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On-site visit and reporting

On Saturday, November 12, 2011, the Ershui Junior High School Youth Club Cyberfair project team, Flying Wings, brought our hopes for the Water Running Festival and gathered in front of the Linsiansheng Temple gates in Yuanchuan Village of Ershui Township. Although the day was on a weekend, the great annual event of Ershui Township could not be overlooked by each Ershui resident, who all had to participate. With the “passionate spirit” of the Youth Club, the team, including the advising teacher, all made further exploration for the project research on the Water Running Festival. Other than some team members (two of them) to film the progression of the Water Running ritual, and some team members (five of them) to give out questionnaires, the club president leads two other team members to conduct on-site interviews for the Water Running Festival.

The main members conducting the interview tasks are: club president Pei-hsin Cheng (second year of junior high school), team members Rou-hua Tseng (second-year), Ya-lin Chang(first-year).

(1) Pei-hsin Cheng: responsible for interviewing and interacting with vendors and tourists, to collect their opinions and ideas.

(2) Rou-hua Tseng: responsible for recording via text, as well as reminding the leader of unasked questions or questions that need further exploration.

(3) Ya-lin Chang: responsible for taking photographs, and also works on taking textual records with Rou-hua.

(4) In addition, the advising teacher is there to assist with sound recording, photography, and video recording, as well as adjusting arrangements.

Primarily focuses on the Yuanchi Road between Linsiansheng Temple and Babao Canal, because this is the main area for street vendor stalls. More people are gathered here for longer periods of time, and many tourists who view the ceremony and then come to this street to shop the stalls. In addition, there are many stalls from vendors who have come several years in a row. Other than understanding the views of the vendors regarding the Water Running Festival, and it would be possible to know the opinions and views unlike those of tourists who come to enjoy themselves. We can use different perspectives to understand the significance of Water Running Festival for different people, and how different roles emphasize different aspects of the event.

In addition, we even visited the performance venue and emergency care station. These are also indispensable parts of the Water Running Festival event.

The following is the interview content we recorded that morning, a few of the interviews are more comprehensively recorded. The following includes a few different types of people, such as: vendors, tourists, and university students giving out souvenirs. Their interviews are recorded as follows.

Hello, we are the students from Ershui Junior High School Youth Club. Can I ask you the first question?

Q1: Is it the first time you’re running a stall at the Water Running Festival?
　A1: This is my fourth year.

Q2: What improvements do you think Water Running Festival needs to make?
　A2: It is pretty good.

Q3: Overall, do you enjoy the Water Running Festival?
　A3: Yes! It is a way for me to make money!

These are all the questions, thank you for allowing us to interview you.

Hello, we are the students from Ershui Junior High School Youth Club.

Q1: Is this the first time you’ve been to our Water Running Festival?
　A1: Yes.

Q2: How did you hear about our Water Running Festival?
　A2: I heard a long time ago! From the internet and promotional materials.

Q3: We have a Water Running event, are you going to run?
　A3: Yes!

Q4: Do you know about the origins of Water Running Festival?
　A4: I do! But can you not ask me? I would not tell it clearly enough.

Q5: How do you feel about the overall Water Running Festival?
　A5: I think it’s an event full of gratitude! And the spirit of remembering the ancestors.

Thank you for providing us with these valuable opinions, thank you.

	Interview 2: Interview subject/Tourists from out of town

Interview 3: Interview subject/Audience in the Linsiansheng Temple performance area (mother with two children)

We are the students from Ershui Junior High School Youth Club, we wanted to ask for some of your opinions to make Water Running Festival better satisfy your needs in the future. The first question is:

Q1: Excuse me, is it the first time you’ve come to the Water Running Festival?
　A1: Yes.

Q2: So then, how did you hear about the Water Running Festival
　A2: I got information from the school.

Q3: We have a place here for Water Running below the Babao Canal. Can you tell me, would you take your children down for Water Running?
　A3: Sure.

Q4: Are you afraid that it would be dangerous?
　A4: No.

Q5: Do you know about the origins of Water Running Festival?
　A5: Mostly.

Q6: Can I ask how you feel overall about our Water Running Festival this year?
　A6: I think it’s a lot of fun, and it’s great.

