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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.
