Water Front Recreation Farm

A rice trip here to see the rice, play with rice, eat rice and bring rice home is to connect our palates with the rice culture. Following Bunun people to pound millets and make traps to understand the indigenous people’s ancient wisdom.

Water veins are vital to agricultural development. Half a century ago, after the completion of Guanshan zun, the complete water facilities brought prosperous agriculture to Guanshan Taitung, and makes it a well known production center for quality rice. The establishment of bicycle lanes surrounding the township and water front park drives Guanshan to further develop its leisure agriculture. Cycling to travel around and explore the interesting local culture, visitors will find this way great to access the best of Guanshan.

The rice paddy in Guanshan seems endless; it is like an oil painting on a canvas.

After saying the pass phrase “Tasty Guanshan Rice”, visitors will have beads of hulled rice slip into their bags which is their souvenir from Rice School. Guanshan Farmers’ Association renovated the old rice factory into Rice School promoting food education, the principle Yanfang PENG hopes to give consumers a chance to learn by doing and learn by playing so that consumers and farmers can better understand each other. Hence, the promotion staff leads visitors to learn husk, bran, brown rice and white rice. After being OK the rice they made by themselves, visitors can bring the rice home. Big Bowl of Rice served in the restaurant of Rice School is cooked by housewives in the local community, and the food materials are all grown locally, the realization of the concept, zero food mileage. Dining here, visitors were as if at home, where the family eats whatever mom prepares. The no menu cuisines are cooked in accordance to changes of seasons, and it can always bring everyone great satisfaction.

The husking process is epitomized in the rice making experience which is welcome by both adults and children. (Courtesy: Rice School)

The Evidence of Making Your Own Rice

Outside the showroom of Guanshan Farmers’ Association, there are produce consigned by local farmers as well as farmers’ stands. The boss of “Mingyi Tea Garden” in Luye, Liqing KE, made their specialty, Foshou Tea and invited visitors to taste it which has fragrance and slight sweet aftertaste. Visitors can also try pounding tea here. Mingyi Tea Garden, under the instruction of Farmers’ Association, launched tea packet “One Mug of Tea” for the youth who like drinking tea but don't know the proper amount to make a pot/mug of tea. Tea leaves in One Mug of Tea is just right to make tea soup of one mug. Simply put the tea leaves in the mug then pour hot water over it, consumers can enjoy the easy and convenient fun of tea drinking.

Tea Packet “One Pot of Tea” by Mingyi Tea Garden.

The pollen egg roll freshly made by the owner of Huifeng Bee Farm, Gusnhi CHEN, pairs well with tea. Guanshi CHEN rent a stand outside of Guanshan Farmers’ Association. He used to lead a Gypsy life that he brought his decoy hives to wherever flowers blossomed. When he found the unique fragrance of Rhus javanica in Guanshan, he settled. Skin care enthusiasts must try to harvest royal jelly in Huifeng Bee Farm. Participants will learn bees’ social relationship, ways bees collecting nectar, royal jelly and pollen before DIY. Taking the frame out, scrapping away the beeswax sealing the top, then pulling the larvae out of the cells using tweezers, and finally removing the remaining royal jelly from the cells with a small spatula. Voila, the souvenir to bring home and relish.

Bees in the frames store their precious royal jelly.

Millet used to be Bunnun people's staple, but their diet was sinicized and rice becomes their staple instead. In recent years, Kanding tribe of Bunnun people strives to promote their traditional culture and develop relevant activities, including finding the savor of millets that is buried in the seniors’ memories. The owner of “Kaiana ”, Tianguo HU invited visitors to use their feet to roughly hull the millets first, then use the usuki to hit off the husks and finally throw the millets to the bamboo sieve to rid the husks. After hulling, the fresh millets were cooked in a pot. The millet and crust paired with special braised meat is so yummy. Hunting used to be the food source of Bunun people; therefore, learning how to make traps was necessary. Because animals are sensitive to smells, hunters have to take advantage of the animal path and environment as well as materials to design a trap that works. Owner of “Matia”, Mati YU creates a space in the orchard for trap making, teaching the visitors to use traps and passing down the wisdom of Bunnun’s hunting culture.

Mati YU showed us Bunnun’s way of using woods and stones to make traps.

Tasting local foods and bringing souvenirs home marked a perfect ending for the trip. Coming to Guanshan, visitors must try the bento which holds Guanshan Rice and Pumpkin Rice Cake. “Guanshan Bento” has a history of more than half a century, and its signature wooden bento box holding 11 side dishes, together with local Guanshan Rice makes it colorful, fragrant and tasty. The flavor has never been changed. The boss of Guanshan Bento, Mr. Zhihong CHIU even put the bento inside the school bag for tourists’ convenience to take out. “Qinshuixuan Bakery” opens in Guanshan township where produces rice, the boss Meihui GAO uses local quality rice, “Kaohsiung 139” and fresh milk to make the rice milk, together with mashed chestnut and pumpkin, organic eggs from the tribe to bake the tasty and dense pumpkin rice cake which is the signature dessert of the bakery.

A variety of tasty side dishes in Guanshan bento, a popular choice that still remains its traditional taste.

Pumpkin Rice Cake in Qinshuixuan was selected as the Top 10 souvenirs in Taitung.