A Hakka heartland of green hills — the woodcarving town of Sanyi, an old mountain railway and its broken bridge, strawberry farms, and a mountain ritual to the short spirits.
青山環抱的客家原鄉——木雕之鄉三義、舊山線與它的斷橋、草莓園,與山中的矮靈祭。
Miaoli's name comes from the Indigenous Taokas (道卡斯) people, who lived on this coastal plain long before Han settlers. Their word Pali, meaning roughly "plain," was first written by Hakka settlers as 貓貍 ("civet cat") for its sound, then replaced by the auspicious, agricultural 苗栗 ("sprouts and chestnut-oak") used today.
苗栗的地名源自原住民道卡斯族(Taokas),他們早在漢人之前便生活在這片濱海平原。其族語「Pali」大致意指「平原」,客家移民先依音寫成「貓貍」(意為果子狸),後改用較吉祥、帶農業意象的「苗栗」(禾苗與栗),沿用至今。
Miaoli is one of Taiwan's most strongly Hakka counties — about 60% of residents identify as Hakka, one of the highest shares anywhere. The pattern is geographic: the inland hill towns — Toufen, Touwu, Gongguan, Tongluo, Sanyi, Nanzhuang, Dahu — are heavily Hakka, while the coastal towns of Houlong and Tongxiao are more Hoklo, on land long tied to the Taokas. The eastern mountains are Indigenous: Tai'an is largely Atayal (泰雅族), and Nanzhuang is home to Hakka, Saisiyat (賽夏族) and Atayal living side by side.
苗栗是全台客家色彩最濃的客家縣之一——約六成居民自認為客家人,比例位居全台前列。其分布有明顯地理性:內山客庄——頭份、頭屋、公館、銅鑼、三義、南庄、大湖——客家人口極高;後龍、通霄等沿海鄉鎮則福佬居多,此地自古與道卡斯族關係深厚。東側山區為原住民地帶:泰安以泰雅族為主,南庄則是客家、賽夏族與泰雅族共居之地。
For two centuries Miaoli was a resource frontier. Settlers pushed into the hills for camphor and tea, and in 1861 a local hand-dug a shallow oil well at Chuhuangkeng (出磺坑) — only two years after the world's first at Titusville, Pennsylvania — widely called the world's second-oldest oil field and one of the longest continuously producing. In the early 1900s the Japanese drove the west-coast trunk railway through Miaoli's steep terrain, producing the dramatic Old Mountain Line (舊山線): Shengxing Station, the highest point on the whole line, and the brick-arched Longteng Bridge, toppled by the great earthquake of 1935 and standing broken ever since.
兩個世紀以來,苗栗是資源拓墾的前線。移民深入山區採樟製腦、種茶;1861 年,當地人在出磺坑徒手鑿出淺油井——距離美國賓州全球第一口油井僅僅兩年——普遍被稱為世界第二古老的油田,也是持續產油氣最久的油田之一。二十世紀初,日本人將縱貫鐵路推進苗栗的崎嶇地形,造就戲劇性的舊山線:全線最高點的勝興車站,以及磚拱的龍騰斷橋——1935 年大地震中崩毀,自此斷裂矗立至今。
A wooden station opened in 1906, Shengxing was the highest point (about 402 m) on Taiwan's old west-coast main line until the line was rerouted in 1998. The preserved track between Shengxing and Longteng is now a popular rail-bike route through tunnels and viaducts.
Built in 1905–1906, these soaring red-brick arches across the Yutengping valley were destroyed by the April 1935 earthquake. The ruined piers were left standing and are now Miaoli's signature historic landmark.
Opened in 1995 in Sanyi — Taiwan's woodcarving capital — this is the only public museum in Taiwan devoted entirely to wood sculpture, tracing the craft's local roots in the camphor-rich hills.
A nostalgic Hakka-and-Saisiyat mountain town with Japanese-style wooden shophouses rebuilt after the 1935 quake. The narrow "Osmanthus Alley" (桂花巷) is famous for osmanthus treats, lei cha and Hakka snacks.
Dahu is Taiwan's strawberry capital, said to account for around 80% of the country's strawberry output. The Strawberry Cultural Center and pick-your-own farms draw crowds from roughly December through April.
A breezy clifftop cape on Miaoli's coast with a 360° viewing platform, sweeping sea views, giant wind turbines and the old coastal railway tunnels below — a favorite for sunsets.
A rare surviving Japanese Shinto shrine built in 1937, later partly converted to a memorial hall. Damaged in the 1999 earthquake and restored, it sits on a hill with views over the seaside town of Tongxiao.
