A Hidden Gem in Zhunan, Miaoli: The Chen Family Residence and the Spirit of Joss Paper

Travel Date: 2025/06/07

Just 3km from our home, we recently visited a place filled with history, craftsmanship, and quiet beauty - the Chen Family Historic Residence (中港陳家古厝) in Zhunan Township, Miaoli County. We visited on a Saturday and, surprisingly, there were no other visitors. This isn’t a popular attraction, which makes it all the more special. If you enjoy history, architecture, and cultural heritage, it’s absolutely worth your time. The house is open to visitors, and guided tours are available for those interested in learning more.

You can visit the Joss Paper Factory (陳協和金紙行) and see firsthand how the paper is made - from attaching the silver foil, to painting it gold using a special edible dye imported from abroad (and very expensive), to the drying process, which takes one to three days depending on the stage of production.

The paper is placed outside to dry, so you can see bundles along the road and in front of the house. But once you enter the factory, there are tins and tons of paper ready to be decorated, cut, or assembled. There are four workers in total - or at least that’s what we saw, all of them elderly.

The third-generation owner is still working despite his age. He seemed quite happy to introduce the process, though he spoke in Taiwanese, and I couldn’t understand a single word... Thankfully, I brought my translator (aka my husband) with me!

Chen Family Historic Residence: A House That Breathes the Past

Located just 50 meters south of the famous Ciyu Temple, the Chen Family Residence is a beautiful Minnan-style Sanheyuan (three-sided courtyard home) built in 1937. Though surrounded by modern buildings today, the red brick courtyard gives off a quiet, nostalgic charm that instantly transports you back in time.

The home’s architecture blends traditional Minnan features - like red-tiled roofs and wooden beams with unique Japanese-era elements such as terrazzo walls, floral tile decorations, and circular “ox-eye” windows. The result is a rare and elegant structure that reflects Taiwan’s layered cultural past.

The house belongs to Mr. Chen Baocheng, who grew up in the neighborhood. After returning years ago and seeing the house in ruins, he made it his mission to restore it. Starting in 2013, he worked with local craftsmen and experts to revive the house. The restoration took two years, using traditional materials and techniques to bring the 1937 design back to life.

Today, the home isn’t a museum but a living cultural space, used for local workshops, exhibitions, weekend events, and school field trips. Visitors can see the Chen family history woven into fabric curtains, and read about their former joss paper business - a perfect bridge to the next part of our story.

Zhunan Handmade Joss Paper: A Vanishing Craft Still Alive in Zhonggang

Not far from the Chen family home is Chen Xiehe Joss Paper Store, one of Taiwan’s few remaining handmade joss paper shops. Run by Chen Kun-Hui, it carries a legacy dating back over 100 years - a time when joss paper played a vital role in Taiwanese spiritual life.

We learned about this rich tradition from an article written by Chen Mutian, highlighting how deeply intertwined joss paper is with the local identity of Zhunan, especially the Zhonggang (中港) area.

During the Japanese occupation, the Kominka Movement sought to suppress traditional Taiwanese customs, including joss paper burning. Making joss paper was banned, and anyone caught could face harsh punishment.

Chen Kun-Hui, holding a 12-pound mallet once used to secretly make joss paper, recounts how his family used recycled student notebooks and scrap paper to continue production in secret. Even tools had to be handmade or salvaged. A piece of rubber from a car tire was used to silence the sound of hammering - a quiet resistance through culture.

After natural disasters and wartime bombings, fear drove people to cling more tightly to spiritual practices, and joss paper became more essential than ever - even more valuable than cash at one point.

The Fanshe neighborhood, where the Chen Family Residence is located, was originally a Taokas indigenous village called Makaliwu. Later, Han settlers brought with them the art of joss paper. By the 1980s, over 380 joss paper factories thrived here, exporting spiritual currency across Asia.

Local stories abound, including one about a gambler who won over NT\$6 million and spent NT\$300,000 on joss paper and Taoist ceremonies to thank the gods. Business boomed so much that Chen’s father had to drive south at 4 a.m. to restock paper and resold it for double the price.

