With a growing population and a severely limited supply of land, however, Taiwan needed more than agriculture to keep its economy growing. What it got was carefully planned industrial development, mostly export-oriented. This has kept the economy booming at a rapid rate; and today, with a per capita gross national product of more than US$12,000, the Republic of China is one of the most affluent countries in Asia.
With affluence has come rising manpower costs and increasing land values--factors that have eroded the economic viability of Taiwan's agricultural sector. To cope with this change, the government has moved to promote more profitable uses of the island's farmland. One of these uses is agriculture-based tourism designed to provide city dwellers with the experience of living in the country, and farm owners with extra income.
Taiwan now boasts a large number of "tourist farms" that offer visitors the chance to pick fruits and vegetables, see how tea is grown and processed, come into contact with farm animals, and commune with nature while escaping the hustle and bustle of the city. This is a development that has taken place, for the most part, over the past decade.
Rambo's Resort
One "farmer" who did not wait for government encouragement to get into the tourism business is Chang Kuo-hsing, who, at the age of 25, bought 48 hectares of land near the southern town of Hengchun and began developing it 17 years ago. Chang is a man of firm ideals and rare perseverance, and he has followed his passion with little regard for profit. It was Chang's single-minded pursuit of ideals that inspired a friend to bestow upon Chang the English name by which he is now known: Rambo.
Ever Spring Farm--the name is a direct translation of the name of the nearby town, Hengchun--began to break even only two years ago. That it is not losing money even now is a wonder, for what commercial agricultural operation would do something so unprofitable as raise fireflies? And how many farmers would offer his guests accommodation with floors of Turkish marble, or rooms that come with sauna baths?
Such is the hotel at Ever Spring Farm, which has 37 guest rooms (sleeping two to six persons each) as well as a VIP suite with the use of a 16-person conference room. Some of the rooms come with saunas--made entirely of wood, and a few of richly aromatic, Chinese cypress. Some suites have two bedrooms, one of them Japanese style with tatami mats on the floor.
It is unlikely that the hotel business generates any profit for Chang as yet; he does not advertise, and room occupancies (except for weekends) are generally rather low. Chang does better with his goats--700 flop-eared Nubian goats, which he raises and sells to other farmers as yearlings in order to improve the local breed.
The farm also produces fruits (carambola or star fruit, mangoes, sugar apples, and the like) and vegetables (cabbage, onions, etc.), mostly for its own use. Any excess is sold in the local market. A greenhouse now under construction will provide a year-round supply. An orchid nursery produces flowers that, when the supply is sufficient, will be offered for sale to guests.
Two man-made ponds provide water for irrigation and opportunities for good fishing to interested visitors.
More facilities are planned. A swimming pool will be completed in the spring of 1996, and the construction of a basketball court is being considered. A stable with eight riding horses will be installed in the near future.
A library and audiovisual room will also be constructed in front of the hotel. The approach to the library is already lined with life-sized stone statues of ancient Chinese civil and military officials; they are there, Chang says, to concentrate the minds of people heading for the library and put them in a properly studious mood.
An Ecological Mission
All electric and telephone lines have been put underground, with a single electric pole left standing as a reminder of the "bad old days." No more than one-third of the area will be utilized for tourist facilities; this is in sharp contrast to many other tourist farms, which have developed a close resemblance to amusement parks for children.
In farming operations, the emphasis is on the natural. No artificial fertilizers or agricultural chemicals are used, and Chang is developing an Ever Spring Farm trademark to identify the vegetables and fruits he produces as organic produce. The trademark is the firefly. The firefly was chosen, Chang explains, because it is a rather delicate insect that thrives only in a healthy environment. The number of fireflies in Taiwan has greatly declined in recent years, but they are numerous at Ever Spring Farm, especially in July and August. They will become even more numerous as the farm's efforts at propagation progress.
Huge boulders scattered about the premises will be labeled so that visitors can learn more about rock classification. Each of twelve tables in an outdoor "tea corridor" has a top consisting of a slab of a different kind of granite; these will be similarly labeled. Even the playing cards that are supplied free in every guest room are decorated with different types of insects, birds, and plants found in the area, all properly named.
A day or two spent at Ever Spring Farm is an enjoyable and educational experience for those who like nature and have an interest in preserving the environment. And it is easy to get to, being located only a few minutes by car from the old South Gate and rebuilt city wall in the town of Hengchun. It is thus just off Highway 24 leading from Kaohsiung to the beach resort at Kenting National Park. When the military airfield at Hengchun is upgraded and opened to civil air traffic--the upgrading project is already under way--access will be even easier. Address: 28-5 Shanchiao Rd., Shanchiao Li, Hengchun town, Pingtung county, Taiwan. Tel: (08) 889-2633; Fax: (08) 889-8683.