Runners as honored guests

November, with its cool, refreshing autumn weather, is when farmers in Changhua get busy harvesting the second rice crop of the year. At the same time, the 40,000 residents of Tianzhong are fully mobilized to welcome runners arriving for the Tianzhong Marathon, here in “Taiwan’s rice basket.”

This small-town race, which has been called Taiwan’s most fun and friendly marathon and one that all runners should experience at least once in their lives, counts alongside the big-city races held in Taipei, New Taipei, and Kaohsiung as one of Taiwan’s four most popular marathons. First run in 2012, before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic it was getting so many applicants that only 30% of prospective runners were lucky enough to win a spot through the race lottery.

Early in the morning on the second Sunday in November, the 16,000 runners in the Tianzhong Marathon surge into downtown Tianzhong, transforming this normally leisurely and tranquil town of 40,000 people into a hubbub of activity.

All along the Babao Canal there is farmland scenery to charm the eye. (photo by Frank Chen)

The food at this aid station is lobster. How could runners not be tempted?

Both race and festival

“Come on Lin, run!” “Go for it, Zeng!” The sounds of supporters cheering on runners resonate through the air. Some local mothers and grandmothers even bring out their kitchen utensils and bang them together like cheer sticks. The support that the huffing and puffing runners receive gives them a huge energy boost.

To deal with the arrival of so many runners, the town makes its elementary and high schools available for runners to stay overnight or camp out. Marathoners are always delighted by the products available at aid stations: There are locally grown crops like dragon fruit and tomatoes, while all-you-can-eat rice dishes include pan-fried rice noodles, sushi, and braised pork over rice.

Fried sweet-potato balls (a popular night-market snack) are also available, while a local company provides zha­jiang­mian (noodles with fried bean sauce), sock manufacturers give away socks, and there is even a steak vendor offering free steak to eat. The event is like a Taiwanese-style night market, but held early in the day. The appeal of the aid stations causes people to quip that this is “a marathon in which people don’t run fast.”

YouTuber XiaoKe, who has run in the Tianzhong Marathon, took part with the mindset of “eat, eat, and eat some more.” He says: “You come to the Tianzhong Marathon for the fun.” With the township’s residents fully mobilized, while running he went to places he would never have visited before and experienced the local culture, which he found very touching. He recommends that runners should definitely experience the charms of Tianzhong for themselves.

Zhang Xichi, founder of Erh Pa Shui Culture Studio, says it is a rare thing for a small town to host a major event like this, so naturally the residents treat the runners with the same warmth and hospitality that they would show to honored guests.

The Tianzhong Marathon is famous for the food given out at aid stations. Even steak producers join in the fun.

Everyone vies to provide aid station products! A local instant noodle manufacturer adds their contribution.

Proud to be a volunteer

The Tianzhong Marathon’s creative aid stations and the enthusiastic encouragement given to runners by local residents have attracted much attention. The strongest promoter of this event is its founder Cheng Tsung-cheng, chairman of the Changhua Marathon Association and former president of the Tianzhong Tourism Development Association.

Cheng says that people need to promote their own hometowns themselves. However, small towns lack the resources of metropolitan areas, so when he pitched his idea to local residents, he highlighted the appeal of the human warmth that is characteristic of rural communities, and compared the marathon’s potential to attract visitors to that of traditional cultural activities such as walking the streets at Lantern Festival, or Mazu pilgrimage processions. Residents responded enthusiastically, and today the marathon is virtually synonymous with the town.

“To take part in the event as a volunteer is considered a great honor,” says Li Yanxun, head of public relations for the Tianzhong Marathon. Many local residents strive for the chance to get involved, and the number of volunteers has risen to 8,000.

Meanwhile, Cheng Tsung-cheng and other activists have transformed Tianzhong into a sports town built around running. “From early morning to late at night, there are always people out running,” he says, adding humorously that the town’s doctors nowadays complain to him that they are getting no business.

