Irvine Hosts Taiwan Tourism Promotion Featuring Glove-Puppet Troupe and Airline Booths
IRVINE — A Taiwan tourism promotion event was held in Irvine, Orange County, on Saturday, October 3, drawing Southern California residents and Chinese American families. According to the Taipei Times, via WiseVoter, the event featured Taiwan travel information stands and airline booths presenting routes and itineraries. One of the highlights was a glove-puppetry performance by Taiwan's Kuang Hsing Ko troupe, giving many U.S.-born Chinese American children their first up-close look at the traditional art form.
Organizers said Southern California is one of Taiwan's most important North American visitor markets, and Irvine — home to a large Taiwanese and Asian American population — is a natural stop for the promotion. Airline booths offered fare and itinerary advice, while tourism representatives highlighted Taiwan's night markets, mountain and coastal scenery, and festivals.
Irvine's Asian American population has grown steadily, and Taiwanese cultural programming has become a regular part of the community calendar. Beyond tourism marketing, such events also serve as occasions for the overseas Taiwanese community to maintain cultural ties; schedules for future stops are available from the organizers.
Irvine has one of Southern California's largest Taiwanese immigrant communities, with Taiwanese supermarkets, bookstores, Chinese schools and restaurants, so Taiwan-focused cultural events tend to draw especially strong turnouts here. Organizers said the Kuang Hsing Ko troupe is among Taiwan's long-established glove-puppetry companies, performing with traditional narration and percussion, and that this stop added an interactive segment letting children try handling the puppets. Many parents at the event said their U.S.-born children rarely encounter traditional theatre, making the show both a tourism promotion and an uncommon cultural lesson. Tourism representatives added that airfare and independent-travel packages aimed at the Southern California market are being offered alongside the tour, and residents planning Taiwan trips can register at the airline booths or watch for later stops in the Los Angeles area.
Photo: Irvine residential street, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, CarmenEsparzaAmoux
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：台湾布袋戏手偶。摄影：Wang Yu Ching / 中华民国总统府，CC BY 2.0，取自 Wikimedia Commons
