A hometown visit draws a crowd
More than 2,000 fans gathered at Zhongli Tourist Night Market in Taoyuan on the evening of October 21 as Yeh Shuhua, the Taiwanese member of K-pop group i-dle, filmed a tourism promotion featuring childhood memories, market games and local snacks.
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The appearance brought an international performer back to a place she remembered visiting as a child. Shuhua filmed beneath the market's new entrance arch, played a marble game and sampled stinky tofu and sweet potato balls, turning familiar night market activities into material for her hometown's tourism campaign.
Taoyuan's Department of Tourism said Shuhua was working in her role as the city's tourism ambassador. The city government had invited her to take on that role the previous year, using promotional videos and photographs to introduce Taoyuan's scenery, history and everyday life to audiences in Taiwan and overseas.
The turnout also put the city's publicity choices under scrutiny. On October 20, the city government had published the location and a scheduled appearance time of 9 p.m. on social media, encouraging people to visit for a possible encounter with the singer. Fans questioned whether a working film shoot should have been promoted in a way that could draw a large crowd.
Why Zhongli mattered to Shuhua
Shuhua was born in Fugang, an area of Taoyuan's Yangmei District. Her appearance at Zhongli connected her international career with a familiar part of her life before fame: going to a local night market.
Shuhua, appearing as Taoyuan's tourism ambassador, described her connection to the market during the visit:
This is a childhood memory for me!
Her filming route stayed close to the activities visitors could find there themselves. After taking pictures beneath the entrance arch, she went inside to play at a marble game shop before trying the food. Stinky tofu is tofu fermented to develop its strong smell and distinctive taste; sweet potato balls are a familiar fried snack.
Taoyuan's campaign uses that personal connection to give the destination a recognizable face. Shuhua can introduce the market as somewhere she remembers, while the food stalls and games give viewers specific things to look for when they visit. The setting places local businesses, rather than a studio backdrop, at the center of the promotion.
How a filming schedule became a public draw
Taoyuan's social media announcement gave fans a precise place and time to gather. Although the appearance was described as a surprise visit, the public had been told about it the day before filming.
The sequence shows how quickly the promotional shoot became an attraction in its own right:
- October 20: The city government published the Zhongli Tourist Night Market location and announced that Shuhua would appear at 9 p.m. the following evening.
- October 21: More than 2,000 fans gathered as Shuhua filmed at the entrance arch and visited games and food stalls inside the market.
- After the visit: The tourism department said the promotional images and footage would be released soon.
The announcement appealed to supporters who might otherwise have had no chance to see her. For a tourism campaign built around a popular performer, that attention was valuable: people were discussing Taoyuan and traveling to the market before the finished video had even appeared.
Fans who objected focused on the purpose of the event. Shuhua was there to work on promotional content, while the advance announcement encouraged people to attend in the hope of seeing her. Those two expectations met in the same market.
Fans question crowd planning
Some fans criticized the decision to disclose the exact schedule, saying a filming visit required different arrangements from a public fan meeting. Their concern was that a large audience could affect Shuhua's safety, interrupt production and make movement through the market difficult.
A fan meeting is organized around an audience watching or interacting with a performer. A location shoot is organized around recording material, with the performer and production team moving between filming positions. People responding to the announcement wanted the city to explain what kind of access visitors could expect and how the gathering would be managed.
Critics also worried about pushing and traffic congestion, and about fans being blamed if the gathering became difficult to control. Their objections centered on the city's responsibility after encouraging people to come, especially given Shuhua's large following.
The disagreement exposed competing expectations among her supporters. Some welcomed a publicly announced opportunity to see her in Taoyuan. Others wanted the filming schedule kept private or supported by arrangements appropriate for the crowd the announcement might attract.
Young fans travel with their families
An 11-year-old girl surnamed Chiang attended with her family and said she was happy that her idol had become an ambassador for her hometown. Simply being able to see Shuhua made the visit worthwhile for her, and she welcomed the city's decision to publicize the appearance.
Another supporter, Wang Hsin-an, a sixth grade pupil from Taichung, traveled north with a parent after seeing the official announcement. She asked her family to arrange leave from school so she could attend and expressed envy that Taoyuan had secured her favorite performer as its tourism ambassador.
Wang's parent said the family supported her interest in performers while expecting her to keep up with schoolwork. Her steady academic results helped persuade the family to accompany her on trips to see her idol.
Those experiences show the reach of the city's message beyond the immediate neighborhood. The announcement prompted at least one family to make a journey from another city, while giving a young local supporter a chance to see an international star connected to her own hometown.
Strong winds add to the evening's conditions
Strong winds affected the market that evening under the influence of Typhoon Fengshen. Fans nevertheless gathered in large numbers for the outdoor appearance.
The weather added another practical consideration to a visit that involved movement between the market entrance, a games shop and food stalls. People came to watch a celebrity, while Shuhua and the production team needed to complete filming in an active market.
The combination of wind, a large turnout and a working shoot helps explain why crowd arrangements became a central concern in the discussion. For those attending, the experience depended on more than whether they could catch a glimpse of Shuhua; it also involved getting around the market while filming continued.
What Taoyuan plans to release
Taoyuan's tourism department said the images and footage would appear soon, but gave no exact release date. The city also announced merchandise branded Taoyuan × Shuhua exclusively for its Halloween City event.
The video and merchandise serve different parts of the same campaign. Promotional footage can introduce the city to people who have never visited, while event merchandise gives supporters something connected to a trip or local celebration.
The city government said it would continue marketing overseas, aiming to turn international attention into visits and spending at local businesses. Shuhua's career gives the campaign access to fans beyond Taiwan, while her hometown connection gives it a personal story to tell.
For Zhongli's vendors, the city's stated goal is concrete: visitors who come for Shuhua might also buy food, play games and explore the market. The October 21 gathering demonstrated her ability to attract an audience. The next stage of the campaign is to bring the market to viewers through the finished promotional material.
Key Points
- More than 2,000 fans gathered at Zhongli Tourist Night Market for Shuhua's October 21 tourism shoot.
- The i-dle member, born in Taoyuan's Fugang area, revisited a market associated with her childhood.
- The city published the location and scheduled appearance time the previous day, drawing criticism from fans concerned about crowd management.
- Shuhua filmed at the entrance arch, played a marble game and tried stinky tofu and sweet potato balls.
- Taoyuan plans to release the promotional footage and has announced exclusive Taoyuan × Shuhua merchandise for its Halloween City event.
