"Until the train line closed, Shenghsing wasn't a tourist destination. Actually it was an annoyance because it was a bottleneck for trains passing through," Chiu said. "Now, the rail line is closed and the place has assumed this historic atmosphere that everyone likes. And it's relatively untouched." Now, with growing curiosity in Taiwan's history and the aggressive development of the domestic tourist industry to counter-balance the economic effects of the implementation of the two-day weekend, Shenghsing, like other more celebrated traditional rural communities, is thriving off what one might call nostalgia tourism.
But it's a small boom, contained by the physical limitations of the village -- the divet in the hills where the village rests simply isn't big enough to fit much more development. And thank God for that. The town does, indeed, seem blessed.
A big boost
The tourism industry is really what the Hakka Tung Flower Festival aims to boost and this year the festival has grown to include 32 townships in six counties offering 600 different activities over its four-week period.
Visitors can take in Hakka music concerts, learn pottery, eat specialty foods, listen to Hakka story telling and basically join in a staggering array of other cultural activities, most of which are entirely free -- and, unless your Hakkanese is up to snuff, utterly incomprehensible. But in settings like Shenghsing that shouldn't matter much.
At least it didn't bother me after a hearty dinner crowned by Hakkanese fatty pork, stewed bamboo root and chicken soup at the Shenghsing Inn (
I took note of the food as yet another pleasant surprise and wondered about the impact a proposed tourist steam train from Sanyi to Shenghsing would have on the village. For one thing, if the rail line were re-opened I wouldn't have to replace my old atlas. But it may not be the quiet village that the throngs overlooked for long.
A note about the Hakka Tung Flower Festival
The Hakka Tung Flower Festival began April 17 and continues until May 16. The 600 events that make up the festival take place almost round the clock in 32 townships in Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung and Nantou Counties.
Twenty-one scenic routes have been drawn up by the Council for Hakka Affairs and its co-sponsor in the event, Uni-President, that follow country roads through hills heavily forested with tung trees, which in the central and southern counties are currently in bloom and which are expected to bloom this week in Taipei and Taoyuan Counties.
For more detailed information on the routes, and a listing of the festival's related events, free 72-page
brochures are available at any 7-11 store. Brochures are
entirely in Chinese. For more information in Chinese and limited information in English, check http://www.hakka.gov.tw.
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