A shop owner in Changhua County’s Shetou Township (社頭) — once known as the “home of sock weaving” — has invested his savings in a bid to bring tourists back to his town.
Chen Chao-chiang (陳朝強), the owner of Fukui Dining Hall lunch box store in the township — known for an old train car sitting at its entrance — has written a tourism booklet for the town and promoted it to visitors.
Chen rents bicycles to tourists free of charge and is restoring the train car next to his shop.
Photo: Yen Hung-chun, Taipei Times
Having self-funded his tourism drive, Chen has won the admiration of county residents and inspired Taiwan Sugar Corp chairman Huang Yu-cheng (黃育徵) and Taiwan Railways Administration Director-General Jason Lu (鹿潔身) to visit.
Chen, who describes himself as a railway fan, has been collecting railway relics since he was a university student.
He keeps much of his collection in the second floor of his shop, he said.
Chen conducts tours of his collection, sharing his knowledge of Taiwanese and Japanese railways.
Visitors often ask what else there is to see in Shetou, Chen said, adding that before designing the tourist handbook he would often take people on excursions throughout the town.
Many of the places he recommends were introduced to him by customers to his shop, Chen said, adding that he later realized that the appeal of the town is its resemblance to a Japanese village.
The atmosphere and layout of the town makes it feel like rural Japan, which can be experienced at the guava orchard, the hosiery and glove factories, the hot springs and the Cing Shuei Buddhist temple, Chen said.
Chen cooperates with other local businesses to promote tourism and maintain 34 bicycles for use by visitors.
“In the five years we have been lending out bikes we have never had one stolen. It is the pride of the town,” Chen said.
Since his shop became popular, Chen has had several visitors bring him their railways relics to discuss, he said, adding that he has even been asked to oversee promotion of tourism at Shengsing Station in Miaoli County’s Sanyi Township (三義), which he refused.
“Collecting relics is just a hobby for me, it is not something I could make a living from. I am still mostly concerned with promoting tourism in Shetou,” Chen said, adding that sometimes he gets so wrapped up in his collection that he finds it hard to pull himself away.
When he discovered three years ago that a depot was recycling a train car previously used by Taiwan Sugar Corp, he purchased it for NT$40,000.
Chen then hired car body specialist Chan Yung-fu (詹永富) and automotive mechanic Chiu Yi-ching (邱宜慶) to restore the train car over two years.
The restoration, which cost Chen NT$400,000, prompted Huang to visit Shetou and see the train.
Lai Pei-chen (賴佩蓁), a local business owner and one of Chen’s partners in tourism promotion, said she and other local business operators hope they can receive government support for their efforts.
There are occasional conflicts among local business operators surrounding distribution of resources, she said, adding that Chen shares a lot of his resources with others.
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