After you get off the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Freeway at the Toufen Interchange, turn left in the direction of Nanchuang and Mt. Shihtou; after passing through Sanwan you hit Nanchuang. Trees lining the two sides of Route 124 sway in the breeze, as if bowing to welcome arriving guests.

The Swiss chalets at the Jung Ying Farm, managed by Nanchuang's Chiu Shih-min, lend the farm a European ambience.

Nanchuang is located in the northeast corner of Miaoli County. It is highly mountainous, with altitudes ranging from 120 to 2200 meters. To the east and north it abuts Hsinchu County (the towns of Peipu and Wufeng to the east, Emei to the north). To the west it is contiguous with Miaoli's Shihtan and Sanwan, and southward shares a border with Tai'an Rural Township. Penglai Creek and the Tung River pass through Nanchuang, meeting up to form the Chungkang Creek.

Nanchuang covers an area of 165 square kilometers. It was once a very prosperous place, with the main industries being lumber and mining.

Around 1950 or so, Nan-chuang had more than 20 mining companies, which were in turn surrounded by movie theaters, tea houses, and restaurants, like a playground in the mountains. Putting their lives on the line every day to make money, coal miners lived for the moment and found pleasure where they could. They were big spenders, giving rise to a local proverb which draws a clear picture of the extravagance of Nanchuang in those days: "No money earned in Nanchuang ever made it to even the next village down the road."

After the decline of the mining industry in the 1970s, people who depended on the coal left town. The population fell from more than 40,000 to only about 10,000 or so today. Roughly 60% of the current population is Hakka, and there are also about 2,400 Sasaiyat and Atayal aboriginal people.

However, while Nanchuang's population has fallen, its natural beauty has never faded. With more work being done in recent years by local people to promote community regeneration, this paradise hidden in the mountains has gradually become more well-known among outsiders, while local residents themselves have begun to treasure even more this land beneath their feet.

After considerable effort, Kueihua Lane looks as good as new; it has been a focus of community activism.

It is afternoon on a summer's day, and the elegant sounds of recorders float over from Kueihua Lane. As schools have let out, more than 60 children have shown up at the Nanchuang branch of the Taiwan Christian Education and Cultural Foundation to learn how to play the recorder. Teacher Tseng Fei-chuan, the wife of the pastor, points to the children practicing their instruments and says: "They are the future of Nanchuang."

It has been 14 years since minister Chen Yi-nuo and his wife arrived and began to teach children how to play recorder, and they have taught more than 20 separate classes. There are currently three classes at the basic level, which targets primary-school students, with a total of 64 pupils. In addition, the Chens have also organized a 32-member recorder youth orchestra, with members ranging from primary-school to university students. Six graduates of the class have gone on to study music, of whom one has already finished school and returned to Nanchuang to work.

The beginning of free instruction in recorder was the first step in Nanchuang's community-development work.

"At the beginning no one had any concept of community development at all. This was simply church work. But over time it has become a kind of force, based on love of one's hometown and love of one's community, with the ambition to reform and improve," says Chen Yi-nuo, explaining how the Nanchuang Hometown Promotion Association (NHPA), based mainly on the women's choir, was officially established in 1996. In this way Chen made the transition from church minister to community activist. However, the latter role, he believes, is not all that different from the former: both involve long-term changing of people's attitudes and ways of thinking.

Since its very inception, the NHPA has endeavored to build an ideal living and learning environment and a healthy value system.

The high points of the activities for the association each year are the summer and winter camps for children. Organization of these activities is turned entirely over to the NHPA's "Department of Youth Development." Chen Yi-nuo says that having a Department of Youth Development is one of the special features of the NHPA. Its aim is to "set firm roots" by training people in community work to whom to pass the baton in the future.

Chang Shao-peng, Chen Yi-nuo, Tai Teh-chuan, and Liu Shou (from right to left) are the heart and soul of the community association.

One of the main accomplishments of the NHPA has been its effort to create space for community life. Take the example of the old Nanchuang post office. This traditional Japanese-style building was constructed in 1935, following a major earthquake. After remaining sadly unused for many years, through the efforts of the NHPA it has become a cultural center for residents. When this year Miaoli Community College began offering a series of classes in Nanchuang on traditional heritage (such as fundamentals of the Chinese lute, local plant life, or weaving and dyeing handicrafts), the old post office provided the classrooms.

