15 Tourism Factories Add Fun to Tainan
 

Source: Jia-Ling Chen, China Daily News, Sinying                      March 11, 2014

Published by the Economic Development Bureau of Tainan City Government, the leaflet, ‘Tourism Factory Fun Tour’, provides a guide map for the public.

With optimistic market prospects in sight, the number of tourism factories in Tainan City has grown to fifteen so far. The City Government has published a leaflet, ‘Tainan Tourism Factory Fun Tour’, compiling the special attractions of the factories, as well as visitor and contact information, to promote them. The leaflet can be found online, or obtained from the Economic Development Bureau (EDB), as a guide for the tour.

EDB’s Secretary-General, Shih-Shi Yin, says that nowadays people love sightseeing, especially tours that provide knowledge. It is from this that the concept of the tourism factory originates. A tour of the factory not only provides a chance for people to learn the manufacturing process of various products and gain new knowledge, but also to purchase many specialties and gifts. It is therefore a major attraction for the public.

In recent years, the City Government has promoted tours of tourism factories, combining them with neighboring tourist attractions, and encouraging citizens to visit not only the factories but the tourist attractions and business areas nearby, in order to experience the pleasure of Tainan’s casual lifestyle. Taking account of the recent growth of independent tourists, the City Government published the leaflet to promote the tourism factory, listing thirteen currently running factories in the Tainan area. The other two, which will be opened in mid-March and April, will be added to the updated version.

He said, among the thirteen running factories, those under ‘specialty and gourmet food’ category are Cordyceps Militaris Cultural Exhibition Park of the Longtian Distillery, Black Bridge Sausage Museum, and Kua Kua Yuan Sweet Potato Ecological Story Museum; those under ‘fashion and cultural creation’ category are Furniture Manufacturing Eco Museum in Tainan, Hwang Sun ─ Sonispa Soundwave Experience Hall, Everest Textile Ecological Industrial Park, Chih Kang ─ Taiwan Metal Creation Museum, and Kang Na Hsiung Nonwoven World; and those under ‘health and biotechnology’ category are Li Kang Chinese Herbs Industrial and Cultural Hall, KPC Herbs Green and Health Knowledge Hall, Bing Han Ginseng Kingdom, Shun Chieh ─ Sin Bai Lu Bird's Nest Tourism Factory, and New Bellus ─ MicroFer House.

Combining knowledge with sensibility, the leaflet presents features of these tourism factories. For example, Cordyceps Militaris Cultural Exhibition Park is the only health-oriented tourism factory in the country that combines biotech and winemaking technologies; and Kua Kua Yuan Eco Story House tells the story of how sweet potato, an ingredient that fed us during the most difficult years in Taiwan, has been transformed into the most popular health food these days.