As the nation’s first and only tourist destination to offer visitors the hands-on experience of creating objects from wood, the factory has proven a big hit with tourists from home and abroad. Since opening its doors to the public in September 2007, the attraction has drawn more than 200 groups, or nearly 10,000 visitors, in just its first few months.
The history of the factory dates back to 1979, when Chiang and his wife, Chang Pi-tao, began manufacturing educational wooden toys. According to Chiang, the original business idea came from his spouse’s demand for children’s play items when she was a kindergarten teacher. Despite the business’ early success, an ever-shrinking market through the 1990s impelled Chiang to start thinking it might be time for some changes. Several incidents gradually led the couple to see their operation from a new perspective.
One day, a foreigner requested to use the factory’s machines and materials to make a child’s bookshelf. This left a strong impression on Chiang. It made him realize that the plant could be shared with the public in some way beyond just producing goods. Another time, when some of Chiang’s friends visited, his 10-year-old child took the visitor’s children to a corner where they began making their own simple stools from wood scraps. Chiang was struck by how much the children enjoyed themselves, and the plan continued to develop in his mind.
In 2005, the couple took the plunge and began redesigning a major part of their factory as a tourism site. Two years later, their visitor center opened its doors. Today, the plant still manufactures playground equipment and other products, but the section for tourists includes a wood workshop, an area for painting, a “house of wood puzzles,” a coffee shop with painted driftwood birds and a gift shop displaying various wooden toys.
Chiang explained that the factory’s opening was never marked with any sort of special event. Instead, it relied on their Web site and word of mouth to attract guests. So far, operating the tourist center alongside the wood business has not led to any financial windfall for the couple, but Chiang sees great potential for future development.
Many of the visitors, mostly teachers and students on field trips, come to the wood factory for a hands-on experience that is hard to find at most of the island’s primary and middle schools. Hsu Li-yuan, a lecturer at National Taichung University’s art department, said such trips could help to make up for a school’s limited facilities and supplies.
“Most of the artwork students complete in school are one-dimensional, but art can take forms with many more possibilities,” Hsu said. “When students get a chance to make articles for daily use such as a stool, chair, or storage box, they begin to grasp the idea that art can play a practical role in their lives. This in turn can spark their creativity and motivation.”
The factory’s painting instructor, Liao Tsai-mei, shares a similar view. Liao, a retired art teacher, said that by “integrating art with lifestyle learning, the factory is helping children experience a more diverse education.” Special education teacher Lai Ya-jen, who previously took one of her classes to the factory on a field trip, described the experience as being helpful in fostering the development of practical skills her students could use in their everyday lives, or for future employment.
For some children, visiting the site has kindled long-term creative interest sparked by the simple joy of making something. Chang recalled a phone call she received from a couple in Taipei thanking her for running such a place. “They told me that after their visit, their little boy quit playing computer games and began spending most of his spare time drawing and creating artwork.”
To Chang, offering children a unique experience such as woodworking is simply her way of creating a wonderful childhood memory for them. On holidays, Chang’s mother would often take the children on fishing trips to the stream near their home, where they would also play and bake sweet potatoes. “Such memories are the best things a mother can give to her children,” she said. By providing young visitors the opportunity to perform a multitude of manual tasks that are fun and connected to their lives, Chang hopes they will always remember the trip with fondness.
Despite the strong sense of accomplishment that such a venture brings, changing the focus of their business from manufacturing to service-oriented has not been without challenges. But the couple believes the rewards have been worth the effort, and are convinced the community should come together to help with the education of the next generation.
Chiang stated that the introduction to woodworking that his plant offers through ready-to-assemble craft kits is only the first stage of his plan to share this traditional skill with the adults of tomorrow. He plans to add more safety features to the machines currently used for demonstrations, so the children can try them out. Chiang’s long-term dream is to create a place where children can design and make their own wooden items from scratch.
Even though the factory’s transformation is in the early stages, Chiang is pleased that many local youngsters are visiting to experience the joy of craft-making, with some teenagers even visiting as a way of easing the stress of school pressures. “My friends told me that I must be crazy to run such a place and should have closed it down and sold the land,” Chiang laughed. “But counting every penny is not my nature. I believe children are our future.”
—Adapted from the July 2008 issue of Taiwan Review
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