Traditional joss paper is made from bamboo pulp, which is both eco-friendly and spiritually favored. Each sheet is carefully stamped with red seals indicating its purpose:

- Gold paper (金紙) for deities.

- Silver paper (銀紙) for spirits.

- Joss money (紙錢) for general use.

Handmade sheets use tapioca starch glue, dried in the sun, and cut with bamboo knives. It’s a labor-intensive process - one bundle of 100 sheets can take dozens of steps, but the result is beautiful, meaningful, and biodegradable.

Though machine-made paper is cheaper (NT$10–15), Chen’s handcrafted stacks sell for about NT$40, barely enough to keep the tradition alive. “It’s better to burn good paper than a lot of bad paper,” Chen says. “Offerings should be sincere.”

Today, Chen’s philosophy echoes that of modern temples like Xingtian Temple in Taipei, which no longer uses incense burners or outdoor offering tables. The focus is on less burning, but higher quality offerings, a balance between cultural heritage and environmental responsibility.

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White Lilies and Ocean Wind: A Ride Along Miaoli’s Coast

Travel Date: 2025/06/01

There’s something magical about setting out on a scooter with no strict schedule - just the sun on your back, the scent of summer, and a vague destination in mind. One hot morning in early June, we left Toufen with a bottle of water, a camera, and a simple goal: to visit Houlong’s Cape of Good Hope (後龍好望角風景區) and hopefully catch the white lilies I’d heard were blooming on the hills.

We had been here long ago to enjoy the view, and it feels different nowadays. I remember hills covered in grass, but now a large part of the area has been turned into a designated car and scooter parking lot. A public toilet has also appeared here. No surprise this place is full of people these days.

The ride itself is part of the adventure. As you head toward the coast, the urban buzz of Toufen slowly fades into open fields, gentle hills, and the occasional roadside fruit or food stand.

And then, as we climbed the slope, there they were: elegant white lilies, blooming in clusters across the green hillsides. These lilies bloom from May to June, with the blue sea behind them and wind turbines slowly turning in the distance.

Keep in mind that driving a car here might not be as easy as you think—the road is quite narrow, and in several spots, we saw cars stuck because no one wanted to give way or reverse. At one point, we waited for about five minutes and saw over 20 cars coming down from Houlong, but it wasn’t until one finally backed up to make space for those leaving that we were able to pass and approach the hill. Even on a scooter, we were stuck there for a while.

The Houlong Cape of Good Hope Scenic Area is a special place. It’s not a massive tourist attraction, but that’s part of its charm. From the 360-degree viewing deck, you get an open view of the estuaries where the Houlong and West Lake Rivers meet the sea. There’s a peaceful rhythm in watching the wind turbines spin slowly above the water, and the sea seems to stretch endlessly westward.

Walking along the trail - once used to carry firewood, now fixed up with white fences and photo spots, we passed a few curious kids, a couple posing for selfies, and several food stalls.

If you're in the area, you can also wander into the old railway tunnels nearby - cool, dim passages now restored with lighting. It’s easy to imagine trains passing through them in another era. Some old bunkers and fortifications along the trail hint at the area’s past military use, adding depth to the otherwise carefree landscape.

Afterward, we took a short ride from the Cape of Good Hope to a nearby beach. It wasn’t a big tourist spot, just a quiet strip of sand and stones with a few locals around. There, another explosion of color waited: blanket flowers swaying in the breeze, their warm reds and oranges blazing like little suns among the grass. These cheerful blooms always feel like they were made for the heat. 

But I’ll be honest—the heat was no joke. Despite using sunscreen, my arms and shoulders ended up bright red. Lesson learned: never underestimate the Taiwanese summer sun, even if you’re just out for a short ride. No wonder nearly everyone else was wearing long sleeves and carrying umbrellas.

Still, sunburn aside, this trip was everything we needed - simple, beautiful, and refreshing. If you’re in Miaoli in late spring or early summer and looking for a place where nature, flowers, and the sea all meet in harmony, Houlong’s Cape of Good Hope is more than worth the ride. The sting of the sun was a small price to pay for the day’s rewards - flowers in bloom, quiet moments by the sea, and the simple joy of exploring Miaoli's coastal beauty.

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