Taiwanese singer and songwriter ZiXuan Huang thinks a lot about the state of Hakka music in his country. Nearly 20 percent of the island nation’s population belong to this Han Chinese sub-ethnic group. However their distinct Hakka language was frozen out of the public sphere for decades after Kuomintang rulers made Mandarin mandatory following the Second World War.
“One issue facing Hakka music in Taiwan is that we actually lack a deep understanding of traditional Hakka music,” ZiXuan tells the Toronto Spark over Zoom from his home in Hsinchu, Taiwan.
“If you look at music in many other countries—take the United States, for instance, where there is a clear evolutionary progression from the blues to modern styles—there is a distinct developmental trajectory,” the ZiXuan & Slow Train frontman continues. “However, with Hakka music, that continuity was disrupted due to political factors. Taiwan went through a very long period where the Hakka language was largely absent from mainstream media—effectively stagnating for nearly 40 years.”
ZiXuan speaks to the Toronto Spark in Mandarin, which is translated into English by associate editor becky tu.
Historically, Hakka people lived in agrarian hillside communities in Taiwan dating back to the 17th century. They traditionally sang folksy mountain melodies and played traditional instruments with percussion and strings. Hakka performers also created theatrical folk opera. Hailing from Guangdong and Fujian, they were viewed as “guests” by the dominant Taiwanese Hokkien-speaking Hoklo people, most of whom traced their ancestry back to Minnan, China.
ZiXuan’s mother is Hakka and his father has Minnanese ancestry. This explains why he can sing in Hakka, Taiwanese, and Mandarin, which is Taiwan’s de facto official language.
ZiXuan & Slow Train re-imagines musical expression
In recent years, ZiXuan has immersed himself in traditional Hakka music and studied its characteristics. Then, he incorporated these elements into contemporary compositions with acoustic, folk, upbeat reggae, and rock music.
“We have absorbed so much Western influence, yet my goal is to synthesize those elements to find a modern expression that truly suits my mother tongue and traditional culture,” ZiXuan says.
It has certainly paid off. The band (originally called Dark White Collar) has won the Golden Melody Award three times for Best Hakka Album, most recently in 2025 for New Soul.
“Winning the award opened up many new opportunities for experimentation,” ZiXuan emphasizes. “For instance, this year I’m collaborating on new songs with several Canadian musicians—connections made possible because people heard my music and took notice of me.”
Moreover, ZiXuan & Slow Train is going to share its insights into Hakka musical traditions with music lovers at Toronto TAIWANfest.
The band’s free two-hour workshop, The New Soul of Hakka Mountain Song, will explore traditional Hakka melodies. It starts at 1 p.m. on Sunday (August 30) in Harbourfront Centre’s Studio Theatre.
“By re-imagining these traditions through contemporary musical expression and collective creation, participants will discover new possibilities for Hakka music today,” the Toronto TAIWANfest website states. “Together, learn to shape a sound that belongs to this generation while creating space for people from diverse cultural backgrounds to listen to one another and compose a new musical landscape.”
That will be followed by ZiXuan & Slow Train’s free concert called Old Town, New Soul. They will perform at 5 p.m. on Sunday on the Concert Stage at Harbourfront Centre.
Watch the music video (above) for “HsinChu”.
Inspired by Hakka connection to railways
“I feel our music is organic and unpretentious,” ZiXuan says. “I also think it can bring a great deal of joy to everyone.”
He uses the word “organic” because the band adapts its music in various ways, depending on the setting.
In 2011, ZiXuan and guitarist Zhou Yue-cheng formed the duo Dark White Collar. But in 2015, it was renamed it ZiXuan & Slow Train with ZiXuan as band leader, Wu Dong-ying on guitar, and Hu Shi-guo on drums.
ZiXuan says the name was inspired by the close connection between trains and the Hakka population of Taiwan. Many Hakka people worked for the railway system in the early days. The band’s moniker came from a specific type of slow train that used to stop at every small station along the line.
“I really liked that concept because you could see the scenery in much greater detail than on the express trains,” ZiXuan says.
Even though he began performing as a 16-year-old high school student, he didn’t write his first song with Hakka lyrics until he was 27. The band’s most recent music video, “HsinChu”, is a gentle tribute to his hometown, filled with gorgeous imagery.
“The core concept was to personify the city of Hsinchu—treating it like a person—and to weave in the feelings I’ve held for it from childhood through to adulthood,” ZiXuan says. “To me, Hsinchu is like a mother. Since it is my hometown, writing this song felt just like writing one for my own mom.”
