Dingtugou Butterfly Village

Located at the intersection of Shuishang Township and Taibao City in Chiayi County, Tugou Village comprises two settlements, Dingtugou and Xiatugou. It was a typical rural village experiencing population outflow, primarily inhabited by the elderly and children, with a deteriorating living environment. The county government once intended to establish a landfill here, which sparked strong protests from villagers and heightened their environmental awareness. In recent years, with the government's strong promotion of community revitalization and the awakening of local residents, the Dingtugou community began its community development efforts in 1998. They revitalized the village environment, cleaned up ditches, and planted cattails, transforming the formerly dirty, smelly, and overgrown drainage canals into clear streams with signs of ecological life. They also planted milkweed and lantana to beautify the area. Monarch butterflies unexpectedly appeared. Since milkweed is also known as a butterfly tree, and its flowers secrete sweet nectar, providing essential food for butterflies, it attracted butterflies to Dingtugou. The villagers subsequently decided to plant a large quantity of milkweed to aid in butterfly restoration. With media coverage, the village quickly earned the beautiful moniker "Butterfly Village." 1999 was the peak period for butterflies, with activities such as "Butterflies Come to My Home" and the "Rapeseed Festival" being successively held. This also spurred a trend of community visits, with over 200 communities coming to observe, successfully establishing Dingtugou Butterfly Village's reputation. However, in recent years, the butterflies in Butterfly Village have stopped flying due to parasitic wasp infestations, which have disrupted the butterfly ecosystem. Parasitic wasps parasitize butterfly pupae, slowly consuming the butterfly larvae, resulting in wasps, not butterflies, hatching from the pupae. Although regrettable, the image of the aging rural village has been completely transformed, gaining a new rural vitality, and the goal of environmental beautification has been achieved. In 2006, the community received sponsorship from Sinyi Realty's "Community One" program (95th year) and a community forestry subsidy from the Forestry Bureau. They plan to develop a 1.8-kilometer green belt ecological education park along the Taiwan Sugar railway line that runs between the Dingtugou and Xiatugou settlements. This project will connect the two settlements with the "Butterfly Love Flower Trail" that encircles the village and include the creation of a "Leaping Butterfly Spirit Image Symbol." These initiatives aim to enhance the community's multicultural ecological, recreational, sports, and educational functions, and to provide residents with better leisure destinations for holidays.