As in previous years, in 2025 Prof. Vickers took a group of Kyushu University students to attend the annual Koxinga Festival (鄭成功祭) in Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, on July 13-14, commemorating the birthday of Koxinga or Zheng Chenggong, who was born in Hirado in 1624. The 2025 event was rather smaller and more low-key than the previous year’s commemoration of Koxinga’s 400th birthday. However, this year too, attendees from Taiwan appeared outnumbered by those from Fujian. At the rear of Hirado’s Civic Centre, representatives from local tourism authorities in Tainan (Taiwan) and Nan An (Fujian) set up rival stalls to promote the attractions of each locality.
A Shinto priest pays respects to Koxinga’s Statue at Hirado Civic Centre
The traditional ‘Jangala Dance’
The tourism promotion stall of Nan An City at the Hirado Civic Centre
The Tainan Tourism promotion stall at Hirado Civic Centre (notice the ‘Chenggong’ potato chips in the middle of the table)