Ch'aochou has been the training area for paratroopers of the Republic of China since 1949, and people go about their business no matter how many parachutes may be overhead. Should a soldier land in a local field, the owner usually will send him packing with fruit and a plea to be more careful next time.

Regarding the ubiquitous water, people from drier areas may just see wasted natural resources, but residents disagree. Says one, "I've seen the water flow for thirty years since I was a boy and it's never stopped. If we installed faucets to stop the water, I'm afraid the pipes would burst."

Far from being tucked away in some remote mountain valley, Ch'aochou is located in the heart of P'ingtung County, a mere 15 minutes from the city of P'ingtung, the county seat. Situated on the flat, southern plain, Ch'aochou is the hub of many roads, leading to P'ingtung, Heng-chun, and Kenting, Taiwan's southernmost point.

Tungkang Creek, which skirts the northern edge of the town, serves as the main source for Ch'aochou's water. Such is its abundance that the town has never felt the need to install a tap water system. Surrounding communities are not as fortunate. Ch'aochou Mayor Ts'ai Pen-jen explains, "Originally the water situation of the nearby towns was similar to ours. But we never had a big firm like Taiwan Sugar come here, nor did fish farming, which uses a great deal of water, develop here in a big way. So we never lost this natural resource." The temperature averages 23.6℃and makes triple-cropping relatively easy. As a result, farmers used to plant only two crops of rice, and save the third period to grow all kinds of beans and melons.

Recently eel-raising, however, has become more popular. Five years ago pests severely damaged the fruit crop, and some decided to turn to a safer crop, eels. Selling eels to the Japanese market means a lucrative income. Two cooperatives handle exports and there is one processing plant, said to gross annually US$7 million. Nevertheless, most people make their living by traditional agriculture, growing a wide variety of beans, vegetables, and fruits.

Ch'aochou's most famous foods are its red beans and wax apples. Of the former, one thousand hectares are planted during the third growing season, with the great majority being shipped to Japan. The Japanese consider them to be a delicacy and often offer red bean foods on special occasions. Chinese use them for herbal medicines. The Ch'aochou Agricultural Society publishes a red bean cookbook.

Wax apples take up over 600 hectares of farmland in Ch'aochou, and account for one-tenth of all farmland in P'ingtung County. Profits are high, and it is said in a good year one hectare of wax apples can earn NT$2 million (US$50,000).

Ch'aochou is the center of agricultural commerce in P'ingtung County, a position aided immeasurably by the construction of a standard narrow gauge railroad from the town to Kaohsiung in 1920. People from points south flocked there to do business, making it second only to P'ingtung itself as a commercial center. The town became the central market for farmers to sell their red beans, betel nuts, coconuts, and other local specialities, from where they were sold wholesale to other markets.

People come to Ch'aochou for more than business. It has more banks, hospitals, theatres, markets, and stores than its neighbors, and some even suggest the county seat should be moved from P'ingtung to Ch'aochou. Actually, the sights of Ch'aochou are all on a single road extending one kilometer from the train station to city hall. Beyond this lies farmland and scattered farm houses, among which can be found peddlers, selling pork from door to door in the traditional fashion.

For more exact proportions, Ch'aochou measures 42.96 square kilometers, with a population of about 50,000. The town has one senior high school and three vocational schools. Before, there was only one junior high school, which made promotion a foregone conclusion. This prospect led to overcrowding, and five years ago, another junior high school was built to ward off this population crisis.

Ch'aochou's inhabitants hail from many different places. Some are Fukienese, while others are Hakka, from Kwangtung province and Hsinchu. Still more are Taiwanese from Tainan and Tungkang. A few are descendants of the original settlers from Ch'aochou in Kwangtung, from which the town takes its name. Fukienese is the dominant language here, and the Ch'aochou (Kwangtung) dialect is not to be heard. Mayor Ts'ai says, "Ch'aochou's original inhabitants were few in number, and the town has seen many waves of immigrants. My parents, for example, came from Tungkang."