Thank you for your opinion! Thank you!

	Interview subject/Audience in the Linsiansheng Temple performance area

Interview 4: Interview subject/Mingdao University students giving out souvenirs (the organization responsible for planning performance events at the Water Running Festival this year)

Q1: Excuse me, if you were not coming here to work, did you know about Water Running Festival?
　A1: I am from out of town, so I really did not know.

Q2: Speaking for today, do you like Water Running Festival?
　A2: I think it’s quite exciting.

Q3: If you didn’t need to come help and you are just coming with friends, would you want to come back?
　A3: This time we didn’t get any souvenirs. We just give them out and we didn’t get any, so next time I want some when I come.

Q4: Then, the final question. What is the significance of your souvenir (wooden rectangular coin box)?
　A4: I can answer this. (A different university student) First, we need to know how the Water Running Festival came about? It is because this used to be an uncultivated land without irrigation. Then, there came a man, people didn’t know his last name, and he helped everyone convey the water here. This made this place prosperous. It (pointing to the souvenir, which says “drinking water and thinking of its source”) means “drinking water and thinking of its source”! It means…… it means a thankful heart! “Drinking water and thinking of its source” is being thankful, so that people can commemorate this and cherish what you have right now.

Thank you for allowing us to interview you, and thank you for your explanations.

	Interview subject/Mingdao University students giving out souvenirs

Interview 5: Interview subject/Vendor selling fries and fried chicken on Yuanchi Road in front of Linsiansheng Temple

Hello, I am a student of Ershui Junior High School Youth Club, I want to ask you a few questions, and I hope you can provide some answers for the basis of our report on Water Running Festival, so that the festival can better conform to your needs.

Q1: Is this the first time you’ve come to the Water Running Festival?
　A1: Oh, this is the second time.

Q2: Do you like the Water Running Festival?
　A2: Uh…it’s pretty good.

Q3: Do you think the Water Running Festival needs improvement?
　A3: I’ll tell you, there are not enough mobile toilets. There are a lot of people complaining. Also, about the parking lot, they told me to drive to Yinshui Park, because there’s no parking here, we were looking over there.

	Interview subject/Vendor selling fries and fried chicken on Yuanchi Road in front of Linsiansheng Temple

Interview 6: Interview subject/Huashan, Genesis Social Welfare Foundation

We wanted to ask your opinion to help us improve the Water Running Festival in the future. This year our research topic is the Water Running Festival.

Q1: Is it the first time you’ve come here to set up a stall?
　A1: Yes, yes, the first time.

Q2: What is the main purpose of your stall?
　A2: Mainly to serve the community, serve some elderly people who are minorities or who live alone, and we hope to raise some funds to help these elderly people who live alone.

Q3: Do you like the Water Running Festival?
　A3: Oh, yes, it’s a pretty good event.

Q4: Do you think that there are points in the Water Running Festival that need improvement? You can tell me anything you think?
　A4: Oh, right now I don’t have many ideas about this.

These are our questions, thank you for your answers.

	Interview subject/Huashan, Genesis Social Welfare Foundation

5. Section summary

A summary of the views and opinions of these interview subject shows that most people (regardless of their identity and reasons) are very interested in the Water Running Festival, and think that it is very exciting. Also, mostly have at least a basic understanding for the special characteristics of Water Running Festival and Ershui’s local specialties in the legends of Babao Canal and Lin Siansheng. This shows that the Water Running Festival in the last few years has been able to accentuate the significance of Ershui as a tourist spot.

However, for some participants, especially vendors, the environment and parking spaces were major problems. The main problem was still the planning for parking, which was inconvenient for the cargo transportation by vendors. In addition, the people who did not come via the Chichi Train await improvements on the distance between the parking lot and the main event site.

In addition, even though many people could describe the relationship between Babao Canal and Lin Siansheng, but they are still not clear on why it is necessary to conduct “Water Running,” the origins and meanings of “Water Running,” and the ceremony, ritual, and processes in “Water Running.” Thus, the content of this website will clearly introduce the process and meaning of the “Water Running” event (or ritual), to clarify the concepts that have become unclear.

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