Located on the southeastern flank of Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range, Yanping Township looks across the East Rift Valley towards Taitung’s Coastal Mountain Range. About 96 percent of this landlocked region is mountainous, with an average elevation of over 400 meters. Its major inhabitants are the Bunun people, an ethnic group that’s lived for generations in the Luye and Luliao river basins and embodies a resilient mountain culture.
Among Yanping’s five main settlements, Hongye Village is the most famous. In 1968, the Hongye Little League baseball team defeated Japan’s all-star team in international competition, launching the Bunun to international notoriety and establishing an enduring symbol of Yanping pride. The local economy is mainly rooted in agriculture, though cultural tourism and other sustainable initiatives are growing. Immersive cultural experiences at the Bunun Leisure Farm and the Vakangan Hot Spring Park, which combines geothermal energy with natural ecology, both showcase the innovative transformations taking place in the Yanping mountain region.
(Photo Credit: Ean Chen)
Bunun Rhythms: A Living Story from the Mountains
Nestled between Taiwan’s Central Mountain Range and the East Rift Valley, Yanping Township quietly preserves the history and future of the Bunun people. For generations, the Bunun have lived alongside mountains and rivers, migrating from Laipunuk and gradually shaping a way of life rooted in coexistence with nature. The streams that flow through this land are not only sources of irrigation, but also carriers of memory, culture, and ancestral knowledge.
(Photo credit: @17yu_willson)
(Photo credit: @tttwanderer)
Over time, Yanping encountered waves of external influence. From the Qing Dynasty and the Japanese colonial period to the post-war era, different regimes and cultures introduced education, religion, and modern systems to this mountainous region. The Bunun people gradually stepped out from the isolation of the forests, learning to engage with the outside world while striving to preserve their traditions amid change. In 1968, Yanping gained nationwide recognition through the victory of the Hongye Little League baseball team. A group of children from the mountains captured attention with a single baseball, marking a defining moment when the Bunun people were seen and celebrated. Their triumph symbolized perseverance, confidence, and the resilient spirit of the community.
Today, Yanping remains serene, with forests standing quietly and Bunun songs still echoing through the valleys. It is a place where culture is nurtured by the land itself, and where stories continue to unfold, generation after generation.
