In March of 2000, the Taiwan Mushroom Museum reopened after the completion of renovation work begun after the 921 (September 21, 1999) earthquake. Moreover, by the third anniversary of 921, a new Earthquake Museum, located on the grounds of the former Kuangfu Junior High School, had formally opened to the public. These museums, built around themes of particular local interest in Wufeng, have gone some way toward substituting for the former historic sites and temples to become the new defining characteristics of Wufeng.

Many people have reason to be proud of the work they have done on these locations. But the citizens of Wufeng naturally still regret the fact that the most famous sites in their rural township-the Lin Family Estate, Wan Fo Temple, and Taiwan Movie Culture Park-have yet to be rebuilt.

My way or the highway

Wufeng, originally inhabited by Ataabu and Atayal Aborigines, was formerly called A-zhuo-wu (a Chinese rendering of an Aboriginal name). The name was changed in the Japanese colonial era to Wufeng Village, and then, after World War II and the arrival of the ROC government, to Wufeng Rural Township.

Wufeng is located at the southern end of Taichung County. The 21 cities, towns, and rural townships of Taichung County are divided into three major zones: a mountain zone, a coastal zone, and an agricultural zone. The mountain zone includes places like Lishan and Wuling, nearly 2,000 meters above sea level, while the coast covers jurisdictions like Taichung Harbor and Wuhsi Harbor. Wufeng marks the farthest extension of the agricultural zone in the direction of the mountains.

Wufeng Rural Township has an area of 98 square kilometers, making it the fourth largest district in Taichung County. The eastern half is mountains and hills, the western half flat land. The mountain area is mostly planted with fruit trees and dry-field crops, while the plains-an appealing stretch of glossy green stretching as far as the eye can see-are rice paddies. When you also consider its former cultural sites, it is no surprise that Wufeng was always one of the main tourist attractions in central Taiwan.

In the past, Taiwan Provincial Highway #3 ran through Wufeng, and you had to pass through to get to Nantou or Tsaotun. However, after the opening of the Taichung-Nantou Highway in 1999, bypassing Wufeng, the number of stopover tourists dropped dramatically. Then with the destruction of the main local sights in 921, the number of overnight tourists also plunged. Business was seriously affected, and, amidst the general economic downturn, Wufeng has nearly withered away.

Whither the Lin Family Estate?

The most important gem in Wufeng's collection was the Lin Family Estate, located on Minsheng Road. Built in 1864 by a local gentry clan, it was, like the Lin Family Gardens of Panchiao (near Taipei), a fine example of a garden residence in the Qing style. It occupies about six hectares, divided into three parts: an upper compound, a lower compound, and a garden. Because the buildings had authentic antique carving, painting, and craftsmanship, they were considered a classic example of early architectural arts in Taiwan, and long ago the Estate was designated as a Grade 2 national historic site by the Ministry of the Interior.

But the Lin residence was virtually destroyed by 921. Even the main hall, whose renovation required four years of work and NT$100 million, was in ruins. Naturally the people of Wufeng were distraught.

Sun Chung-chieh, a research assistant in the Graduate Institute of Building and Planning at National Taiwan University, first came here eleven years ago to do renovation work on the Estate. Today he's still there doing whatever he can to rescue this piece of history.

As head of the A-zhuo-wu Cultural Workshop, Sun points out that the only structure on the Estate not to be toppled by 921 was built after the 1935 earthquake and, at the request of then-family head Lin Hsien-feng, used the latest construction material-concrete. So, the question now is whether modern building techniques should likewise be used to strengthen the buildings against future temblors. If so, will this place still be genuinely worthy of the name "historic site"? Because the controversy over building materials has yet to be resolved, it has proven very difficult to make headway on reconstruction.

It is hard to imagine the anguish Sun must have felt seeing this Grade 2 historic site that was in the process of renovation reduced to nothing before his very eyes. He originally hoped that post-quake reconstruction could be completed quickly, but in three years there has been little progress. Sun says that after the disaster the government appropriated NT$1.4 billion for the Estate. But most of the money was funneled away by the Ministry of the Interior to other historic site projects, and in the end only NT$10 million made it to the Lin Family residence. This was only enough to erect scaffolding and a covering for the ruins. There is still a long way to go with no end in sight on the road of reconstruction for the Lin Family Estate.

