Taiwan Bilingual Hub臺灣雙語資源網

Schools

Hongye Elementary School

紅葉國小

The small Bunun mountain school whose 1968 Little League upset over a Japanese champion team is credited with igniting Taiwan's national baseball fever.

1968年少棒隊擊敗日本冠軍隊,點燃台灣全民棒球熱潮的布農族部落小學。

Grades1–6 · Elementary
TypePublic School
LocationYanping Township, Taitung County
No independent bilingual website yet
About · 學校簡介

The small school that changed Taiwanese sport forever.

Hongye Elementary is a small school in a Bunun Indigenous mountain village of Yanping Township, but it holds an outsized place in Taiwan's cultural history. On August 25, 1968, the school's Little League baseball team defeated a touring Japanese champion team from Wakayama by a score of 7–0 — a result nobody expected from a team of children who trained under spartan conditions, using stones in place of baseballs and tree branches in place of bats. The victory was broadcast and reported nationwide, and is widely credited as the spark that ignited Taiwan's decades-long obsession with baseball, a sport that remains central to national identity today. The school's history is now preserved at the on-site Hongye Baseball Memorial Museum, which has become a heritage tourism destination in its own right.

紅葉國小是延平鄉一所布農族部落的小學校,卻在台灣文化史上占有舉足輕重的地位。1968年8月25日,該校少棒隊以7比0擊敗來訪的日本和歌山冠軍隊——這個結果出乎所有人意料,因為這支隊伍是由一群以石頭代替棒球、樹枝代替球棒進行克難訓練的孩子組成。這場勝利經全國媒體廣泛報導,普遍被認為是點燃台灣長達數十年棒球熱潮的關鍵火花,棒球至今仍是台灣國族認同的重要象徵。這段歷史如今保存於校內的紅葉少棒紀念館,該館也已成為深具意義的文化觀光景點。

Highlights · 學校特色

What makes this school worth knowing.

⚾ The 1968 Upset That Sparked a National Obsession

1968年一戰點燃全民棒球熱

On August 25, 1968, Hongye's Little League team beat a touring Japanese champion team from Wakayama 7–0 — a landmark victory credited with sparking Taiwan's enduring national passion for baseball.

🪨 Trained With Stones and Branches

克難訓練:石頭當球、樹枝當棒

The championship team trained under famously spartan conditions, using stones as substitute baseballs and tree branches as bats — a detail that has become part of Taiwanese sporting legend.

🏛️ A Museum Preserving the Legacy

紅葉少棒紀念館

The on-campus Hongye Baseball Memorial Museum preserves artifacts and stories from the 1968 team, drawing heritage tourists from across Taiwan to this small mountain village school.

🏔️ A Bunun Village at the Center of a National Story

布農部落成就的國族時刻

The 1968 win became a defining moment of Taiwanese national pride, remarkable for having been forged in a small Bunun Indigenous mountain community rather than a major city.

Local Culture · 在地文化

Yanping Township and the Bunun people.

Hongye Elementary is the birthplace of Taiwan's baseball obsession, forged in a Bunun Indigenous mountain village of Yanping Township — the 1968 upset win became a defining moment of national pride that remains connected, in Taiwan's collective memory, to this small Indigenous community.

Visit · 資訊

Find the school.

Hongye Village, Yanping Township, Taitung County, Taiwan
台東縣延平鄉紅葉村

View on Google Maps ↗
School's Official Facebook Page (Chinese) ↗

Last updated: July 2026 · Content adapted and condensed from the school's official Chinese-language website by the Taiwan Bilingual Hub team, not yet reviewed by the school. If you're from Hongye Elementary and would like to correct or expand this page, please contact us.