The grand finale of the 2026 Summer Festival Fresh Market "Come to Qishan" debuts with Chen Qimai showing off banana diplomacy

The grand finale of the "2026 Summer Festival Fresh Market" "Come to Qishan" was held lively at Qishan Stadium today (26th). Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chimai personally made the "Qishan Banana x Okinawa Brown Sugar" cross-border co-branded dish, and revealed that bananas are his "secret weapon" for construction and diplomacy.

The Hatakeyama District Office and a well-known shopping street in Okinawa, Japan, collaborated to create the first "Hatakeyama x Okinawa International Food and Tourism Festival" to present authentic island food and lifestyle selections and inject innovative tourism momentum into the mountain city. Chen Qimai presented trophies to the winning farmers of the 2026 Banana Quality Assessment. He also visited the exhibition area and loudly recommended Qishan Banana. There were even enthusiastic people at the scene holding the new book "Kaohsiung Tight" to ask for autographs and photos.

Chen Qimai said with a smile that Qishan bananas, 147-meter bananas and candied dates are his secret weapons. In addition to being the first choice for giving gifts, they are also the key to obtaining Kaohsiung construction funds from the central government and promoting city diplomacy. They have also been successfully exported to Hachioji City, Japan, and used as nutritious lunch ingredients for local elementary and middle schools.

Chen Qimai said that at the Tokyo Food Exhibition in March this year, Kaohsiung successfully pushed export orders for agricultural and fishery products to exceed NT$538 million, a 51% increase from last year and a record high. The city government has fully implemented the free nutritious lunch policy for public elementary and secondary schools from September, giving priority to the use of local and domestic traceable ingredients. In the face of natural disasters or fluctuations in agricultural product prices, he also promised to personally call the central government to seek disaster subsidies and support local banana farmers.

The event will be held at the Qishan Stadium for two consecutive days, with six theme areas planned, including small farmers' market, agricultural handicrafts, fun adventures, and rural images. People from all over Taiwan are welcome to roam Qishan and feel the vitality of the mountain city.