Even private homes are full of rattan, and the citizens of Kuanmiao are walking advertisements for the products. Their homes have rattan sofas, chairs, cradles, tables--just about anything that can be made out of rattan, is.

In a visit to the office of the village level government--furnished, naturally, in rattan--one discovers from the head of the village Ho Hsuan-yung that there are over 400 small and large rattan factories in Kuanmiao, making up about 85% of all domestic rattan factories; of the area's nearly 40,000 people, about 60% work in rattan-related industries. Of the factories, however, only about twenty employ more than 200 people; the rest are either satellite factories or self-supporting small enterprises.

Despite the prevalence of the small factories, Kuanmiao's production is prodigious: according to statistics of the China Export Trade and Development Corporation, of a total of US$150 million in domestic and foreign sales last year, Kuanmiao's share amounted to more than US$110 million.

Of course there are some difficulties with having so many small factories. Competition for skilled workers is intense, and turnover is high. Because the small factories are willing to pay a lot to attract workers who cut their teeth in the larger factories, everyone has to raise their salaries to keep their workers. The big beneficiaries are the workers themselves, who make five or six thousand NT dollars more per month than their counterparts in the textile industry.

In fact, Kuo Mu-kui of Teh-fang, largest of the rattan manufacturers, estimates that each month the 400 rattan factories of Kuanmiao pay out NT$100 million in salaries and wages, or an amount more than twice that of the annual village level government's budget. It is no wonder that people say that a "poor" village has produced "rich" citizens.

The evidence of the prosperity of Kuanmiao can be found in many places: Children are doing things typical of those in Taipei, things which their parents could never have dreamed of as kids--like studying English or taking piano. A local taxi driver says business is good in Kuanmiao, and prices there are about 10% higher than in neighboring areas, reflecting strong demand. One can also see a collection of imported automobiles, including Mercedes Benz's and BMW's.

Three hundred and twenty-six years ago, Koxinga came to Taiwan and some of his subordinates headed out from Tainan to a place known as "Hsiang-yang-tze." Because they were mostly warriors, and respected the great warrior Kuan Yunchang, they built a temple (today called Shan-hsi Temple) to him in Hsiang-yang-tze, which came to be called "Kuan-ti Miao Ch'ieh." This in turn was later shortened, after retrocession, to Kuanmiao, in 1945.

When the ancestors of the people of Kuanmiao built the temple they also dug an artificial lake to be filled by rainwater for irrigation. Because this lake eased the winter dry season, Kuanmiao became one of the places in Taiwan which did spring planting the earliest, an event which became one of the eight wonders of that era in Taiwan.

But because the land around Kuanmiao is mostly mountainous, and population was increasing rapidly, it became impossible to sustain the local population on farming alone. The people of Kuanmiao found an alternative, however: cutting and weaving bamboo, which is another one of Kuanmiao's important industries.

Weaving bamboo goes back a long way in Kuanmiao. According to a local handicrafts artist, Lu Ch'in-chih, residents of Kuanmiao and surrounding villages have been cutting and "exporting" (to other villages in the early days) bamboo for over 200 years.

During the Japanese occupation, Kuanmiao's nearby bamboo forests came to the attention of the Japanese who sent an expert to help refine the local craftsmanship. Because over 90% of the products ended up in Japan, Kuanmiao's reputation grew.

Although the skills were passed down to the postwar generation, competition from plastics and other materials sent Kuanmiao's bamboo industry into a tailspin in the 1950's and 60's.

For a while Kuanmiao's economy was rescued by the pineapple industry, which flourished between 1964 and 1977 under the impact of large investments, a new kind of sweeter pineapple, and the enthusiastic response of the Japanese. But ultimately this industry found it impossible to compete with Southeast Asia, and in the last few years land devoted to the cultivation of pineapple has declined by 50-60%.

However, thanks to the development of a newer, still sweeter, and more tender pineapple, it appears there will be a resurgence in the pineapple industry as well, giving Kuanmiao a third flourishing industry besides bamboo and rattan.

Ironically, the now dominant rattan industry was no big deal before the mid 1960's, doing mostly small domestic sales of rather ordinary quality rattan products. But the industry took off in the sixties after Kuo Wan-lai of Ye-fun, the really key figure in Kuanmiao's success story, decided to import high-quality Indonesian rattan and begin large-scale production. After some very helpful advice from government efficiency experts, productivity increased dramatically.

Now the industry faces two important challenges. First, there is increasing direct competition from Southest Asia in rattan production; second, starting from January 1, 1989, exports of rattan from Indonesia will be prohibited.

Perhaps in response to their prosperity, people in Kuanmiao have remained very religious, and the Shan-hsi Temple is always full of burning incense. But the real hope for the continued prosperity of Kuanmiao lies in the habits of hard work characteristic of its residents. Having seen both economic ups and downs, their own hard work is something that they can rely on.

[Picture Caption]

Kuanmiao gets its name from this temple, originally built to honor the great warrior Kuan-ti. It is now called Shan-hsi Temple.

One can see cottage factories everywhere in Kuanmiao.

Now filled with playing ducks, the former Pi-yi Lake (called Ta-t'an Pei today) once made Kuanmiao's spring planting one of the eight wonders of Taiwan.

(Left) The rattan industry has become more mechanized, but skilled labor is still an important ingredient.

(Right) Computerized management has already taken root in some of the larger factories.

(Above) Weaving these small baskets takes tremendous concentration, and it takes several days just to make one of them.

(Below) Whose house are these rattan products--waiting to be packed and shipped --headed for?

(Right) The process of hand-weaving rattan involves tremendous amounts o f painstaking work.

The prime mover of the making of the "World Capital of Rattan" out of Kuanmiao, the retired Kuo Wan-lai and his successor (rear) Kuo Ch'un-nan.

Three years ago, Kuanmiao primary school established the nation's first experimental ping-pong class.

Smoking cigarettes and playing Chinese chess, the elderly of Kuanmiao pass their days in a relaxed way.

The newest breed of pineapples from Kuanmiao has become the new king of the Japanese market.

Now filled with playing ducks, the former Pi-yi Lake （called Ta-t'an Pei today） once made Kuanmiao's spring planting one of the eight wonders of Taiwan.

One can see cottage factories everywhere in Kuanmiao.

（Left） The rattan industry has become more mechanized, but skilled labor is still an important ingredient.

（Right） Computerized management has already taken root in some of the larger factories.

（Above） Weaving these small baskets takes tremendous concentration, and it takes several days just to make one of them.

（Below） Whose house are these rattan products--waiting to be packed and shipped --headed for?

（Right） The process of hand-weaving rattan involves tremendous amounts o f painstaking work.

The prime mover of the making of the "World Capital of Rattan" out of Kuanmiao, the retired Kuo Wan-lai and his successor （rear） Kuo Ch'un-nan.

Three years ago, Kuanmiao primary school established the nation's first experimental ping-pong class.

Smoking cigarettes and playing Chinese chess, the elderly of Kuanmiao pass their days in a relaxed way.

The newest breed of pineapples from Kuanmiao has become the new king of the Japanese market.