These days, the special character of Nanchuang is more evident than ever thanks to the NHPA, whose handiwork can be seen in places like Nanchuang Old Street, Kueihua Lane, and the place where even today some older women wash clothes on stones beside an irrigation ditch. Nan-chuang has consequently developed quite a reputation, attracting waves of visitors on weekends to enjoy the romantic self-indulgence of a cup of coffee amidst beautiful scenery.

In fact, Nanchuang now has a reputation of being a "coffee town." Over the last couple of years seven new cafes have opened. The lovely scenery, the elegant decor, and the high quality of the coffee have drawn many visitors here for a taste.

Another attraction has been provided by the Sanshan National Park, just approved this March by the Executive Yuan. Besides encompassing Mt. Li and Mt. Pakua in central Taiwan, it also extends to Mt. Shihtou in Nanchuang. For local residents, there is a sense of pride at having their scenery singled out for special attention, but there are also difficulties. The visitors flocking in have brought with them problems of noise, traffic and garbage, so Nanchuang folk are beginning to wonder if it is worth it. But it cannot be denied that the tourists have also brought commercial opportunities.

Wen Su-chung of the NHPA says that the top priority in community work is "creating sustainable employment." She is currently researching and developing products made with Hakka printed textiles, such as notebook cases, cell phone cases, and shopping and wrapping bags. These textiles, made from plants, create added value for agriculture while generating employment for women in the community.

The NHPA has also organized a tour guide agency, led by retired teacher Liu Shou. They have so far trained more than ten guides, hoping to help visitors to see the real Nanchuang, and not just gallop through helter-skelter.

The Swiss chalets at the Jung Ying Farm, managed by Nanchuang's Chiu Shih-min, lend the farm a European ambience.

Fortunately, Nanchuang began to "develop" relatively late, and its citizens, having learned from mistakes elsewhere, are alert to problems of environmental destruction created by development.

For example, a couple of years ago local citizens discovered that overfishing had caused fish and shrimp to virtually disappear from the Penglai Creek. The Penglai aboriginal community consequently organized patrols to protect the fish, working all along the river day and night. Since the river was closed to fishing last September, concrete results have already become visible. Large and small fish swim in schools in the river, grouper glide among the rocks, and the silver-white belly of the ku fish glistens as it tumbles through the water.

It is even more gratifying to discover that the movement to protect the fish in the Penglai Creek has won the support of nearby residents. Local people take the initiative to report illegal fishing, and a sense of community consciousness and mutual aid has gradually taken shape.

The biggest dream of the NHPA is to build a "multi-functional education hall." This would include a senior citizens' activity center, an arts and performance room, a children's and young people's activity center, a community classroom, and a cherry blossom garden. If the dream really can come true, then young and old alike will have a place to gather and find things to do, and Nanchuang, whose community dreams started to the strains of recorders, will have a venue suitable for performances and exhibitions.

In order to bring forward the day when the dream comes true, the NHPA has set up the "Kueihua Lane Community Workshop." There they sell artwork, coffee and set meals to raise funds. The group members have come up with a series of ingenious recipes, such as Witch's Platter (pumpkin and rice), Angel's Platter (sweet potato and rice) and Beauty's Platter (taro and rice), along with coffee and juice; the addition of the spice of dreams enhances the flavor of these dishes.

Following the winding mountain road out of Nanchuang, the sounds of the recorder and of mountain songs still resonate in your ears, singing plaintively of dreams as yet unrealized.

The Swiss chalets at the Jung Ying Farm, managed by Nanchuang's Chiu Shih-min, lend the farm a European ambience.

After considerable effort, Kueihua Lane looks as good as new; it has been a focus of community activism.

Hsiangtien Lake in the mountains near Tungho Village is shrouded in mist year-round, making it a magical place.

Hsiangtien Lake in the mountains near Tungho Village is shrouded in mist year-round, making it a magical place.

Chang Shao-peng, Chen Yi-nuo, Tai Teh-chuan, and Liu Shou (from right to left) are the heart and soul of the community association.