Bee Fever Hits! Dagangshan Longan Honey Festival Kicks Off with Viral 'Honey Salt-Fried Chicken'

Kaohsiung's summer agricultural highlight, the 'Dagangshan Longan Honey Cultural Festival,' kicked off today (8th) for a two-day run at Ruyi Park in Ailian District. Now in its 26th year, the opening day attracted a massive crowd, with buzzing markets, beekeeper performances, honey-themed games, and specialty foods creating a sweet atmosphere. Among the highlights, the Kaohsiung City Agriculture Bureau collaborated with the Ailian Farmers' Association and local fried chicken vendors to launch a limited-edition 'longan honey salt-fried chicken.' This creative fusion of premium Kaohsiung-certified longan honey with classic Taiwanese salt-fried chicken has become the hottest topic onsite, blending savory and sweet flavors.

The Kaohsiung City Agriculture Bureau stated that Dagangshan longan honey is beloved by consumers for its rich aroma and pure taste, making it a key agricultural brand for Kaohsiung. However, due to climate factors such as warm winters, high temperatures, and low rainfall this year, the blooming of longan trees has been unstable, resulting in a noticeable decline in honey production compared to last year—making this year’s harvest even more precious.

25 Winners of the 'Kaohsiung Premium' Honey Evaluation Announced; 15- and 16-Year-Old Young Beekeepers Take Over the Legacy

Despite climatic challenges, beekeepers have diligently cared for their hives and maintained quality. After rigorous instrumental testing and expert sensory evaluations, this year’s competition awarded six Special Prizes and nineteen First Prizes, totaling 25 winners of the 'Kaohsiung Premium' honey certification. Each bottle undergoes strict quality control, featuring a beehive-shaped brand packaging and origin traceability design, ensuring consumer confidence and continued market recognition of Kaohsiung’s high-quality honey.

One of the festival’s biggest highlights this year is the 'longan honey salt-fried chicken.' The Agriculture Bureau partnered with the Ailian Farmers’ Association and a renowned local chicken cutlet shop to drizzle rich, aromatic Kaohsiung-certified longan honey over freshly fried salted chicken. The bold combination of salty, fragrant, and sweet flavors quickly drew long queues of visitors eager to try this novelty, successfully bridging traditional agriculture with modern Taiwanese street food beloved by younger generations and sparking a new kind of 'bee'-centric buzz.

Beyond culinary innovation, this year’s event emphasizes generational succession in beekeeping. 'Gangfa Honey,' the first class of the Ailian Beekeeping Production and Marketing Group mentored by the Ailian Farmers’ Association, features third-generation beekeepers—16-year-old Wang Yu-Chieh and 15-year-old Wang Pin-Ting—as this year’s spotlight. Growing up accompanying family members to apiaries, they’ve learned about bee colonies, honey harvesting, and hive management. During summer break, they actively participated in apiary work and event services, symbolically taking over the family’s beekeeping legacy.

The Agriculture Bureau emphasized that the involvement of young beekeepers represents not only the continuation of family businesses but also a new generation’s identification with and commitment to agriculture. Their creativity and energy open new possibilities for integrating traditional beekeeping techniques with modern marketing and food culture, injecting fresh momentum into the sustainable development of Kaohsiung’s beekeeping industry.

This year’s Dagangshan Longan Honey Cultural Festival features honey sales, signature dishes like 'honey-glazed fried chicken,' beekeeper shows, honey-themed challenge games, static exhibitions on beekeeping, and a limited 'honey trail guided tour,' allowing visitors to deepen their understanding of beekeeping and honey culture beyond just tasting and purchasing.

The Agriculture Bureau noted that the 'Dagangshan Longan Honey Cultural Festival' is a key agricultural event in Kaohsiung’s 'Summer Fresh Market' series for August. They invite the public to visit Dagangshan in Ailian during the weekend of August 8th and 9th, enjoy premium Kaohsiung longan honey, support local beekeepers through purchases, and experience the unique summer 'bee' fever.

For more information, visit the 'Dagangshan Longan Honey Cultural Festival' Facebook fan page.

Third-generation beekeepers from Class One of the Ailian Beekeeping Production and Marketing Group, Gangfa Honey: 16-year-old Wang Yu-Chieh (far left) and 15-year-old Wang Pin-Ting (far right), pose with Agriculture Bureau Director Yao Ji-Wang and Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Lai Jui-Long. (Photo provided by Kaohsiung City Agriculture Bureau)