Project Overview
Our Local Community
Chung Shan Elementary School, situated at the heart of Changhua City, is a school with 115 years of history, surrounded by the Bureau of Cultural Aaffiars, the City Office, the old market, National Changhua University of Education, and has alumni everywhere.
Xiaoxi Street of Changhua City is located around what is now Changan Street, Yongxing Street, and Chenleng Road, in front of the train station. Xiaoxi Street is situated at the point of convergence of the sea and mountain railway lines, hence privileged with ease of traffic, and at around the 1961 a mercantile business district were formed, which by around 1981 was to become one of the three largest mercantile business districts in Taiwan, on par in scale with Dihua Street of Taipei City and Datsaishi of Tainan City. Xiaoxi’s close proximity to the train station allowed for ease of access and commercial activity, and the area was indeed once a bustling commercial center with countless shops and hotels, but with the shift in the general consumption pattern, its development hindered and its prosperity gradually faded. Fortunately, in recent years, local Xiaoxi residents were willing to dedicate themselves passionately to the rejuvenation of Xiaoxi culture and community rebuilding, and utilizing the human and material resources of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs and the City Office they were able to construct a characteristically distinct Xiaoxi Street, endowing the old street with new energies. We hope that through the opportunity of this research project that tourists to Xiaoxi can learn more about its culture and characteristics, and together with the cuisines and historical relics nearby restore Xiaoxi back to its days of glory.
Research Project Abstract
Xiaoxi Street is situated near Changhua Train Station, and from Qing Dynasty to the Japanese Occupation period had always been a prosperous area; in the 1960s its scale and success was on par with that of Taipei City’s Dihua Street and Tainan City’s “Datsaishi,” the other two largest mercantile business districts of Taiwan. Yet, with the completion of National Freeway No.1 in 1978 and the implementation of a much more convenient road system, the status of Xiaoxi Street as a major mercantile distribution center began to waver, and with the gradual loss of consumers the prosperity of Xiaoxi was to be no more.
In addition to its rich cultural heritage, Xiaoxi Street is also famous for its local cuisine stores. Some of these have over 50 to 60 years of history, and are not only the childhood memory of a good many Changhua residents but also known all over Taiwan.
Through the collection and analysis of data as well as interviews we were able to learn more about the history, culture, and cuisines of Xiaoxi, and through giving presentations and guidance we were able to allow others to understand our research findings.
Internet Environment
Chung Shan Elementary School has a 100MB optic-fiber-based academic network which enables us to search for data and fill out our progress reports online without much trouble, and lends us laptop computers to allow us to update information anywhere at school via Wi-Fi.
Problems Encountered and Overcome
Deciding upon the theme of research
At first we simply wanted to work on introducing the local cuisines around Chenleng Road after seeing the Cuisine Carnival held by Changhua City Office. But, after a bit more preliminary research, we learned that this area was once called Xiaoxi, and has a distinctive culture and history that is worth our research, and hence it was decided that we would work on Xiaoxi.
Limited common hours
We are all fifth or sixth graders, have individual activities during recess, and hence almost never have time to get together to do research. Thus, we agreed to use our nap breaks at noon as common hours for research. Our teacher also set up a group at Google Sites for us to upload our research results online at any time, and to exchange ideas, so that we, seeing each other’s opinions and findings, would be able to spur each other to greater efforts and dedication.
Presentations on stage
We were nervous for quite some time prior to our presentations on stage, since we had on experience giving any presentations, and we were frightened by the idea of standing in front of a throng of unknown faces. To help us successfully complete our task, our teacher had us prepare relevant data, discuss the main topics to include in the presentation, split into groups to make PPTs, and with lots of practice fully acquaint ourselves with the content of our presentation before going to fourth grade classes to give our actual presentations. At first, everyone was scared, but after a few sessions, as we grew accustomed to oral presentations, and became ever more familiar with the data at hand, the quality of our general performance naturally improved. Before taking part in the Cyberfair, giving presentations on stage was an impossible task for us, and we were astonished at how, with the teacher’s guidance, we were able to overcome the multiple challenges of collecting data, producing PPTs and giving presentations
Street Survey
When we were conducting surveys on Xiaoxi Street, though there was no lack of people, most simply declined by saying that they had no time or were preoccupied, and some even ignored us entirely. The teacher, however, was not discouraged and reminded us to introduce ourselves before and to be polite when making our request; after that most people were indeed very willing to help out. We even interviewed an English teacher, who treated us fried
Collecting data
When we tried looking for data on the developmental history of Xiaoxi Street, we were often unable to find anything useful. Further, because books in the Changhua County Cultural Affairs Bureau were not available for circulation, we had to order books from Fuxing Township Library, and became aware of the importance of utilizing all available resources. Besides having a difficult time collecting data, we also did not initially know how to choose the relevant pieces of data, and instead saved everything we found; only when we began to write our reports did the teacher discover that there was a good amount of collected data that we simply did not understand, such as that on the architectural styles of historical relics, and so we learned to process our data and use only portions that we could comprehend. Through this process we learned that we could not make other people understand what we ourselves
To be a little guides
When the teacher told u that we were to be trained as guides for Xiaoxi Street, we felt nervous, since we’ve already had a taste of the stress involved during our presentations, and because this time we won’t be simply talking to unknown school members, but adult strangers. It’s a good thing that the teacher had us practice giving guidance with photos of Xiaoxi scenic spots, and gave us immediate advice on what to correct or improve each time after hearing our repeated practice. When we actually set foot on Xiaoxi Street, the teacher told us to request the people we approach to fill out our survey first, and then ask whether they would like our guidance, not forgetting the while to present pictures of Xiaoxi to pique their interest. We felt less nervous as we did this, and even encountered few tourists who were willing to hear our guidance.
Our Reflections
It takes only about ten minutes to walk from school to Xiaoxi Street, but prior to our research on Xiaoxi Street, we barely knew anything about it beyond the foods there, so it was only really over these past few months that we truly got to know Xiaoxi in detail.
During these few months, we learned how to operate as a team. Priorly, we would have classes which required us to split into groups, but the assignments for those occasions can usually be completed in one or two weeks, and a project of this length with fellow schoolmates was a first for us. During the process, the teacher guided us on how to search for data, how to decide on a theme for research; we also interviewed the mayor, did some more interview on Xiaoxi Street, and gave guidance to tourists. It was hard work, but a fruitful endeavor, and everyone was pleased to see our efforts pay off as they was transformed piece by piece into beautiful webpages.
We remember our teacher once telling us that participation in the Cyberfair is a wonderful opportunity to broaden our horizons, and we hope that we, in this event, will be able to accumulate knowledge beyond the boundaries of the textbook, and that our final product will receive ample recognition.