He maintains that many people hold distorted views about Hsinchu—the centre of the country’s thriving semiconductor industry. According to ZiXuan, many tech workers collect high salaries and only think of Hsinchu as a place to go to work. The song and music video offer a reminder of the pristine environment and vibrant Hakka culture that still exist in Hsinchu even after the government requisitioned nearly 1,500 hectares to create Hsinchu Science Park.
“We hope that through this song, we can remind everyone of the city’s wonderful qualities.”
Watch the music video (above) for “Hotel”.
ZiXuan promotes cultural harmony
Over the years, ZiXuan & Slow Train have created many hits, including “Hotel”, featuring Sorry Youth, and “Midnight Tears” with Fire EX frontman Sam Yang.
One of the band’s more imaginative tracks is “Hometown Is No Where Else”. It was on The Stranger, which won the Golden Melody Award for Best Hakka Album in 2016.
“I wanted to convey that regardless of where one’s hometown used to be, once we stand together on this land of Taiwan, we share the same home.” ZiXuan says, “The title implies that even if one’s roots lie elsewhere, the passage of time in Taiwan turns this place into a true home where we are all one family.”
It’s a sentiment that many residents of Canada can relate to.
“To reflect this, I incorporated Hakka elements as well as Indonesian influences, even inviting a musical duo in Taiwan to perform the song with me,” ZiXuan continues. “Although the song was originally conceived to address the context of life in Taiwan, it has taken me to perform in various countries around the world—such as Indonesia and Malaysia. That has been a truly rewarding outcome of my songwriting journey.”
He draws parallels between modern-day immigrants and migrant workers in Taiwan from Southeast Asian nations and Hakka people who moved to Taiwan centuries ago. The term Hakka originally described a group of people who were “sojourning” in Taiwan as “guests”.
“Over time, however, the Hakka community has become one of Taiwan’s mainstream ethnic groups.”
Watch ZiXuan & Slow Train perform “Hometown Is No Where Else” (above).
Importance of learning history
ZiXuan was one of 12 Hakka artists featured in Taiwanese director Shen Ko-shang’s 2024 documentary Master or Guest. Presented at Toronto TAIWANfest last year, this historical film revealed how rulers of Taiwan retained power by repeatedly pitting Hakka, Hoklo, and Indigenous populations against one another.
“Taiwan is home to diverse ethnic groups, yet prejudices persist,” ZiXuan states. “For instance, ‘new residents’ are currently the most vulnerable group, largely because they arrived most recently.
“They bring with them customs that may be unfamiliar to the local population,” he adds. “Such dynamics often lead to friction and mutual preconceptions between groups—whether between newer arrivals and the established Hoklo-Taiwanese community, or among other demographics.”
Ultimately, ZiXuan attributes this to a lack of understanding regarding the different groups’ cultures. Furthermore, he insists that “most Taiwanese people don’t really understand their own history”.
ZiXuan returned to Hsinchu in 2020 to get closer to his Hakka roots. According to the Toronto TAIWANfest website, he “transformed a space inside the historic Dongmen Market into ‘Dongmen REC&LIVE,’ a hub for live music, recording, and creative exchange.”
He also leads a grassroots music initiative called Old Town Party. It brings musicians, artists, and other creators from Taiwan into Hsinchu’s old town district.
“I felt a strong desire to infuse my music with that unique identity and attempt things that hadn’t been done in Hakka music before,” he says. “Even though people sometimes say, ‘We don’t quite understand the Hakka lyrics,’ they still connect with the music itself. And that has been the most rewarding feedback I’ve received over these past 10-plus years.”
Learn more about Hakka history in Taiwan by watching Master or Guest (above).
Festival details
Toronto TAIWANfest will present ZiXuan & Slow Train in a free concert called Old Town, New Soul. The band will perform at 5 p.m. on Sunday (August 23) on the Concert Stage at Harbourfront Centre. For more information, visit the Toronto TAIWANfest website.
In addition, ZiXuan & Slow Train will offer a free, two-hour artist workshop called The New Soul of Hakka Mountain Song. It will take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday (August 30) in the Studio Theatre at Harbourfront Centre.
Toronto Spark associate editor becky tu translated ZiXuan’s responses into English. Toronto TAIWANfest runs from August 28 to 30 at Harbourfront Centre. All events are free, though there is a small supplies fee to attend cooking workshops led by Taiwanese celebrity chef Ted Liao.
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