Social Events

Reception

The Red House was renovated in 1908 by Japanese architect Kondo Juro under the order of Taiwan Governor-General Office, and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008. “The Red House: A Century of Stories and Blessings,” a centenary exhibition jointly organized by Taipei City's Department of Cultural Affairs and Taipei City Archives, has received so much acclaim that it is re-opened to the public on a permanent basis starting in January 2009. Integrated with the Red House's architectural highlights and venues, the carefully curated exhibition comprises four parts, each representing a specific stage of the century-old architecture's glorious past, namely: the Japanese colonial era, the heyday of entertainment, the age of movies and the diversified-style period.

The reception includes a performance program along with the dinner. In particular, the performance program contains Bian-Lian show, Diabolo Acrobatics, and folk dance. The Bian-Lian (literally Face Changing), shown left, is an ancient Chinese dramatic art that is part of the more general Sichuan opera. Face changing is a romantic technique to reveal the innermost feelings of characters in the play. In the face changing, the entire face was changed by five types on the stage. The skill and speed with which Chinese artists change their beautifully painted masks has captured audiences’ imagination for centuries. Moreover, Diabolo Acrobatics (see left) has a long and enduring history in Taiwan. It is a traditional Chinese acrobatics art form. The diabolo is a juggling prop consisting of a spool that is whirled and tossed on a string tied to two sticks held one in each hand. On the basis of the original tricks of playing diabolo, acrobatic actors had created a great deal of new tricks and stunts. A huge variety of tricks are possible using the sticks, string, and various body parts.

        

Banquet and Award Giving Ceremony

This year, HPSR 2013 will give two awards: the best (non-student) paper award, and the best student paper award. The awards are granted based on the reviewers' comments and scoring as well as the quality of the presentation at the conference. The recipients of each award will receive a certificate and US$800. The awards will be given and announced at the conference Banquet.

The gourmet Chinese Banquet dinner offers neo-Szechuan & Cantonese cuisine in an atmosphere inspired by the arts of traditional calligraphy and chic, contemporary designs. Some house red wines are served with the dinner.

Shilin Night-Market Tour

Next to these Chinese delicacies, the enormous variety of typical Taiwanese snacks is unique in the world and most perfectly illustrates the important place that the food culture takes into the lives of the Taiwanese people. Famous and unique Taiwanese snacks range from oyster omelets to fried rice noodles, tempura, Tainan Danzai noodles, Taiwanese spring rolls, rice tube pudding, and braised pork rice. Food is cheap and delicious, and by no means inferior, while each specialty gives you an insight in the people of the area it originates from.

Typical Taiwanese snacks are found everywhere, but Taiwan's night markets in particular, each night market having its own traditions and characteristics, are the places where these snacks can be found in abundance. Trying out these snacks, tourists will be able to learn about different specialties, cultures and people from different areas, adding a whole new perspective to traveling.

The Shilin Night Market is one of the well-organized and most popular night markets. It is separated into two major sections. One sector covers the streets surrounding the traditional Yangming Theatre and stretching to the Chicheng Temple on Danan Rd. The other sector is a centralized food court serving a wide variety of snacks that attract large crowds. At the Shilin Night Market, visitors can shop from store to store and have a large selection of clothes and accessories that they can bargain for reasonable prices.

Also a lot of the food vendors from Shilin Night Market are famous for their local flavors and are only available at the Shilin Night Market.Visitors are able to enjoy a wide range of local food, including Sausage Wrapped in Glutinous Rice, Stir-fried Squids, Oyster Omelets, Shilin Super Size Sausages, Ribs Stewed in Chinese Herbal Medicine. Shanghai Bun, Qinwaxiadan, Scallion Pancakes, Paopao Ice, Huge Chicken Cutlet, and many more.