Preserving Chishang’s memories
Apart from the annual arts festival, Chishang boasts an ever-increasing number of independent businesses which tourists find attractive. Many of these are in renovated old houses near the railway station, such as the café-cum-gallery Coffee Stay and the B&Bs ChingTing, HowHas and Good Harvest. There, visitors can acquire intimate glimpses of Chishang’s history, while basking in the owners’ love of the place. Some of these proprietors are youngsters who have recently returned to their hometown to live and work, and others are newcomers who are simply enamored of Chishang. Whatever their backgrounds and motivations, they have settled in Chishang because of what the place represents, and because they are committed to a shared vision: to preserve the story of Chishang.
Wei Wen Hsuan, owner of Good Harvest B&B, has been back in Chishang for 16 years. As one of the first young people to return, he is aware of the challenges faced by the younger generation, who enjoy few job opportunities and are not well connected with established local figures and businesses. Wei’s own initial enthusiasm was in fact mixed with a deep-seated sense of apprehension about the future.
As a result, Wei invited his close friends to form the Black Knights. They pedal around the town on old-fashioned bikes, hoping to strike up conversations with local residents. In doing so, they aim to familiarize the youngsters who have recently returned to Chishang, as well as newcomers, with the way their town is being developed, and locals, in turn, have come to know these new faces and establish amicable relationships with them.
As more and more young people are returning or moving to Chishang, the local businesses have devised a “dispersed hotel” model, whereby each provides different services and they share each other’s customers through the website Amusing Chishang (chishang-travel.tw).
Through the recommendations on Amusing Chishang, tourists who have come to stay in the town are introduced to many characterful local shops and can then go dining or shopping in places that catch their eyes.
Through renovating old houses and sharing customers, young people in Chishang are more likely to be able to make a living. Only by retaining the younger generation can issues such as education and elderly care be properly dealt with. And only by this means can people in Chishang continue to write the next chapter of their story.
Lee Ying Ping, chief executive officer of Lovely Taiwan, says that the foundation’s guiding principle is “respecting the life choices of local people”: learning what the locals need by befriending them.
The Chishang Barn Art Museum is a new incarnation of a historic barn belonging to Liang Zhengxian’s family. It not only preserves local memory but also serves as a space where locals are encouraged to interact with artists-in-residence.
Chishang’s rice paddies occupy 500 hectares, without a single utility pole in their midst. In autumn, the rice turns golden, transforming the scene into the most natural of “natural stages.” (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)
Chishang’s rice paddies are where local people earn their living and catch up with each other. The town owes to them its cultural vitality and artistic creativity. (photo by Hsiao An-shun, courtesy of Lovely Taiwan)