A scenic reservoir in Touwu Township (dam completed 1970), ringed by hills and walking trails. It supplies Miaoli City's water and is a peaceful spot for boating and lakeside strolls.
A modern round building in Houlong (opened 2014) inspired by the tulou round houses of Fujian, near the high-speed-rail zone, hosting Hakka cultural exhibitions and performances.
A small mountain lake and the heart of the Southern Saisiyat community, home to the Museum of Saisiyat Folklore and the principal site of the biennial pasta'ay, the Ritual of the Short Spirits.
Miaoli's culture is carved from camphor wood and woven from Hakka and Saisiyat traditions in the hills.
Sanyi is Taiwan's woodcarving capital, a craft grown from the area's abundant aromatic camphor wood; local accounts trace it to around 1918, when a resident began carving weathered roots and burls, and it boomed into a world-known industry from the 1960s. Around it runs a deep Hakka world — floral cloth, lei cha, frugal savory cooking, mountain songs and the white "May snow" of tung blossoms.
The Saisiyat hold the pasta'ay (矮靈祭), the Ritual to the Spirits of the Short People, commemorating the legendary Ta'ai. It is held every two years, with a grand edition every ten. The southern ritual centers on Xiangtian Lake in Nanzhuang, while the northern ritual is in Wufeng, Hsinchu — so the rite is shared between the two counties, not Miaoli's alone.
Born in Dahu, Li Qiao is a major Hakka novelist and cultural critic, best known for his epic "Cold Night Trilogy" (《寒夜三部曲》) depicting Hakka pioneer life in the Miaoli hills. He stands among Taiwan's great Hakka epic novelists.
Beyond any single name, Sanyi's generations of master woodcarvers are themselves a celebrated living heritage. Their chisels — shaping camphor and other woods into temple figures, birds and abstract art — have made "Sanyi" almost a synonym for Taiwanese woodcarving.
Held every two years (a grand version every ten) around the tenth lunar month, the southern ritual centers on Xiangtian Lake in Nanzhuang. A solemn ceremony honoring the spirits of the Ta'ai, and one of Taiwan's most important Indigenous rituals.
Roughly December through April, when Dahu's hillside farms open for pick-your-own strawberries and the Strawberry Cultural Center fills with strawberry treats of every kind.
Each April and May, white tung blossoms fall like "May snow" across the Hakka hills, with Miaoli one of the heartlands of this springtime celebration.
A Hakka Lantern-Festival event in Miaoli City, in which a firecracker-laden paper dragon dances through showers of exploding firecrackers — counted among Taiwan's great Lantern Festival traditions: "sky lanterns in the north, dragon-bombing in the center."
Miaoli's food runs from Dahu's berry fields to the hearty, frugal Hakka kitchens of the hill towns.
Taiwan's strawberry capital — fresh berries plus jam, cakes, ice cream, mochi, even strawberry sausage and wine.
Dahu 大湖The signature Hakka dish — dried tofu, squid, pork belly and celery stir-fried into a savory, intensely flavored plate.
Countywide 全縣Wide, slippery rice noodles served in soup or dry with fried shallots and pork — a Hakka staple.
Countywide 全縣Braised pork belly with dried preserved mustard greens — savory, tender, the essence of Hakka pickling.
Countywide 全縣A Hakka "ground tea" of tea leaves, sesame, peanuts and grains ground and mixed with hot water — savory, nutty, often with puffed rice.
Nanzhuang 南庄Gongguan is known for taro and for red yeast (紅糟) used in marinades, along with preserved mustard greens and red dates.
Gongguan 公館A Hakka specialty with translucent, chewy wrappers around a savory pork-and-shallot filling, served in soup.
Miaoli City 苗栗市Osmanthus jelly, drinks and pastries from Osmanthus Alley, alongside Hakka snacks and Saisiyat mountain produce like millet.
Nanzhuang 南庄One of Taiwan's most Hakka counties, alive with language, food and song.
Taiwan's woodcarving capital, carving camphor for over a century.
Shengxing Station and the broken arches of Longteng Bridge.
The country's strawberry capital, with winter pick-your-own farms.
The biennial Ritual of the Short Spirits at Xiangtian Lake.
A 300-year tradition of weaving rush into hats and mats.
Introduce Miaoli to a visitor — tap 🔊 to hear each sentence. 用英文向訪客介紹苗栗,點 🔊 聽聽看。
Sources · 資料來源:苗栗縣政府、文化部、客家委員會、參山國家風景區管理處、維基百科等公開資料整理。