The Yanshui team of STUST USR Project—"Local Creation and Dissemination of Cultural Heritage - Fucheng VS Yuejin," sponsored by the Ministry of Education, continued to cooperate with the Chiaonan Community Development Association.

【A group photo of STUST USR team in front of the Yanshui Octagon】

Chiaonan Café at Chiaonan Old Street launched the 2022 "Yanshui Fenghua Historical Site" tour guide and interpreter training program. This program added to the popular “Trip for Bee-fireworks Fan to Yanshui” a thematic activity called "A Trip to Yuejin and Learn to make Handmade Soap." The team especially created a tour guide and interpretive program for local Yanshui community volunteers. The local cultural and historical interpretation and tour guide manners were the focus of this training. STUST looked forward to helping community volunteers to enhance their knowledge and skills in guiding and interpreting.

【Ms. Mei-hui Chen was guiding and explaining the cultural assets of Yanshui.】

With the development of the film and television park shooting base at Yanshui Sugar Factory, more and more tourists are coming to visit the historical district of Yanshui. In response to the needs of volunteers to be a tour guide to Yanshui, the Yanshui team especially arranged a two-day program, including "Yanshui Suburban Commercial Alley Tour," "A Visit to Yanshui Pasta Manufacturing Process," "Walking in Yuejin Port," "Sucrose Handmade Soap Making," "Local Cultural Survey," "Yanshui Specialty Industry (Sugar/Pasta/Tomato)," "Cultivation of Tourism Talents," and "Yuejin Port HOW Ecology." The program invited senior scholars of literature and history to lead volunteers to an in-depth understanding of the industrial development context of the Yanshui area. In addition to strengthening their knowledge and skills of tour guides, participants were taken to same less-visited saltwater pasta factories. Through all the minor tour destinations and plans for the route and experience of the tour, the program provided great reference for the public sector and civil society to guide the itinerary.

【Ms. Ying-ru Chiu was explaining the Yanshui pasta shop】

The activity began with Instructor Mei-hui Chen, author of Yuejin Fenghua—Yanshui Historical Relics and Cultural Relics, who led the participants to the old noodle factory in Yanan - Rongzong Food Factory to learn about the production process of saltwater pasta. Ms. Mei-hui is an expert of the octagonal buildings; through her incisive explanations, students could better grasp and learn the essentials of navigating the octagon. On the other hand, Ms. Ying-ru Chiu led everyone through the alleys in the suburbs of Yanshui and learned about the shops that operated more than a year in the alleys. The training community volunteers also shared their understanding of the imageries of the old Yanshui alleys at this time, adding anecdotal information about Yanshui in due course. "Tour Guide Skills and Interpretation Practice" was taught by Mr. Shu-ling Liu, who is a licensed tour guide and leader. Ms. Liu especially demonstrated and explained the manners and etiquettes of tour guides to improve the quality of the tour guide's commentary service. Yuejin Water Park has become a must-visit attraction when visiting Yanshui in recent years. Ms. Ya-chi Shen introduced the ecological appearance and functions of plants around Yuejin from the perspective of eco-tourism. The overall training activities covered humanistic and ecological guided training and provided trainees with knowledge of tourism resources from multiple perspectives.

【Ms. Shu-ling Liu was explaining tour guide skills】

Deng-maw Lu, President of STUST, said that the Yanshui team planned a series of activities of "Tour Guide and Interpreter Training Program" to provide local community volunteers and interested people in Yanshui to develop the second expertise of the guides, and to establish a community tour guide. The USR project team of STUST aims to lay the foundation for the sustainable development of tourism in the Yanshui area. It carefully plans training activities every year, and assists public departments and non-governmental organizations to strengthen the ability of volunteers to guide and explain the tourism in the Yanshui area, thereby fulfill its university social responsibility.

【Ms. Ya-chi Shen was showing plants and explaining the ecological plants of Yuejin.】

【 Experiencing Sucrose Handmade Soap Making】