La'alua Cultural Festival Grounds

The La'alua indigenous group of Taoyuan District was officially registered as the fifteenth indigenous group by the Council of Indigenous Peoples on June 26, 2014. They are primarily concentrated in the Meilong community of Gaozhong Village (now Meilan Community) and the plateau area across the Taroliu Creek river mouth. According to legend, the ancestors of this group lived with the 'little black people' for a period in early times and established a deep friendship. When the little black people were about to leave the tribe, they left large shells for the tribespeople as a memento, symbolizing 'abundance.' To commemorate this friendship and pray for a bountiful harvest, they gather in the upper part of Meilan Community every year, construct a ritual site built from thatch, and hold the 'Shell God Festival' or 'Sacred Shell Festival'.