Fenglin Township was one of the three villages
in Hualien County that saw a large number of Japanese immigrants during Japan’s
colonial rule of Taiwan from 1895-1945. It currently has a population of
approximately 14,000, of which at least 9,000 are Hakka people, mostly farmers.
Around the 1940s, the Japanese government encouraged the people to grow tobacco
in huge quantities in response to demand. After the end of the Second World
War, the local hardworking Hakkas continued to plant tobacco leaves in large
quantities to improve their livelihoods.
(Photo: 鳳林文史 Facebook page)
The 1960s was the peak period for the
construction and development of Taiwan's tobacco barns, and tobacco leaves
became the main crop for the farmers. In its most prosperous period, the
planting area was as high as 2,000 hectares. It can be seen that tobacco leaves
have an inseparable relationship with the people of Fenglin Town. The tobacco
barn was a necessary facility that was born in response to the development of
tobacco leaves at that time. The tobacco buildings in Fenglin’s Hakka village
were once a symbol of the source of economy and wealth in the area. Although
the tobacco industry has gradually declined with government policies and market
changes, the tobacco barns located next to the tobacco fields have become an
important landscape in the town.
Back in the old days, the tobacco barns were
important for producing tobacco. People would bring tobacco leaves from the
fields and hang the leaves inside the building, stringing them with iron wires.
They would then carefully seal all the gaps in the building, and control the
fire; otherwise it will blacken the tobacco leaves.
There are two main types of tobacco barns,
Hiroshima-style and Osaka-style. The biggest difference between the two types
of tobacco buildings is the location of the windows. The Hiroshima-style has
windows that open directly on the sloping roof, and the Osaka-style has windows
that protrude from the roof. A space similar to a small attic has functions
such as ventilation and heat dissipation, but it can be easily destroyed in a
typhoon. The Osaka-style tobacco buildings are common in Fenglin. At present,
there are still more than 50-year-old Japanese-style houses and dozens of
tobacco barns. It is the place in Taiwan with the highest density and best
preserved tobacco barns, and it is also a testimony to the development of the
tobacco industry in the past.
The Tobacco Cultural Community is one of the unique attractions of Hualien’s Fenglin. After it met the conditions of slow food and slow living, it was certified by the Cittaslow International as a slow town in 2014. It also has most intact group of tobacco barns in the country. The exterior design is a mixture of Eastern and Western styles and looks like they come from a fairy-tale world. Every July on the lunar calendar is known as Ghost Month in Taiwan and the "Hundred Ghosts Night Walk (百鬼夜行)" event is held in Fenglin. It invites people to use their creativity to dress up as all kinds of monsters or ghosts and parade around the streets. This is an activity initiated by the local residents of Fenglin in order to revitalize the local area and stimulate creative ideas for cultural preservation and development. The activities focus on showcasing Fenglin’s history, and letting visitors experience its culture, humanities, arts and industries in this traditional and historically valuable village.