Toucheng Ghost Grappling Festival

The Toucheng Ghost Grappling Festival (Chinese: 頭城搶孤; pinyin: Tóuchéng Qiǎnggū; Tâi-lô: Thâu-siânn tshiúnn-koo), also known as Qianggu Festival, is a traditional festival and competitive ritual held in Toucheng, Yilan County, Taiwan. The event takes place near the end of the Ghost Festival during the seventh lunar month, a period in Taiwanese folk religion associated with wandering spirits.^[1]

Originating in the early 19th century, the festival combines religious ritual with a competitive climbing event in which teams attempt to scale tall, greased poles and bamboo towers to obtain offerings and a flag at the top. The Toucheng event is widely regarded as the largest ghost grappling competition in Taiwan and is associated with the historical migration and settlement of Han Taiwanese in the Yilan Plain. The festival commemorates migrants who died during the colonization of the Yilan Plain and expresses the community's respect for wandering spirits and ancestors.^[2]

At the same time, the competitive element emphasizes cooperation, endurance, and physical skill among participants. The event attracts large crowds each year and has become one of the most prominent Ghost Festival traditions in Taiwan.^[3]

The earliest records of the Toucheng Ghost Grappling Festival date to the early 19th century during Taiwan under Qing rule. During the early settlement of the Yilan Plain, migrants faced difficult conditions including disease, natural disasters, and conflicts. Many died far from their places of origin, and in traditional folk belief those who die away from home may become wandering spirits. To address this concern, local residents held annual rites in the seventh lunar month known as the pudu (普渡), or Passage Ceremony, intended to provide offerings and guide these spirits toward salvation.^[4]

As part of these observances, a ghost grappling competition developed in which participants attempted to climb a tower structure to retrieve offerings dedicated to the spirits. The ritual commemorated the hardships of early settlers while also demonstrating cooperation and physical skill among participants.^[5]

There is little clear documentation about the event in Toucheng during the Qing Dynasty in works like The Kavalan Gazetteer or Gazetteer of Kavalan Subprefecture. It wasn't until the Japanese colonial era that records, reports, and studies began to appear. For example, a report in the Taiwan Daily News on September 8, 1935, highlighted the event as “the only one of its kind on the entire island.” In 1936 and 1937, Japanese scholars Fukutaro Masuda and Seiichiro Suzuki came to observe and document it. During the Japanese period, the event took on features of tourism, recreation, and entertainment: temporary trains were added to the Taipei-Yilan railway, Japanese police managed traffic, and exclusive product vendors used the event for advertising. However, the practice was later suppressed under the Imperialization Movement.^[6]

After the war, in 1946, Toucheng's first township mayor, Lu Tzuan-hsiang proposed reviving the Qiang Gu Festival.^[7] However, during that year's event held on the night of the 30th day of the seventh lunar month, one person died and another was injured. .^[a]A safety net was added the following year, but accidents still occurred. As a result, Mayor Huang Zhuwang suspended the event.^[8] In 1949, during continued preparations by the town council, the Taipei County Yilan District Office ordered the event to be halted.^[7]

In 1991, the Yilan County Magistrate, You Si-kun, who emphasized the cultural foundation of the county, held activities such as the return of the Kavalan people to their hometown to trace their roots to commemorate the 195th anniversary of Wu Sha's reclamation of Yilan, and decided to resume the Toucheng Qiang Gu Festival.^[9] Since then, it has been held annually and has become both a local cultural event and a tourist attraction.^[10]

The competition was cancelled for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan and returned in 2023.^[11]

The Toucheng Ghost Grappling Competition is held during the closing days of the Ghost Festival. Festivities usually begin several days earlier with religious ceremonies, performances, and processions. One ritual involves the release of water lanterns at the mouth of the Chuan River to guide spirits. Ceremonies to welcome deities and appease wandering spirits are also performed. These rites reflect traditional beliefs associated with the Ghost Month period.^[12]

Two main competitions are typically held:

• Fanpeng (飯棚), an earlier and less difficult climbing event intended symbolically to provide rice offerings to spirits.
• Gupeng (孤棚), the main ghost grappling challenge involving a much taller tower and larger offerings such as duck, pork, and fish.

The main climbing competition generally begins late at night after the ritual ceremonies have concluded.

The central feature of the event is the climbing of a large tower structure. Teams of five participants compete to ascend one of several vertical poles leading to a platform approximately 13 m (43 ft) high. The poles are coated with grease or tallow to make climbing difficult. Participants are provided with hemp ropes but must rely heavily on teamwork. Climbers often stand on teammates' shoulders or form human ladders to reach higher sections of the pole. Once a competitor reaches the top of the pole, they must perform a gymnastic maneuver similar to a pullover to swing onto the platform.

Above the platform stands a bamboo trestle structure rising to approximately 30 m (98 ft). Climbers then ascend the structure to reach offerings and a flag at the top. The team whose climber successfully cuts the cords securing the flag and retrieves it is declared the winner. The towers used in the Toucheng competition are among the tallest used in ghost grappling festivals in Taiwan.^[13]

• Ghost Festival
• Culture of Taiwan
• List of festivals in Taiwan
• Toucheng Kaicheng Temple Chenghuang Temple