This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Dachen people coming to Taiwan. In 1955, following the defeat of the Nationalist army in the Battle of Yijiangshan Island, the Nationalist government decided to evacuate more than 17,000 residents of Dachen Island in Zhejiang to Taiwan. They were thus given the title of “Dachen Yibei” and were settled in 35 “Dachen New Villages” across Taiwan. Among them, Hualien has the largest number of people and the largest scale! Dachen New Village near Hualien Port is one of the few intact Dachen villages in Taiwan. Since most of the villagers make a living on Dachen Island by fishing, they thought they could live by the sea after coming to Taiwan. However, they did not expect that the waters of the Pacific Ocean and Dachen Island are completely different, making it impossible for most people to catch fish. They had to switch to merchant ships or engage in deep-sea fishing. Many people even “jumped ship” during ocean voyages and stayed in the United States to make a living. This has led to a large number of Dachen people in the United States, and many Chinese restaurants are opened by Dachen people! Due to the hard life, the Dachen people who stayed in Taiwan went to other places to work, resulting in serious population outflow. But even so, the Dachen people still relied on the spirit of hard work and perseverance to try to adapt to life in Taiwan, and even shine in various fields! In recent years, Dachen New Village in Hualien has taken on a different look. The younger generation of Dachen people have returned home in droves and decided to engage in the preservation and promotion of Dachen culture. With the joint efforts of the three generations, the village has gradually had painted walls, storytelling halls, and even various cultural and creative items and tourist guides. October 13th of the lunar calendar every year is the birthday of Ruan Bi Zhenjun. On this day, the village, which is also the only Ruan Bi Zhenjun Temple in Taiwan, holds a lively celebration. People from all over Taiwan and even overseas come to Hualien to celebrate the birthday of the god. From temple fairs to buffets, all kinds of activities are very lively. Among them, the Dachen delicacies are the most eye-catching, from rice cakes to yellow croaker and old wine eggs, eels, fish noodles and so on. The people of Dachen make a living by the sea, and every dish is a seafood delicacy that cannot be eaten outside. Even when walking in the village, you can see the special scene of drying fish everywhere. Looking back on the hectic years of military campaigns and hasty migration to Taiwan 70 years ago, most Dachen people are very grateful to have come to Taiwan. Now their descendants have spread out and flourished all over Taiwan, hoping to continue to pass on such hometown culture in the future, and they will always be proud of being Dachen people.