Ta Hsi, a placid small town in Taoyan (Pear Garden), is known for its many faces. It is considered particularly favored by nature in its beautiful location between its mountains and rivers. One can sense a subtle new force ever since the mortal remains of the late President Chiang were laid to rest there. President Chiang frequented Ta Hsi during most of his vacations and two lodges were built for his sojourns, one in town and the other by the Tzu Hu (Loving Lake). Now the Ta Hsi Lodge has been turned into a memorial hall, open to the public. Both the design and furnishings are very simple, too simple, some might think, for the man who dedicated all his life to his country and led his people through so many troubles.

Most of the working population of Ta Hsi are farmers. Agricultural production includes mainly rice, oranges, tea and lumber. In recent year s, the town has emerged from its traditional economy, with new factories. Electronics assembly lines, musical instrument production, and handicrafts are pushing Ta Hsi to a new frontier. While many of its old customs are still maintained, narrow and winding roads are giving way to modern thoroughfares. A large, old-styled house is located about ten minutes drive from the downtown area. It is said that the first owner of this house was a classic scholar who had passed successfully the provincial examination, the second highest academic level of the examination system in dynastic China. Men in those days who passed such an examination would simultaneously have an official position and subsequently almost every other thing, including a beautiful house. This mansion in tradition, is outstanding, compared wit h all those around it, with its elegant design and intricate decorations, such as carved beams and painted pillars, glazed tiles and ornate walls.

Ta Hsi, with an area of 105 square kilometers, and a population close to 6,200, has 12 primary schools and 3 junior middle schools, in addition to such modern facilities as a health station, telecommunications office, post office, water plant, forestry office and power transformer station. Besides a variety of temples and shrines, one also finds Catholic and Protestant Christian churches. Ta Hsi is also noted for its sandstone, rated as having the highest degree of firmness in Taiwan. A modern, machine-operated quarry, produces the stone. In Ta Hsi's downtown area, one can find the same sort of hustling and bustling life as in large cities. On the town's outskirts is a pastoral picture in sharp contrast, rice paddies, grasslands, large white egrets soaring and sparrows darting about. Scarecrows stand guard, flapping their ragged clothes in the breeze. Children tramp in the fields, and alongside brooks, trying to catch fish and shrimps, all parts of a leisurely, care-free portrait of the country around Ta Hsi.

A noteworthy attraction in Ta Hsi is furniture. A large factory, called Jimmy's Furniture makes exquisite and expensive pieces. Each piece of Jimmy's Products can be rated as a work of art rather than mere craftsmanship, both in design and in the making. A table and chair set by Jimmy is a creation combining carved ebony with jade as ornament. Although the price runs as high as US$15,000 per set, purchasing orders keep coming. For publicity, a display center permits one to roam through some of the most splendid products, such as chandeliers, wall papers, rugs, window draperies and different models of furniture. A visitor is certain to long for a piece of it.

Last but not least, a major Ta Hsi asset is its water. It is said that because of the water's good quality, Ta Hsi produces both excellent to fu (Bean curd) and beautiful girls. Ta Hsi has become the capital of the to fu industry of Taiwan. One of the best known makers is Huang Jih-hsiang, who has been in this business for 53 years. To keep the quality good, Huang says that he would never change his time-honored methods to mass production by using machines. It is said that bean curd was invented by the King of Huai Nan of the Han Dynasty (B. C. 206-220 A. D.). Tofu contains rich protein, but not fat. It has been highly valued by the Chinese and always has been a MUST for the daily Chinese diet. The method of making to fu has been passed to Korea, Japan and countries in Southeast Asia. You now can find to fu in any other part of the world where Chinese people live.