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主題：Sanjhih, a small town of giants in Taiwan history |
| 資料來源： |
行政院新聞局 |
| 報導日期： |
2007-01-26 |
| 新聞內容： |
Vol. XXIV No.15. April 20, 2007
Sanjhih, a small town of giants in Taiwan history
At Yimutian Homestay, visitors can relax in outdoor seating and enjoy a panoramic view of rice terraces. (Courtesy of Chian Yung-chi)
Publication Date：01/26/2007 Section：Panorama
By Alexander Chou
If it were not the birthplace of former President Lee Teng-hui, Sanjhih, a small farming town of 23,000 people, would have easily been overlooked by most people in Taiwan. Local tourists would just stop in Sanjhih for gas or a cup of tea on their way to the northern coast. In the last five years, however, the town has reinvented itself as a tourist destination with its Cafe Street, water wheels and rice terraces.
It was not always called Sanjhih. The aborigines living in the hilly area located to the north of the Datun Mountains called themselves "Ketagalan." Han settlers from Fujian Province in China, most of them Hakka people from Tingzhou and Tongan, came to Sanjhih in the late 17th century and named it "Little Keelung," because the aborigines' name, "Ketagalan," sounded similar to the Taiwanese pronunciation of Keelung, "Gelang." In 1920, the Japanese colonial government changed the town's name to Sanjhih Village. After the end of World War II, the Kuomintang government elevated it to a township.
"Lee Teng-hui's ancestors were from Tingzhou, while his wife, Tseng Wen-fui, had ancestors from Tongan. Almost two-thirds of the local residents have roots in these two places in China," according to Jhou Jheng-nan, the section chief of Agricultural Promotion of the Sanjhih Farmers' Association, who is of Tongan Hakka descent himself. "After years of being assimilated by the Holo people, none of us can speak the Hakka language anymore," he explained.
Yuansingjyu, the building where Lee lived until he was 6 years old, was "bought with two bamboo baskets of dragon silver coins by Lee's great-grandfather Lee Chien-tsong. It wasn't until his grandfather Lee Tsai-tu's time, that the Lee family finished the construction of Yuansingjyu," said Lin Shu-jhuan, a guide at the Sanjhih Visitor Center. Since Yuansingjyu is still a private property occupied by Lee's descendants, it is not open to the public. Even so, the charm of Yuansingjyu has still attracted thousands of visitors wanting to see traditional farmhouses centered around a courtyard where rice and other grains were dried.
Yuansingjyu's famous resident, Lee, was the first president to be born in Taiwan. He held the top office from 1988 to 2000 and remains active in politics to this day. Lee received his education at universities in Japan, Taiwan and the United States.
Located less than 100 meters from Yuansingjyu stands the Sanjhih Visitor Center, built in 2004 by the North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. The building was designed in a Tang dynasty style with a traditional water wheel next to the structure. The visitor center does not just provide tourist information; it also has the local Hall of Fame and a museum. According to the NCGNSA Web site, the Hall of Fame showcases Lee and three more of the town's outstanding native sons.
Tu Tsung-ming (1893-1986) was the first Taiwanese doctor trained in Japan during the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945). In 1954, Tu founded the Kaohsiung Medical College, forerunner of today's Kaohsiung Medical University.
Lu Hsiu-yi (1941-1998) was another distinguished statesman. He was an early supporter of the Democratic Progressive Party and served as a member of Taiwan's parliament until his death. He studied in France, where he met his wife, Tchen Yu-chiou, a concert pianist who later headed the central government's Council for Cultural Affairs.
Chian Wen-ye (1910-1983) was a talented and internationally renowned composer who spent most of his life in China, where he died after the Cultural Revolution. Many of his compositions, such as "Song of Alishan," drew on his Taiwanese background.
The museum introduces Sanjhih's history. It is Chian's music that visitors hear on entering the first exhibition hall. The most eye-catching items on display are Lee's golf clubs and gloves and Lu's calligraphic works.
A second exhibition hall introduces the geography, demography and historical background of Sanjhih. The lifestyles of early settlers are represented through photos and portraits depicting the 17th to early 20th century. Personal items such as garments, women's shoes, farming equipment and lacquer ware offer further insight into their lives. "Many of these items were donated from private collections to the museum," said Lin, "to remind us of how our ancestors used to live in Sanjhih."
"Sanjhih has more to offer than Yuansingjyu and the museum," Jhou added. "Cafe Street was formed with a dozen or so cafes about two years ago along Highway No. 2, which leads to Shihmen in the Cianshueiwan area. The street attracts many foreign visitors." As more tourists visited Sanjhih, new cafes opened up to meet the demand. Now visitors have a broad range of places to get their daily dose of caffeine.
Although a small town, Sanjhih boasts a cosmopolitan cafe scene. Some cafes have either a Mediterranean or Greek decor, such as Cafe de Bossa Nova, OIA Cafe and Provence Cafe. Long Bar has an interior design inspired by Bali Island, while Diego Cafe has a Latin flavor. Although many of the cafes have international themes, there is one that stays true to its roots: the Number Two Warehouse, an abandoned building until it was converted into a cafe by the farmers' association, which brought in Sanjhih artists to decorate it with a local style. Almost all of the cafes erect big umbrellas and comfortable chairs on a balcony that leads to the beach.
For those wanting to experience more local culture, Sanjhih Farmers' Association and the local government have held the Sanjhih Water Wheel Culture Festival every year since 2002. Parents brought their children, who got to learn how water wheels worked and the tasks they performed in former times.
"In fact, the Water Wheel Festival is only one of three festivals we've been trying to promote to generate more business for our members," said Jhou. "In October, we held the Sanjhih Manchurian Wildrice Festival." Also started in 2002, that celebration gave visitors the chance to harvest wildrice in the fields themselves. Restaurants also embraced the spirit by cooking up various wildrice dishes.
"Now, we are preparing for the Cherry Blossom Festival in March," Jhou said. "By that time, you will be able to see cherry blossoms decorate both sides of Cingshan Road, all the way up to Yuansanding."
Further evidence of Sanjhih's agricultural past can be found in a 12-tier rice terrace along the hillside, which signals arrival at Yimutian Homestay, a three-story mansion. "Yimutian is probably the only bed-and-breakfast in the area facing that rice terrace," said the 43-year-old owner Chian Yung-chi. "Even the rice fields in front of us will disappear fast, I'm afraid. Most of the young people have to leave home to work in Taipei," he explained. "Growing rice is very labor intensive. That is why most of the farmers over 50 chose to grow Manchurian wildrice instead, which needs less work," Chian said. Before opening Yimutian, he was and still is a real estate agent. He could not sell that particular plot of land, so he purchased it himself for about US$10,000.
Originally, Chian planned to build a personal vacation home. A close friend inspired him to open his 10-room home to everyone. "If only I could stay here longer, even if it's just a couple of days, it would make me happy," Chian remembered his friend saying. "I think most of the people who came to stay were just city folks, searching for peace of mind and tranquility in the countryside," he said.
By marketing Sanjhih as a peaceful sanctuary to tourists escaping the urban jungle, local people sparked a renaissance of their town. Once a rest stop on the way to bigger sights, Sanjhih has become a prime attraction itself
http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=23766&CtNode=122
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