Chinese immigrant builds up her community through environmental work

Chinese immigrant builds up her community through environmental work

2024-01-24

Originally from Yangzhou, China, Li Xia immigrated to Taiwan and settled in Hsinchu some years ago. She’s now a handicraft teacher with an environmental bent. Seeds are her interest which she displays in her home. She also has a green thumb with which she grows plants and the community she lives in, bringing people closer to each other.

This entire wall of seeds from hundreds of species of plants were gathered by Li Xia in the alleys of her neighborhood. Her home is a veritable seed bank.

Li Xia
Chinese immigrant
Colorful seeds are rare, like the seeds of mountain soursop. They’re golden. You don’t see it much. My interest motivates me. I think they’re beautiful. You can use them creatively with kids. There are all kinds of seeds around us. There are also some unique plants, quite a few of them. I just hope that people can get to know the environment they live in by taking a stroll in their neighborhood, picking up leaves and seeds along the way.

Li, who has three children, used to be a stay-at-home mom. After her kids grew up, she devoted herself to her favorite crafts and became a handicraft teacher. She’s an environmental advocate and instills life into plant seeds and other mundane items in life through her skillful hands, resulting in works of exquisite vitality. A true conservationist with a high degree of environmental awareness, she used to take her children to activities organized by the Society of Wilderness. Now having integrated into the community she lives, she is building her community. She takes her neighbors through a series of classes, which not only allow them to pass the time, but also bring them closer to each other.

Chuang Kai-ching
Handicraft class student
What’s really unbelievable is that she loves this land more than us. We who live on this land are getting to know this land because of her.

On behalf of her community, Li applied for the green rooftop project, in which plant boxes were set up so the residents could reap the harvest.

Li Xia
Chinese immigrant
A community is like a small cooperative village. For example, the community building work I did earlier was so that everyone could understand and trust each other. If some people need help in the future, they might immediately think of me and ask for help.

Through her action, Li not only protects Taiwan’s environment, but helps build her local community, giving a breath of human warmth in high tech Hsinchu.

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