Tree Rings as City Narrative: Awakening the Soul of Chiayi, Taiwan's City of Wood

Challenge

Chiayi is known as Taiwan's City of Wood, with a forestry history and timber architecture that form one of its core civic assets. The long-standing question for the city government was how to connect that legacy to everyday life and turn it into local pride and economic momentum. The challenge was to integrate wood-related elements scattered across industry, social welfare, and daily life into one cohesive event that could draw cross-generational participation, rather than a one-off market or exhibition.

Goal

Centered on the concept "Tree Rings, Telling the City's Story," connect exhibitions, education, industry, and a market through the first Wood Education Life Festival, embedding the idea of wood education in public awareness while showcasing Chiayi's distinct identity as a city built on timber.

Approach

1. Developed the festival's key visual around the imagery of tree rings, carrying it through every touchpoint across the exhibition, market, and educational activities to tie together the festival's industry, education, and everyday-life threads.
2. Wove wood craft businesses, social welfare organizations, and lifestyle proposals into the program, connecting participants across generations and backgrounds so the festival read as more than a look back at history.
3. Planned a site layout where the exhibition and market ran side by side, letting visitors experience wood education and local wood craft in a single visit rather than a standalone market stall.

Outcome

The first Wood Education Life Festival took place as scheduled, with the "Tree Rings, Telling the City's Story" key visual running through its exhibition, education, and market components. It was the first time Chiayi City Government's Cultural Affairs Bureau brought the city's wood heritage together into one cross-generational civic festival.