2023 International Sea Buffalo Cultural Festival was held by Changhua County Government this morning (28th) at the front square of Fangyuan Putian Temple. According to County Mayor Wang HuiMei, Putian Temple is the second largest Mazu Temple in Taiwan and its Tiangong Palace is resplendent and magnificent. The Seaside Skywalk nearby is the main visiting route for mangrove forest. In this event, the activities included were 1) Buffalo Carriage of Ecological Experience for getting a taste of oyster farming and appreciating the view in intertidal zones, 2) Sea Buffalo of Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition, 3) Sea Buffalo FUN Coloring & Sketching Contest, 4) Creative Dance Contest, 5) Parent-Child Challenge and 6) Featured Market, etc. Fangyuan has not only attractions, such as wetland, mangrove forest, Wanggong Fishing Port and Seaside Skywalk, but also intangible cultural asset – Oyster Harvesting by Buffalo Carts in Fangyuan Intertidal Zone. She was looking forward to these activities to allow participants further understanding the unique fishing village culture of Fangyuan, and to create greater value by combining with tourism. She sincerely welcomed everyone to watch the sunset, enjoy the sea breeze, experience and explore the beauty of Fangyuan and understand the sea buffalo culture of Fangyuan.  
 
Thanks to the positive results from moon block divination (casted for 6 times) about the date of "2023 International Sea Buffalo Cultural Festival", the event went smoothly and successfully under the blessing of Mazu although the weather forecast said there was a typhoon. Tainan, Lukang, Mengjia (Mohua city), Beidou and Fangyuan are honored as the five greatest antique cities in Taiwan. Fangyuan not only has historical origins, but also was very bustling in the past. It was put on the map by its culturing and seafood. Because of its environment of intertidal, residents were making a living from the oysters harvested via the use of sea buffalos. The locally produced "pearl oysters" are farmed by suspending method, which makes the oyster expose under the sun for high tide and soak in the sea for low tide, giving the oysters a tenderly chewy texture. However, with the change of time and the development of technology, the use of sea buffalos has gradually declined. Therefore, in order to preserve the characteristics of the township, the county government registered the culture of "Oyster Harvesting by Buffalo Carts in Fangyuan Intertidal Zone" in 2020 as an intangible cultural asset under the category of "traditional knowledge and practice" of Changhua County. At the present time, 12 sea buffalos in total are remained to pass down this intangible cultural asset. 　　 
 
Hui ChingAn, vice-chairman of Putian Temple, expressed his gratitude to County Mayor Wang HuiMei for paying great attention to the sea buffalos in Fangyuan, and for organizing the event to promote the local characteristic culture, bringing a large number of tourists to Fangyuan to boost the local economy. In addition, he also thanked for all the support and assistance given to Putian Temple over the years, so that it could be completed quickly and become the venue for the Sea Buffalo Festival. “When I checked the weather forecast a few days ago, I was worried that the event wouldn't be held smoothly. Unexpectedly, the weather is good today. Beforehand, Ms. Wang specially came to Putian Temple to pray to Mazu and cast moon blocks. I believe that, under the blessing of Mazu, the event will be a smooth success.” said Hui ChingAn. 
 
In the other hand, Chen ZhuZan, director general of Changhua Fisheries Association, also expressed his gratitude to the county government for its support and assistance over the years, making Fangyuan be qualified and capable to host international events, especially the Sea Buffalo Cultural Festival which is one of a kind in Taiwan. With the fact that Fangyuan has the largest and widest wetland intertidal zone in Taiwan, whenever an event takes place here, it is always crowded with people, driving the development of the entire local industry. In addition, Changhua has a rich fishery ecosystem that allows for in-depth tourism, as well as highly distinctive aquaculture areas. The Sea Buffalo Cultural Festival was expected to be an opportunity to promote tourism along the coast of Changhua, and to bring more foreign tourists to Fangyuan to learn more about the unique sea buffalo culture, taste the delicacies, and purchase special agricultural products. 
 
According to the Department of Agriculture, in order for the public to gain an in-depth understanding of the sea buffalo culture, the event included many interesting activities, such as Buffalo Carriage of Ecological Experience in the intertidal zone, Sea Buffalo of Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition, and Sea Buffalo FUN Coloring & Sketching Contest to record the unique Fangyuan sea buffalo culture with students' paintings. This year, in order to gear to international standards and add international elements and features, the event was bilingual-friendly for event flyer, Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition, promotional videos made by the internet celebrity, coloring and sketching contests which incorporated bilingual elements, exotic food tasting, and creative dance contest. With the theme of the fishing village and the use of "sea buffalo", "ocean" and "exotic", a total of 15 dance groups who participated in the creative dance conteset enthusiastically demonstrated the vitality of the fishing village and the exotic atmosphere, bringing a richer exoticism to the event. Moreover, the culture of "Oyster Harvesting by Buffalo Carts in Fangyuan Intertidal Zone" was promoted internationally through the event, bringing more development opportunities to Fangyuan.