Expanses of green wild fields and traditional Hakka architecture in Meinong, a Hakka township in southern Taiwan, attract many tourists looking to escape from the city.

Strolling around 273-year-old Meinong, a Hakka township in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung county, one immediately notices rundown red-roofed sheds scattered across the town's fields.

These are tobacco kilns, remnants of Meinong's bygone days when tobacco growing was the main source of income for many local families. They add charm to the town that is now better known for tourism.

Its bucolic setting, with expansive fields bordered to the north by mountains, has fashioned Meinong as a rural retreat for travelers looking to escape from the city. That brought the onset of heavy traffic, with more than 1 million tourists a year. Land developers looking for new opportunities threaten the town's idyllic image and the traditional Hakka lifestyle.

East Gate Tower, built in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), is a landmark building in Meinong.

Chung Kun-hung, a Meinong native who runs "Yekousan", a magazine promoting Hakka culture in the town, feels the land developers present a threat.

"Meinong has changed a lot, and the many new villas built in the field, with walls and swimming pools, have ruined its rustic landscape and ambiance," he says.

As the traditional staples of the local economy - tobacco growing and pig raising - faded in importance in the early 2000s, some local people sold their land to outsiders and moved to cities in search of a better life.

"About 10 years ago, land developers, brokers and rich city dwellers began appearing in Meinong. They purchased land and constructed all kinds of new luxury villas in the town," Chung explained, saying that Meinong's unusually clean air and water and majestic vistas were attractive to people looking for a rural getaway.

"Now, you can still see many yellow land sales banners erected in the fields seeking buyers. Some land plots have even changed hands four or five times - a result of the speculative land development business," Chung said.

According to Chung, no less than 5 percent of Meinong's land has been sold to outsiders, mostly from Kaohsiung city and neighboring townships in the county.

"Most Meinong people don't like it and are worried about what they see, but what can we do? " Chung said. "Although we want to maintain our conservative lifestyle, modernization is unavoidable."

Hakka blue shirt is rarely seen nowadays, except during some memorial services. Photos by CNA

Lo Chin-jung, secretary-general of Meinong township, acknowledged that the trend may have some discomforting consequences but he agreed that land development was unavoidable as traditional agriculture fades as a source of income.

He believes one solution could be stricter zoning and building codes.

"The government should come up with adequate laws and regulations and financial support to help Meinong keep its traditional look," he said. "For a town like ours filled with Hakka heritage, new buildings should be erected with local features." While some of these new villas and developments blot the Meinong landscape, a bigger problem is the heavy influx of tourists and the need for more modern facilities.

Although Meinong has long been a tourist attraction, drawing an estimated 500,000 visitors a year even 20 years ago. Now, with the number more than doubled the local infrastructure is becoming overburdened, especially transportation.

A drive between Meinong and Kaohsiung city, the largest city in southern Taiwan, now takes only about 45 minutes. That's half the time it took before the nearby No 10 expressway was built.

The convenience of having a major roadway contributes to traffic congestion on weekends and holidays. The congestion can be as bad as one finds at peak traffic times in Taiwan's biggest cities.

Bathrooms were in short supply when 250,000 visitors flocked in for the town's flower festival during the Chinese New Year.

To be sure, Meinong, dubbed the most beautiful village in Taiwan, has many assets that continue to make it a popular destination. Its enchanting mountains, expanses of green wild fields and traditional Hakka architecture and culture remain popular magnets.

Some visitors enjoy biking around the town's narrow alleys and countryside, where there is plenty to explore. Others gravitate to Meinong's trademark crafts - its oil-paper umbrellas or blue Hakka frocks.

But local residents like Hsu Man-hsian, a 73-year-old doctor who lives in downtown Meinong, fear that the town's once pure Hakka culture - preserved intact over the centuries because of its remote location and 95 percent Hakka population - is being eroded by modernization.

"Relevant government authorities have done nothing. There is no effort being made to help us integrate our traditions and tourism to pursue a better life," Hsu said. He complains that the town turns into a mess every time visitors pour in. "It's an insult to Meinong." Huang Bin-shii, another Meinong native who is an assistant professor at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, agrees that there has been a loss of traditional architecture and folk rituals, but he feels the town should confront change rather than reacting with dismay.

Meinong, he said, should be brave enough to upgrade and add new meaning to its cultural content rather than simply conserve the tobacco kilns, oil-paper umbrellas or rice noodles for which it has long been known.

It's not as though the town has nowhere to go for help. Because of the Hakka people's traditional emphasis on education and knowledge, Meinong is said to have the highest density of PhD holders of any region of Taiwan. It's even developed a reputation as the "home of pundits". Though Meinong is stuck at a crossroads between the past and the future, it is still trying to offer the best to visitors.

"Meinong is not as famous as other townships like Danshuei or Jioufen in northern Taiwan or Lugang in central Taiwan, but it was voted as the country's 'happiest town' and 'town of smiles' by tourists in an online competition four years ago," Chung noted.

Many overseas tourists from Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea come to Meinong in quest for the traces of the older, traditional Taiwan, he said. "To many of them, Meinong stands as the epitome of Taiwan's earliest days."

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 06/13/2009 page4)