Those days are gone

The Estate is not the only structure closely connected to the history of Wufeng to be in this condition. The Wan Fo Temple, a busy religious center that was located in the mountains behind the provincial assembly building, was once the largest Buddhist monastery and temple complex in the entire rural township. Its most distinctive feature was a 20-meter tall golden statue of Baisajyagurvaiduryaprabhasa in a seated position. Though the statue itself is still intact, the remainder of the structure was eradicated by the earthquake. The Wufeng Rural Township government had decided to turn this area into a Buddhist sculpture garden, but the temple authorities would prefer to rebuild, and so far no consensus has been achieved.

Similarly, the Taiwan Movie Culture Park, created in 1990 out of the former movie studios of the Taiwan Provincial Government, is also not functioning as a result of problems obstructing post-quake reconstruction.

Added on top of these misfortunes is the fate of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly, located in the southeast part of the rural township on Mt. Huoyan, next to the Chung-Tan Highway. While not seriously damaged in the earthquake, since the streamlining of the TPG it no longer has any function, and the busy scenes of days gone by are no more.

The Taiwan Provincial Assembly moved to Wufeng from Taipei in 1963. It occupies an 18-hectare area, and besides the impressive domed assembly building itself, the surrounding environment is verdant and pleasant. Although a small number of provincial assembly members retained offices here after the freezing of the TPG, everyone will have moved out by the end of 2002. What will happen to this place? There is as yet no answer to this question.

A new cultured Wufeng

With its main tourist attractions completely destroyed, and no decision taken on the future direction of the provincial assembly park, Wufeng seems to lack any strengths or distinctive features on which to base community development and reconstruction.

Wu Kuo-kuang, the director of the town library, says that Wufeng was once a bastion of culture in central Taiwan. Sadly, people today have generally forgotten things like the cultural and historical background of the Lin Family and the traditional poetry society that once existed. But no matter how difficult it may be, there is no other path for the future but to move in the direction of a new Wufeng with culture at its core.

However, even having a Wufeng at all is problematic. Sun Chung-chieh says that because the township is located so close to Taichung, out-migration is fast and easy, and it is impossible to keep young people from moving to the big city. Before the earthquake Wufeng had a population of 80,000, but now there are only about 30,000 residents; it is like a ghost town.

Fortunately, two universities have been established in Wufeng in recent years: Chaoyang University of Technology and (since the quake) Taichung Healthcare and Management University. These have attracted more than 10,000 students, so that, since the low point of post-quake out-migration, the population figures have risen somewhat.

Ironically, one of the few functioning attractions in Wufeng was created by the earthquake. The Kuangfu Junior High School was right on a fault line; its classrooms collapsed and its athletic field was cleaved in two when part of it was pushed upwards by two meters. The site-which has been a tourist attraction ever since the quake hit-has been preserved and turned into an earthquake education park, complete with a museum. If you come by here you'll not only get a better understanding of the awesome power of nature, but the gigantic enlarged photographs and videos will evoke powerful memories in any Taiwanese who experienced the 921 temblor.

Teamwork pays off

Thanks to the efforts of concerned individuals, non-governmental organizations in Wufeng, which previously fought their battles in isolation and had little overall impact, have begun to join forces. In 2002, in the tradition of the Li She (Oak Society) poetry society founded in Wufeng 100 years before, a number of non-governmental groups in Wufeng collectively organized the Li She Construction and Culture Association (LSCCA).

In September of 2002, the LSCCA sponsored the Three Banyans Cultural Project, named after the three large banyan trees on the Lin Family Estate. The event included a concert, an exhibition of "images from the collective memory," a children's recreation park, and an arts market. The heavily attended concert included both ancient and modern music. The "collective memories" exhibition, with pictures from Wufeng displayed on the exterior wall of the lower compound of the Estate, was very moving. The arts market, the tone of which was dominated by traditional and folk crafts, had a constant stream of visitors. Through this event it seems that the people of Wufeng reclaimed some of their happy memories of the past.

Sun Chung-chieh says that after 921, every brick and tile in the Lin residence was catalogued and stored. But still a steel barrier kept local residents out the site. The front courtyard of the lower residence, with its three banyan trees, had always been a particularly popular place for locals to exercise, chat, catch a cool breeze, and even court, and holds an important place in the memories of many natives. The purpose of holding the Three Banyans Cultural Project was to refresh people's memories about Wufeng's cultivated and prosperous past, hoping to inspire people to work together to do what they can for their hometown.

