Maple Leaf Village Introduction
In this quiet little village lies a proud history. In 1968, the Bunun children of Hongye Village formed the Hongye Little League team and defeated the then World Champion team from Japan, igniting a fervor for little league baseball in Taiwan and etching the Hongye team into history. Besides little league, Hongye Village has another special distinction; it was announced by the Council of Agriculture as the "Taitung Hongye Cycas Nature Reserve." Initially, the unique Taitung cycas was mistaken for the Taiwanese cycas commonly known as iron tree, but later verification by experts revealed it to be a living fossil that has existed for over 140 million years, thus being renamed Taitung cycas. The Er-Ji Festival held every April is the most grand and solemn ceremony for the Bunun people during the year. Here, one can witness the complete process of rituals including prayers, ear-shooting ceremonies, pork distribution, gun rituals, and war achievements. Most importantly, the world-renowned Bunun eight-part harmonies performed here offer an absolutely authentic presentation.
