Participants sample Taiwanese foods featured in Taiwan Travelogue.
Molly Hsu, Secretary at the Taipei Representative Office in Ireland, introduces the Taiwan Employment Gold Card.
Ambassador Daniel Tang delivers welcoming remarks at the DSMC Open Day.
DSMC Director Evan Furlong introduces foods featured in Taiwan Travelogue.
The Dublin School of Mandarin Chinese (DSMC) hosted a special Open Day inspired by the internationally acclaimed novel Taiwan Travelogue (《臺灣漫遊錄》) at Alliance Française Dublin on 7 September 2026, inviting those interested in learning Mandarin to discover Taiwan through its history, language, culture and food. Supported by the Taipei Representative Office in Ireland (TRO) and the Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC), the event aimed to deepen the local community’s understanding of Taiwan.
Written by Taiwanese author Yang Shuang-zi (楊双子) and translated into English by Lin King (金翎), Taiwan Travelogue received the 2024 National Book Award for Translated Literature in the United States and won the 2026 International Booker Prize, bringing significant international recognition to Taiwanese literature.
Set in Taiwan in 1938, during the Japanese colonial period, the novel follows Japanese writer Aoyama Chizuko as she travels around Taiwan with her Taiwanese interpreter, Chizuru. Their journey unfolds through railway travel, landscapes, conversations and Taiwanese food, offering readers a distinctive way to explore Taiwan’s history, linguistic diversity and food culture.
To bring the world of Taiwan Travelogue to life, the venue was decorated with photographs and imagery inspired by the Taiwanese landscapes, railway journeys and historical setting depicted in the novel, giving participants the feeling of stepping into the book and travelling through Taiwan in 1938.
Food, one of the central elements of Taiwan Travelogue, became an important part of the experience. DSMC recreated Taiwanese foods featured in the novel, including watermelon seeds (瓜子), winter melon tea (冬瓜茶), Taiwanese savoury cake (鹹蛋糕), braised pork rice (肉燥飯), and mi tai mu (米台目). DSMC Director Evan Furlong introduced some of the foods and their cultural significance, inviting participants to experience the novel through taste as well as story.
The programme opened with welcoming remarks from DSMC Director Evan Furlong. Ambassador Daniel Tang also welcomed participants, highlighting the international success of Taiwan Travelogue and encouraging them to explore both its English and Mandarin Chinese editions. He noted that Mandarin Chinese copies had been donated to Dublin City Library and encouraged attendees to learn more about opportunities in Taiwan, including the Taiwan Employment Gold Card.
A representative from the Education Division of the Taipei Representative Office in the UK introduced Taiwan Scholarship opportunities for those interested in studying Mandarin or pursuing further education in Taiwan. Molly Hsu, Secretary at the Taipei Representative Office in Ireland, introduced the Taiwan Employment Gold Card and provided participants with information about opportunities to live and work in Taiwan. A special book giveaway of Taiwan Travelogue also allowed participants to take home a copy of the award-winning novel.
The Dublin School of Mandarin Chinese introduced its Traditional Chinese language programmes, providing information for those wishing to continue learning Mandarin and exploring Taiwanese language and culture in Ireland. The programme concluded with an interactive Taiwan culture and Mandarin Kahoot quiz, allowing participants to put what they had discovered throughout the event to the test.
For a few hours at Alliance Française Dublin, participants experienced Taiwan through literature, history, images, language and food. By the end of the event, they had travelled from Taiwan in 1938 to Taiwan today, with each activity becoming another stop along the journey. What began as a journey into the world of Taiwan Travelogue became a journey across time and place — allowing participants to experience their own Taiwan Travelogue.
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