Red Leaf Little League Memorial Museum Introduction
Hongye Village, named for its vibrant autumn maple leaves, is a typical Bunun village that retains its pure and original appearance. Originally, it was a small community focused on corn cultivation. Hongye Elementary School is the birthplace of the renowned Hongye Little League team, which has contributed significantly to the development of baseball in Taiwan and gained fame overseas. The principal at that time, Lin Zhupeng, noticed the poor attendance rates of his students and realized that the energetic indigenous children loved outdoor activities and hunting, and were particularly passionate about baseball. This inspired him to establish an official baseball team, thus beginning the legendary story of Hongye Little League. Many glorious achievements and memories from those days are preserved in the Hongye Little League Memorial Hall located on the campus of Hongye Elementary School, which displays the baseball equipment used by the team, the history of Little League heroes, precious photographs, and cultural artifacts, recreating the dynamic figures and glorious times of past baseball heroes. It is a must-visit place for those wishing to trace the history of baseball development in Taiwan. The second floor of the hall features a Bunun Cultural Museum and an audio-visual room, linking Bunun culture with the Hongye Little League and providing a deeper understanding of the role and status of indigenous people in Taiwan's development. Thanks to the Hongye Little League, baseball has become one of the most representative sports in Taitung, where one can often find local teams playing friendly matches in roadside fields. Baseball players trained in various schools frequently represent the country in international competitions with notable successes, and there are even professional baseball teams that use Taitung as their training location, ensuring that the baseball culture remains vibrant.
