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Changhua County ChangTai Junior High School (2014 CyberFair Project ID 7738)
Taiwan,
Changhua County
Official Status:
Final Project: Ready for Judging
Teacher:
Category: 4. Local Specialties
We estimate 9 student(s) from 14 to 15 will work on this entry.
Description of Our Community: A pivotal port of the central Taiwan since Qing Dynasty, Lukang had welcomed commercial ships since the last years of the Kangxi Emperor’s reign. In the early years of the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, Lukang had developed into a bustling city where commerce began to prosper. In the mid-years of the Qianlong Emperor’s reign, Lukang saw an upsurge of commercial activities and was ranked as the top port of the 17 commercial ports across the island. In 1784, Lukang opened a chartered port specifically did business with the mainland China and thus became a crucial port of the central Taiwan, where trading activities saw an unprecedented prosperity. In 1816, Lukang set up eight commercial institutions, all of which were funded by mainland’s wealthy merchants who introduced many merchants into Lukang. On the other hand, many ancestors of Lukang came from Fujian, a province that boasts tea plantation and pastries (since the Chinese tend to drink tea with pastries). That explains why Lukang is renowned for pastry making. After the war, the industry remained competitive. This town had seen its prosperity in old times, and produced a saying that “A family would never know about quality cuisine before accumulating wealth for three generations.” This manifests how Lukang has stressed food culture since many years back.
Project Description: Over the last decades, changes of all kinds of industries take place at a quickening pace, with companies and ships putting forth efforts to push new products to attract customers. Interestingly, however, newly invented commodities may not be popular among consumers, whereas old-time products that are made with traditional methods appeal to many consumers. Our team chose traditional pastry industry in Lukang as the topic of research. Through an on-site investigation, our team selected Cheng Yu-chen and Cheng Hsing-chen as two subjects of interviews. First, we tried to comprehend the reason why the culture of pastry exerted such an influence on the Lukang people. Secondly, we made in-depth investigation and conducted an estimation of the pastry shop owners round Lukang, so as to understand the appeal of such an old industry in modern times. Meanwhile we visited two of the century-old pastry shops, which were named after the owners’ name—Cheng Yu-chen and Cheng Hsing-chen—and engaged with pastry making. We took the opportunity to have a hearty conversation with the shops, asking questions such as if they have to adjust flavors or change types of pastries to meet the demand of modern people in regimen. We also want to know if the interior design of the shop, service quality, or the packaging of the commodity affects the development of the industry. Hopefully we can provide the younger generation with an opportunity to see the features of the traditional industry, and to appreciate the wonderful flavor passed down from many generations ago.