Introduction
Li Ziying is the second-generation owner of In Joy. After graduating from university, he worked abroad for 4 years as a foreign businessman and teacher, before finally choosing to return home to help out. Since taking over, Xiang Le Honey has gained brand recognition and youthful packaging, and has also developed several customized gifts. Young beekeepers bring bee colonies buzzing into a new world.
Li Ziying’s father, Li Delong, started building a bee farm from two beehives through self-study. “In the early days, the beekeeping industry was relatively closed, there were few opportunities for communication, and it was not easy to get started in the industry.” Most of what my father knew he learnt from buying and selling bees, and then from books and actual experimentation, after he got a grasp on bee farming, he realized that sales was also going to be a problem.
“Taiwan’s beekeepers have always been struggling with sales. Although honey can be stored for a long time, there is also a lot of competition.” Li Ziying, a graduate of the Department of Foreign Affairs, believes that only by being unique can we break out from the crowd. “Our family is optimistic, and endures everything with a smile.” For example, if a beehive was stolen, they would simply move the remaining beehives to hide the fact and prevent the theft being discovered by the beekeepers, and things would look “as neat as before”. These are the type of stories that are shared by Li’s family around the dinner table, an outlook that has lessened the stress of bee-keeping. That is also where the name In Joy comes from.
Characteristics
Bee
Visitors enter the park, put on their equipment, and start the tour with an introduction on the nectar source, and explanations on how to take care of bees and how they harvest the honey. Small tasks are offered to the visitors to partake in, such as feeding the bees, and making bee feed. At the end of the course, one will enter the hut to try 5-6 different varieties of honey. “Many come again and again, while others come to take pictures with the equipment“. A 2.5-hour tour that leaves a deep impression on its participants. In 2020, Xiang Le held near 100 experience activities, attracting around 3000 participants.
The honey in Xiang Le are not only the common lychee honey and longan honey, but also those originating from various native trees and flowers. The honey is also double certified with a documented production and sales history. At present, there are about 300 beehives in Tianliao and Dashu in Kaohsiung, Dongshan in Tainan, Zhongliao in Nantou, Hemei in Keelung, Pinglin Mountains and other places.
