Taipei City Government

In the morning of June 9, Mayor Ko Wen-je attended an event highlighting rice foods such as rice cake and zongzi. Zongzi is the iconic food eaten around Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on June 18 this year.
 
During his address, Ko expressed gratitude to the attending chairpersons who represent the respective business districts for creating prosperous communities and thereby helping boost local industries. It is the embodiment of the idea of “turning small successes into a big one”, the mayor commented.
 
According to Ko, the Yensan business circle, which is located near Taipei Bridge, is the origin of Taipei’s rice-eating culture. There used to be a commercial area dubbed as “the rice cake street” in the area. Up to the present day, rice-processing stores in the neighborhood still practice traditional methods in making rice cake. In a time when local diet culture has been greatly influenced by the western diet culture, the event is particularly meaningful in promoting a rice-eating tradition, said the mayor.
 
This year marks the event’s 19^th anniversary. The rice-centric event sees the participation of neighboring temples and holding activities where the faithful could wish good luck for exams. 
 
The mayor also participated in the making of zongzi and red turtle-shaped mochi. At the end of his attempt, he concluded that “it’s easier to eat the food than to prepare it yourself”, leaving the crowd in laughter.