Cheng Tsung-cheng is the founder of the Tianzhong Marathon, which has become one of Taiwan’s four most popular distance running events. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)

Running through Tianzhong, known as “Taiwan’s rice basket,” post-race gifts inevitably include Tianzhong rice. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)

The race finisher gift is a ceramic work crafted by the Tianzhong Pottery. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)

Scenery of the Tianzhong Marathon

Besides the passionate faces of the volunteers, the Tianzhong Marathon route also offers beautiful scenery.

In the early days of the town, most settlements in Tianzhong were located amid farmland, and this is how the town got its name, which means “in the fields.” During the era of Japanese rule it became an inter­section point between the main north–south railway and the narrow-­guage sugar-­industry railways, making transportation convenient. Farmland expanded outward alongside the Bagua Mountains and the Babao irrigation canal. Since the Japanese era the area has also produced high-quality black and white rices, earning it the moniker “Taiwan’s rice granary.” This has all been due to the locality’s fine soil, fine climate, and fine water.

After Taiwan came under Qing-­Dynasty rule in 1683, Shi Shi­bang (1671–1743) and others raised funds to build the first Ba­bao Canal (then called the Shi Family Canal), which was completed in 1719, making it the oldest large-scale hydraulic engineering project in Taiwan. In 1721, local gentry including Huang Shiqing completed the 15 Villages Canal, later called the Second Babao Canal. In 1907, under Japanese rule, the two canal systems were joined together and became known simply as the Babao Canal. Bringing water from the Zhuoshui River to irrigate 18 of the present-day cities and townships of Changhua County, it turned the area into a major agricultural region. The canal is even seen as “Changhua’s Mother River.”

From the route of the Tianzhong Marathon one can get a sense of the deep emotional connection between the people of Changhua and the Babao Canal. Two-thirds of the course, which passes through Tianzhong Township and neighboring Shetou Township, follows the Babao Canal Green Corridor. “Visitors can see the expanse of land watered by the Mother River,” says Zhang Xichi.

When we visit the Babao Canal Green Corridor, glossy green fields stretch out before our eyes while our ears are filled with the sound of gurgling water, and we can smell a natural “soil aroma.” Running in the shade of the green trees that line the canal on both sides, one feels cool and refreshed. Zhang says that this is a result of the negative ions produced by the agitation of the water as well as the shade provided by the trees, which together give runners a sense of wellbeing. The “soil aroma” comes from the Zhuoshui River sediment carried by the water, giving one a sense of being “close to the water and the land.”

At the entrance to the Dongxing Community, next to the Hongmen Canal (a branch of the Babao Canal), there is an old-fashioned rice silo. The wall of the circular structure is curved inward at the bottom. Zhang explains: “This is to prevent rodents from climbing up.”

The sport of running has set down roots in Tianzhong. Local schools from kindergarten to high-school level all have graduation road races.

The peaks of Yushan

The marathon course also passes by the Changhua Station of the Taiwan High-Speed Rail (THSR). Designed by architect Kris Yao, in 2016 it was the Popular Choice Winner in the Bus and Train Stations category of the Architizer A+ Awards, given out by the well-known American architecture website Architizer.

Zhang Xichi says: “What makes it most special is that when you stand in the station entrance and look east, on a clear day you can see all the peaks of Yushan.”

In response to the needs of rice production, under Japanese rule a storehouse was built in Tianzhong by the farmers’ association of Taichū Prefecture, which comprised today’s Taichung City, Changhua County and Nantou County. It was connected to the railways and served as a fertilizer distribution point. After World War II it was turned into a granary and later was transferred to the Changhua County Farmers’ Association. Today it is a historic site where the old rice mill is still preserved. The site has a profoundly nostalgic feel and in the future will be used as an arts and culture venue.

The Tianzhong Marathon route also carries over into the industrial park for hosiery manufacturing in Shetou Township. On race day many hosiery makers provide aid stations and give away made-in-Taiwan socks. Chen Jinglin, vice chairman of the Shetou Hosiery Technology Park Development Association, says: “When runners come to the industrial park they will discover how exquisite and beautiful Taiwan-made socks can be!”

