The “Qiang Gu” or Ghost Grappling folk event in Hengchun, Pingtung has become a major tourist attraction during the Ghost Festival and has been listed among Taiwan’s “Top 100 Religious Sites”. Due to the “Qiang Gu 搶孤” tent facility being too close to the nationally recognized ancient city walls, violating the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, the Ministry of Culture ordered its removal after this year’s last event.
Hengchun Ghost Grappling Festival
They proposed removing six pillars from both the east and west sides and retaining the original site. Structural engineers have confirmed its safety. If approved by the Cultural Heritage Committee of the Ministry of Culture, the facility will be reduced to 24 pillars. Additionally, the Hengchun Culture Center, set to open next Lunar New Year, will feature a dedicated “Qiang Gu” cultural area.
Hengchun Ancient City is a nationally recognized historic site. The Ministry of Culture indicated that the tent pillars, being less than 4 meters from the city walls, violate the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act and ordered its relocation. To minimize the impact on future events and tourism, the town office advocated for reducing its size and retaining its original location.
Ghost grappling (Qiang Gu) platform in Hengchun
The town office stated that the best option is to retain the facility in its current location but with reduced dimensions, by removing 6 pillars each from the outermost eastern and western sides to comply with regulations. After the memorial event on October 1st, structural engineers assessed the safety and reported their findings to the Cultural Heritage Committee of the Ministry of Culture for review.
In recent years, the “Qiang Gu” event has evolved into a rivalry between northern Toudcheng and southern Hengchun. Compared to the “Qiang Gu” in Yilan’s Toucheng, local historians in Hengchun are concerned about the limitations of the event.
Climbers require specialized cloth wraps and climbing training. Without incentives, participation has been decreasing. It’s suggested that public entities model after Yilan County’s Lanyang Museum to create a “Qiang Gu” exhibition hall and a safe simulation training ground. The County Cultural Office has planned to set up a special “Hengchun Qiang Gu” cultural area in the Hengchun Culture Center, which is set to open next Lunar New Year, ensuring the proud county-designated intangible cultural heritage continues to be passed down.