Little League Baseball Memorial Museum Introduction
Hongye Village, named for its autumn maple leaves, is a typical Bunun tribe village that retains its simple, primitive appearance. In earlier times, it was mainly a small village that cultivated corn. Hongye Elementary School is the birthplace of the famed Hongye Little League team, which helped promote the development of baseball in Taiwan and gained international recognition. The school's principal, Lin Zhupeng, noticed that the physically energetic indigenous children loved outdoor activities and hunting, and were very enthusiastic about baseball. This inspired him to establish an official baseball team, thus beginning the legend of Hongye's Little League. The numerous glorious achievements and memories from those years are preserved in the Hongye Little League Memorial Hall located on the Hongye Elementary School campus, which displays the baseball equipment used by the team, the history of Little League heroes, precious photographs, and cultural relics, reviving the athletic figures and glorious times of past baseball heroes. It is a must-visit site for anyone tracing the history of baseball development in Taiwan. The second floor of the hall features a Bunun cultural museum and an audiovisual room, linking Bunun culture with the Hongye Little League, helping visitors better understand the role and status of indigenous peoples in Taiwan's development. Thanks to the Hongye Little League, baseball has become one of the most representative sports in Taitung, where community baseball teams often hold friendly matches at roadside fields. Players trained by various schools frequently represent the country in international competitions, and there are even professional baseball teams that use Taitung as a training location, showcasing a lasting passion for baseball.
