Man-chou village, Pingtung County, in Taiwan's remote southeast region, was little in the past. But because the village's scenic Chia-Le Waters have been made part of the new Kenting National Park, the area has been attracting many tourists and is now receiving notice.
Man-chou is unique--the daily activities of its people, their economic attitudes and concepts, and their cultural level, are more developed than in most similar rural communities of the area.
About 260 years ago, a Cantonese immigrant named Wang Ch'eng-ku came to Man-chou, where he married an aboriginal woman. This is the historical beginning of Chinese settlement in Man-chou. Afterwards, Fukienese, Cantonese, and Hakka settlers continuously immigrated from mainland China until their numbers exceeded the number of aboriginal inhabitants. The Chinese intermarried with the aborigines, and introduced Chinese agricultural techniques. Now there are 11,000 inhabitants in Man-chou, one fifth of whom are aborigines. All the aborigines have adapted to Chinese culture, and speak the Taiwan dialect of Fukienese, or Mandarin; one rarely hears the aboriginal languages.
Man-chou does not yet have a market. Every day at about 11:00 a.m., vegetable trucks come from Pingtung, Henchun, and other cities. They arrive near the village hall and sell in the open. The vegetable trucks also bring fish, meat, fried foods, Chinese herbs and other items, and are the main source of purchases in the village. In the afternoon, they go round about the small settlements in the area. If one misses the vegetable trucks, he can buy vegetables at general stores, but the prices are higher.
Besides this, one can see itinerant medicine salesmen huckstering in the village. They use acting, singing, and dancing to attract people. These performances are one of the traditional forms of entertainment; every time a troupe arrives, it attracts great crowds of onlookers.
Tourists coming to visit the Chia-Le Waters have stimulated the founding of many small shops. Visitors always want to bring back souvenirs or gifts for a friend or relative. As a result, the kang-k'ou tea produced in Man-chou has enjoyed a jump in sales volume...and price. The price of a chin has increased from US$8.00 eight years ago to more than US$20.00 today.
"Tourists are truly our biggest source of prosperity," says Man-chou Mayor Tseng, "not only because they spend money here, but also because some of them increase our outside economic contacts; many also help to bring new ideas to the village."
The biggest producer of kang-k'ou tea is the boss of the Kung-fa tea orchard, Chu Hsu-hsing. The tea gets its name from Kang-k'ou settlement in Man-chou village, and is a blend of four tea varieties perfected by Chu's great-great grandfather. It is a kind of Oolong, and rather strong. Its most special characteristic is its long-lasting aftertaste.
Chu Hsu-hsing was originally a regular-crop farmer--a tea grower only on the side. He did not fertilize, cultivate, nor apply pesticides to his tea trees, and the trees grow naturally in the favorable climate. Although productivity was low, quality was high.
In 1975, after tourists spread the fame of kang-k'ou tea supply fell behind demand. "I chatted with my customers and discussed the way I plant and process tea. Some said I ought to be more of a specialist, use various techniques, increase production...and some said my tea was good, but the processing technique wasn't good enough, and it affected the quality of the tea. They said I ought to use machines--both to guard the quality of the tea and to increase the efficiency of production. When I first heard these things, I thought, 'Since when does growing tea take so much bother?' But after I heard them, I started thinking that these things made some sense," Chu related.
He had the will to improve, but Chu still had only a hazy understanding of how to "specialize". In order to be more clear on how to proceed, with the help of the village government he participated in the Taiwan Tea Improvement Station's 1978 Spring Technical Conference for Youth. Amid these many ideas, he came up with clear and practical paths to follow to industrialize his tea orchard.
He began fertilizing, installing semi-automatic processing machinery, etc. "I used to process my tea over a stove; it took two hours for two kilos; Now I use a machine, and it's done in ten minutes."
Usually, the Station's Tea Conference is reserved for high school graduates. Chu, whose hometown has no high school, was able to attend as a result of the representations of his village government.
Today, he enjoys a prosperous business in a rural and remote region of southeastern Taiwan.
[Picture Caption]
1. In Man-chou a few people raise cattle for a living. Here the cattle frolic in a mountaintop lake. 2. At sunset, one can see both beautiful clouds and TV aerials.
The seacoast scenery at Chia-Le Waters. 1.2.4. Rocks shaped by years of wind and waves. 3. Chia-Le Waters' scenery attracts not a few tourists. 5. Chia-Le Waters faces the Pacific Ocean, one can often see surging waves there.
1. The village hall is the center of government. 2. Man-chou Junior High enjoys a high rate of graduates continuing their education. 3. Children play on a bridge. 4. Man-chou seems to be filled with trees in every view. 5. Many people go into the mountains to gather wood for heating water. 6. A street scene.
1. Long-abandoned cartwheels are a sort of relic. 2.3.4. Children in Man-chou Day Care Center playing games and making free drawings. 5. School is out, and Man-chou Junior High students wait for the bus in the shade. 6. A little boy plays marbles.
1. Catching shrimp is a new industry in Man-chou, here the catch is packed immediately. 2. Kang-k'ou tea, because of the development of the area, is becoming a famous product. 3. Fishing is expanding. 4. Just-harvested hot peppers. 5. Most people depend on farming for a living. 6. Hucksters acting to attract customers. 7.8. Many products come to the town.
1. Women washing clothes in a river. 2. Man-chou has no market; people buy produce from trucks. 3. Running at the athletic field. 4. Motorcycles are a mode of transportation.
2. At sunset, one can see both beautiful clouds and TV aerials.
The seacoast scenery at Chia-Le Waters. 1.2.4. Rocks shaped by years of wind and waves.
The seacoast scenery at Chia-Le Waters. 1.2.4. Rocks shaped by years of wind and waves.
The seacoast scenery at Chia-Le Waters. 1.2.4. Rocks shaped by years of wind and waves.
3. Chia-Le Waters' scenery attracts not a few tourists.
5. Chia-Le Waters faces the Pacific Ocean, one can often see surging waves there.
1. The village hall is the center of government.
2. Man-chou Junior High enjoys a high rate of graduates continuing their education.
3. Children play on a bridge.
5. Many people go into the mountains to gather wood for heating water.
4. Man-chou seems to be filled with trees in every view.
6. A street scene.
1. Long-abandoned cartwheels are a sort of relic.
2.3.4. Children in Man-chou Day Care Center playing games and making free drawings.
2.3.4. Children in Man-chou Day Care Center playing games and making free drawings.
2.3.4. Children in Man-chou Day Care Center playing games and making free drawings.
5. School is out, and Man-chou Junior High students wait for the bus in the shade.
6. A little boy plays marbles.
1. Catching shrimp is a new industry in Man-chou, here the catch is packed immediately.
2. Kang-k'ou tea, because of the development of the area, is becoming a famous product.
3. Fishing is expanding.
5. Most people depend on farming for a living.
4. Just-harvested hot peppers.
6. Hucksters acting to attract customers.
7.8. Many products come to the town.
7.8. Many products come to the town.
1. Women washing clothes in a river.
2. Man-chou has no market; people buy produce from trucks.
3. Running at the athletic field.
4. Motorcycles are a mode of transportation.
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@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)
