With years of experience in cultivation and milling, the Houshan Rice Fun House excels in customizing different rice varieties for hotels and brands to meet varied demands. Whether it’s achieving a chewy texture, producing translucent and large grains of rice, or enhancing taste for cold dishes, they adeptly tailor their rice varieties to cater to customer preferences.
Introduction
Traverse southward along National Highway 9 through the Hualien-Taitung Rift Valley towards Guanshan, and amidst a sea of rice paddies, there are four large storage silos that proudly display the name “Emperor Rice of Houshan.” This marks the site of Houshan Rice Fun House and Ziyuan Rice Mill. Established in 1986, Ziyuan is not only a rice mill but also has extensive areas of farmland. Originally employing conventional farming methods, Ziyuan made the transition to organic cultivation in 2019. Collaborating with like-minded farmers in the neighboring area, they expanded their organic farming area. Through partnerships with academia, they obtained organic certification in 2020. Currently, the production area spans over 140 hectares, rendering it the largest organic rice promotion area in Taiwan.
If it weren’t for the large sign at the entrance that reads “Rice Mill”, and the array of packaged rice for sale, one might mistake this place for a dessert shop when they enter and find a delightful display of various exquisite desserts in the dessert case, along with a professional coffee machine and a selection of other beverages.
Rice-based pastries are generally perceived as being quite conventional. However, at the “Houshan Rice Fun House,” you’ll find handmade cookies, madeleines, brownies, pound cakes, dacquoise, and crepes, all made from rice. The handmade activities here include making wagashi, embroidery, and crafting agricultural tools, all of which are rice-related.
Features of Agricultural Tourism
Rice
The “Houshan Rice Fun House” has its own illustrated books. During food and agriculture education sessions with children, they use these books to introduce the cultivation process of rice, pests that occur in rice, and food made from rice.
Don a straw hat and proceed to enter the rice mill. Within the enormous factory facility, you can witness how rice grains are transported here after harvest and undergo processes such as husking and milling, before being packaged into bags of rice. Further back lies the rice paddies, spanning over 140 hectares, making it the largest organic rice promotion area in the country. Listening to the guide explain the hardships of organic rice cultivation, then enjoying a plate of fragrant and chewy rice on the dining table, will undoubtedly foster a greater appreciation for rice.
