Daxi Tea Factory (大溪老茶廠) formerly known as Jiaoban Mountain Factory, is situated in the mountains of Taoyuan County. The original tea factory, made of a two story building was constructed in 1925 by the Taiwanese Agriculture and Forestry Company (台灣農林公司) and holds a unique place in the history of Taiwan’s tea industry as one of the early players in the country’s trade and development endeavours.
The factory’s architectural design infuses Taiwanese, Japanese and British styles, and had been a constant fixture in the Taoyuan over the past century or so. This small -town factory that made the finest tea in Taiwan was destroyed by fire in 1956 and lived in obscurity and a state of abandonment for quite a long time. But that has changed.
In 2010 the building underwent a major renovation made by Taiwan Tea Corporation. The reconstruction team managed to resurrect it to enable the building to retain its original design. Today the factory plays an important role in the tourism industry as many tourists flock to this small installation in Taoyuan to come learn about the history of tea-making. Stepping inside the factory exposes one to a mesmerising process of making tea.
Taiwanese in tea making ingenuity exposed one to the knowhow to make different kinds of tea, its colours, its taste, and all of this is derived from the way it is fermented. You are also exposed to how each part of the factory contribute to the end product, through withering area, exposure to sunlight, the way the design of the windows and colour determines how the taste will be, and the construction of wooden trusses that gives a beautiful visual effect to the entire process.
The tea factory has gone beyond being solely for production of tea. It has metamorphosed into a place for relaxation and a joyful rendezvous for family outings: the prominent area, the Tea and Book Café, and boats well-crafted graffiti which is improved daily by those who visit. It has an auspicious place for a relaxing lunch dotted by a crystal clear Tranquillity pond, which grows some Magnolia Odoratissima. The latter resembles sunflowers. After having a vegetarian lunch by the Tranquillity pond we proceeded to Yingge Ceramic Street.
Yingge is one of those places that you have to visit – you really can’t miss! The Old Street area provides a view of how ceramic products were crafted since time immemorial. It provides old world charm with its cobblestone streets, and old brick buildings imbue some magic. The streets are dotted with hundreds of ceramic shops with a variety of prices and quality, from upmarket shops to affordable ones. Choices that visitors have range from traditional to contemporary works of art. Without doubt, this is the Ceramic Mecca of Taiwan!
~ Matodzi Aphane |
