivation, Pingtung County is also actively seeking to have the Asia-Pacific regional competition of the International Chocolate Awards (ICA) held regularly in Pingtung County, so that the Pingtung cacao industry can create a new image of "cacao in Pingtung, Pingtung has cacao," attract international tourist traffic, and drive the vigorous development of the agricultural tourism industry. This will allow the cacao industry in Pingtung to move from taking root and sprouting to the stage of blooming and bearing fruit.

County Magistrate Pan Meng-an pointed out that the "Pingtung County Hakka Village Cacao Industry Cross-Domain Promotion Center" will be the future development center of the cacao industry, integrating various cacao products, agricultural specialties, and an ecological education exhibition park. Through a diversified business model, it will comprehensively enhance the quality of cacao tourism in Pingtung, stimulate economic activity in the surrounding areas, and become a new highlight of Liudui ecotourism.

The Pingtung County Hakka Affairs Department stated that the construction site of the "Pingtung County Hakka Village Cacao Industry Cross-Domain Promotion Center" is located in the Catholic district of Jiazuo Village, Wanluan Township, adjacent to the County Road 185 ecotourism belt. Nearby are well-known attractions such as Wanchin Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Wugoushui Settlement, Wanluan Pig Trotter Street, Wanluan Suspension Bridge, and Wularutzi Tribe, which can link the diverse and rich tourism highlights in the surrounding area.