The gift presented to runners who finish the race has been designed and developed by the well-known Tian­zhong Pottery, famous for its woodfired kiln. The figurine evokes an ambience of nature and rural simplicity.

“There are many cultural sites on both sides of the marathon course,” says Zhang Xichi.

The Tianzhong Marathon offers an opportunity for people to see the vitality of a small town, expressed in its scenery, the warm welcome given by cheerleaders and volunteers, and the strength of its industry and commerce.

The Ershui Water Marathon is the only long-distance race in Taiwan to include running through an irrigation canal.

Locally carved inkstones (known as “Taiwan black jade”) on display at Dongzuo’s Inkstone Art Center in Ershui.
(photo by Lin Min-hsuan)

The Ershui Marathon

Ershui Township, Tianzhong’s southeastern neighbor, is where the water intake for the Babao Canal is located. When Shi Shibang and his team first built the canal, their efforts to fill it with water from the Zhuoshui River repeatedly failed. It was only after a “Mr. Lin” taught them how to construct gabions from bamboo and stone that they succeeded in diverting river water into the canal system to irrigate local fields. Residents built a temple dedicated to Mr. Lin beside the canal to commemorate this pioneer of hydraulic engineering.

The Ershui International Water Running Festival, ­today held by the Changhua County Government on the first Sunday in November in accordance with ancient rituals, is marked by an event at the Mr. Lin Temple to celebrate the Babao Canal. In 2016 the Ershui Water Marathon was added to the event. The course includes a pathway alongside the canal, enabling runners to get to know this unique aspect of local history and culture.

The longest option in the Ershui Water Marathon is a half marathon (21.1 kilometers), and the course mainly runs along the Babao Canal.

Where the route turns left after crossing the Ziwei Bridge, runners can opt to run through the water in the canal for 450 meters, with the race organizers supplying them with running sandals and towels. After leaving this section of the course the route follows the Babao Canal Green Corridor past Ershui Train Station (a county historic site) to the finish line.

Cheng Tsung-cheng says that while participants only run in the canal for 450 meters, the water is quite chilly, and running through it gives the runners “frozen feet.”

Thanks to its marathon Tianzhong has become a sports-crazy town, and groups offer training for long-distance runners.

Mountain vistas

The main scenic backdrop for the Ershui Marathon is provided by the Zhuoshui River and the plateau of the Bagua Mountains. Ershui is also the point of intersection between the main north–south railway and the Jiji Branch Line. The natural freshness of the mountain and river views is delightful. Zhang Xichi says that on a clear day one can take in the scenery of four mountain ranges: Xueshan (Mt. Xue), Yushan (Mt. Jade), Alishan (Mt. Ali), and the Central Range.

The Ershui Water Running Festival is held every November. At that time, wild sugarcane (Saccharum spontaneum) blossoms on the bed of the Zhuoshui River and along the banks, while the Changhua Plain is covered with golden ears of rice. One can cycle the Ershui Bikeway, which runs alongside the Jiji Branch Line of the railway, and admire the broad farmland, or visit the Yuanquan Community and pay respects at the Mr. Lin Temple. One can also take part in a do-it-yourself gabion construction activity, join in a tug-of-war in the muddy fields, or visit Dongzuo’s Inkstone Art Center on Yuanji Road, which dates back 200 years and is the only remaining producer of hand-carved inkstones in Taiwan.

Changhua County was established in 1723 under Qing rule, and has been part of history for 300 years. Although it is the smallest county by land area on the main island of Taiwan, it is the only county with a population of more than 1 million. Agriculture continues to flourish here, but there has also been steady development of industry and commerce. You are welcome to come here and run in the local marathons, and so write a story of your own connection with Taiwan’s small towns.

The Changhua THSR station, located in Tianzhong, won an A+ Award from the American website Architizer in 2016. It is a major local landmark. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)