The magic of mushrooms

Wufeng is also devoting attention to the areas of high-quality agriculture and rural recreational facilities.

A wide variety of agricultural products are grown in Wufeng, including rice, lichee, longan, bananas, pineapples, peaches, and flowers, but the most distinctive are the mushrooms. Wufeng is the leading producer of these in Taiwan, with more than 40 growers cultivating a large range of varieties including the enoki (or enokitake), of which Wufeng is one of the world's leading sources.

The ROC government has been encouraging the growing of edible mushrooms since as far back as the immediate post-WWII period. Wufeng has played a leading role in the development of mushrooms as an economic crop in Taiwan, and has earned a considerable amount of foreign exchange in the process. Even today, when agriculture is facing very hard times, Wufeng's mushroom production has been totally unaffected. Demand still outstrips supply, which is mainly for the Taiwan market, with part being exported to Japan.

Currently most of the mushrooms in Wufeng are grown using high-tech production techniques. According to Tsai Hsiu-ju, head of the Teh Wang Farm, which has been growing mushrooms for more than a decade, using traditional growing methods they could only get two to three harvests annually. But using temperature controls, there is no need to rely on the climate, and one can glean fresh mushrooms a dozen times a year.

The Wufeng Farmers Association is aiming to combine local high-quality agriculture with recreational activities. In 1998 they opened the Taiwan Mushroom Museum-Taiwan's one and only institution of its kind. Tseng Shih-chuan, who works for the Farmers Association, relates that the high point of the year there is the Mushroom Banquet. Besides offering guided tours of the museum, they also have a mushroom feast and an exhibition of agricultural products. It is simultaneously an educational and culinary experience.

The Farmers Association has also begun promoting mushroom cuisine at the restaurant of the Taiwan Provincial Assembly. They hope that Wufeng will become widely known for this specialty, and that it will draw more visitors to the town.

In addition, to cope with competition from low-priced imported rice resulting from Taiwan's entry into the World Trade Organization, beginning in 2002 Wufeng began cooperating with an agricultural research station of the Council of Agriculture (COA) to promote the use of Tainong 71 "Yi-chuan fragrant rice." This variety, developed by Dr. Kuo Yi-chuan, has round and robust grains, and when cooked gives off a special taro fragrance. Because the response has been excellent, the COA has decided to expand the area cultivated with this variety, and in the future it will become one of the special local products of Wufeng Rural Township.

A second spring for A-zhuo-wu

Though the elegant architecture of yesteryear has disappeared, and the road of reconstruction remains a long one, the people of Wufeng are determined to rise from the ruins.

On Shujen Road in front of the town hall, the town government is currently having a pedestrian walkway laid down and is switching over to neat-looking uniform painted shop signs and advertisements. In the old days there were many restaurants, food hawkers, and drinks shops in this neighborhood, and now the Wufeng local government plans to create a food plaza here in hopes of recreating the prosperity of the past.

The question is, can these bits and pieces be fit into a larger whole? How can a second spring be created for A-zhuo-wu?

Liu Ching-tsung, who became the new head of the rural township only in April of 1992, now bears the heavy burden of helping Wufeng find its future. He has taken the job as a volunteer, donating his entire salary for scholarships for primary and middle school students from the rural township. With a dedicated local official like this, plus the efforts of local citizens, perhaps it will not be impossible after all to restore A-zhuo-wu to its former vitality.

p.096

The immense power of nature is juxtaposed against the efforts of man. One cannot but have mixed feelings seeing the new Earthquake Museum amidst the ruins of the September 21, 1999 temblor.

p.098

The Lin Family Estate, over 130 years old, was devastated by 921. The road of reconstruction is a long one, but the people of Wufeng, through music, documentaries, and other activities, are determined to restore the complex.

p.099

Creating a new Wufeng with culture at the core will require a great deal of effort. The government will of course have to do its part, but citizens' groups will be even more critical.

p.100

Wufeng is famous for its mushrooms. Today scientific techniques have largely replaced traditional methods of cultivation.

p.101

Wufeng, whose economy has always depended on agriculture, is facing the shock of WTO entry. Local farmers are responding by moving toward high-quality and high-value-added crops such as "Yi-chuan fragrant rice."