Walking into Xiaying, a typical sight of the Jianan Plain appears – red bricks, old houses, and rice fields.
Introduction
The first-generation grandfather of “Hung Chang Rice Miller” originally ran a feed mill, and stumbled into the rice mill business by chance. At the beginning, he suffered losses due to lack of experience. Second generation owner, Zeng Jiangye, took over and improved the facilities with his mechanical expertise, laying down the foundation for the rice mill. It is now one of the top three rice mills on the Jianan Plain, and one of the areas for rice production and sales guided by the Food and Agriculture Agency, with an annual contracted farming area of more than 500 hectares. Currently, third-generation Zeng Yaobin and his two brothers have all returned to their hometowns to assist in daily operations, and are actively investing in field management and agro-food education to help farmers grow rice of high quality. Not only is the quality recognized and exported to Japan, but they continue to share with the public regarding knowledge on how to distinguish and consume good rice.
Since the period of Japanese occupation, japonica rice was introduced into Taiwan, and for the past hundred years countless varieties have been developed, with excellent overall quality and planting technique. The most popular among Taiwanese farmers is Tainan No. 11. It has a soft and bouncy texture, grains are large and sweet, and high in yield. It is the first Taiwanese rice in history to be sold in Japanese supermarkets, and it is currently the most widely planted variety in Taiwan. Tainan No. 11 is also the main product purchased by Hong Chang.
Features of Agricultural Tourism
Rice
Hung Chang Rice Miller has been actively cooperating with the Tainan Agricultural Extension Station over the years, and has cooperated with many farmers to build Tainan No. 16. Through the cultivation calendar system developed by the Taichung Agriculture Institute, coupled with the planting technology of Dr. Chen Rongkun from the Tainan Agricultural Extension Station, and then integrated with Hong Chang’s agricultural ICT (Information and Communication Technology) data system, farms growing Tainan No. 16 have not only saved on fertilizer, medicine, and labor over the years, but also improved the quality and price of rice. The quality of Hung Chang’s rice has begun gaining recognition among consumers.
The food farming experience of Hung Chang Rice Mill is more about the transmission of agricultural technology, but also provides tours suited for parents and child, such as visits to the rice mill process, rice planting, harvesting and other farming experiences, AR and VR experiences, DIY Shime-nawa, DIY triangle rice ball, cooking by the chef, rice processing and other activities that adequately promote rice farming education.