Ch'aochou's earliest inhabitants came from Ch'aochou in Kwangtung province in 1724. Finding the land fertile and the water plentiful, they lived there for many generations. Introduction of the railroad brought new prosperity and new arrivals, particularly those from areas less blessed in natural resources. In 1946 the town was officially named Ch'aochou, and 1968 saw the founding of its first junior high school, which attracted still more people.

The unending stream of newcomers has given residents of Ch'aochou a most appealing character trait, namely that of hospitality to strangers. Puzzled-looking outsiders are often asked, "Are you lost? How would it be if I take you there?"

The renowned Minghuayuan opera troupe calls Ch'aochou its home. Seventy-four-year-old founder Ch'en Ming-chi remembers, "I had been on the road since I was thirteen, fourteen, and started the troupe when I was twenty. A little over ten years ago, people here asked me to perform again. I had no home, so I thought I might as well settle down here." After putting up stakes in Ch'aochou, Ch'en's family has grown to over thirty members, all of whom perform in the opera.

Minghuayuan has been quite successful as of late. It won the 1982 Taiwan Opera Competition, and has since then played all over the island. The troupe was the first to perform at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and has appeared on television.

Another patron of the performing arts in Ch'aochou is retired elementary school teacher Ch'en Chu-hsih. Shadow plays made a lasting impact on him as a youngster, and he would use paper and wax candles to manufacture sets and perform his own plays. As a teacher, he made shadow play dolls and used shadow plays to calm down his pupils. Later, he had them perform plays. Performing helped the introverted children open up, immersed as they were in the drama. If they made a mistake, they would think, "It wasn't me that said that, it was Chu Pa Chieh (the pig in Journey to the West)."

Yet that was only the beginning for Ch'en Chu-shih. One day a foreign priest, watching Ch'en perform for a kindergarten, remarked, "Fantastic! I've never seen children so peaceful." From then on Ch'en began to perform shadow plays at local kindergartens and used his status as a textbook editor in the Ministry of Education to introduce shadow plays in a textbook, which has won wide acceptance in the school system. His choice of prop materials has since evolved from leather to paper and then to plastic, for reasons of cost and durability. Recently some have expressed an interest in helping Ch'en export his wares to overseas Chinese.

Ch'aochou also boasts an accomplished puppet maker, Su Ming-hsiung. Su began his career at 16 as his brother's assistant, but then later struck out for himself. His puppets now often appear in television puppet performances. Customers need not present him with a design, but only give a brief description of the desired character for him to produce the desired puppet. At 43, Su already has four apprentices.

Despite newcomers and recent changes, the town has many reminders of its past. A statue of a giant, dating from the Ching dynasty (1644--1911) can be found in one district. In another section, Sanhsing, the home of many political leaders, lived three centenarians simultaneously during the Japanese Occupation. They are among the many reasons why Ch'aochou is a most unusual place.

[Picture Caption]

Paratroopers falling from the sky are nothing to be excited about for this farmer and cow.

This velvet-like, green expanse of soybean plants looks soft enough for one to lie down and take a nap.

Wu K'uei district's water spigots need no pumps. The water keeps flowingby itself.

Shiny and transparent like agate, this overflowing tree sap owes its abu ndance to Ch'aochou's unending water supply.

Summoning all with his shell to view his pork.

We're not after golden eggs, just coconuts.

The foot of this stone giant dwarfs its human counterpart.

Banana, coconut, and wax apple trees tower over Ch'aochou Elementary School. Why go to market when fruit is at your doorstep?

Overseas demand is high for Ch'aochou shadow play equipment.

Want to go faster? Little brother is in no position to protest.

This velvet-like, green expanse of soybean plants looks soft enough for one to lie down and take a nap.

Wu K'uei district's water spigots need no pumps. The water keeps flowing　by itself.

Shiny and transparent like agate, this overflowing tree sap owes its abu ndance to Ch'aochou's unending water supply.

Summoning all with his shell to view his pork.

We're not after golden eggs, just coconuts.

The foot of this stone giant dwarfs its human counterpart.

Overseas demand is high for Ch'aochou shadow play equipment.

Banana, coconut, and wax apple trees tower over Ch'aochou Elementary School. Why go to market when fruit is at your doorstep?

Want to go faster? Little brother is in no position to protest.