“This place carries the history and culture of Hsichou, and later it becomes the exchange base for rural vision and ideal.”, the famous poet of Mr. Sheng Wu in Hsichou said.

Opening day of Agricultural Bookstore. Ref：http://www.newsmarket.com.tw/blog/49449/

The team of “I Love Hsichou” is composed of young people and farmers who love the homeland. They renovated the old hotel with the history of 90 years ── Cheng Gong Hotel, and held various activities in the hotel: exhibiting the old photos of Hsichou, holding photo exhibition and a series of salon of lectured in Cheng Gong Hotel in groups. Later, the Cheng Gong Hotel was transformed into “Agricultural Bookstore” to sell agricultural books, second-hand books as well as local food materials, for instance, “Shangshui Rice”, “Happy Pear”.

On April 20, 2014, grain rain. Agricultural Bookstore formally opened a business and meanwhile held “Exhibition of Old Furniture in Cheng Gong Hotel + Hsichou Shangshui”. This bookstore was opened on the day of “grain rain” of the 24 solar terms to hope that it rained to moisten the young seedlings after farmers sowed the seeds.

In the earliest Japanese occupation (1921) in Taiwan, there was one “Yang Chen Hospital” with the area of merely 20 ping or so in Hsichou, but the 4 Roman columns were very rare in those years, and the construction method of carved beams and the symmetrical indoor space seemed a bit spectacular in the simplicity. After Yang Chen Hospital went out of business, it changed into a department store selling the daily necessities and then was resold to Mr. Chao-yung Lin for operation with the name of “Da Lin Hotel”.

Thereafter, in 1959, Mr. Wan-cheng Chen took over the hotel and changed the name as “Cheng Gong Hotel”. Originally, the hotel was a house built with bamboo, i.e., a kind of cheap house for pedlars. People who lived here were usually wandering performers, pedlars and menial servants, sellers of selling tomatoes on sticks and plasters, etc. Then, the house was out of service due to being too old, so it was constructed into a 4-floor building, which was also the first outdoor house in Hsichou at that time.

Cheng Gong Hotel was the 2-floor Japanese building standing at the side of public market of Hsichou (No.50, Fuhsing Road., Hsichou Village., Hsichou Township), and was ever called as the most high-end “five-star hotel” in Hsichou, in which there was a “Yamato presidential suite”. Why was it named as “Cheng Gong Hotel”? That’s because Mr. Wan-cheng Chen’s name has the word of “Cheng”, and hence the hotel was named as “Cheng Gong”. At the beginning, the hotel had the area of 210 ping, and half of the hotel is the current Japanese western-style house, and the other half is the “house for pedlars”, i.e. the fair-price shared house, which is specially provided for the ordinary pedlars and menial servants who do not have enough money to live in western-style house and have to huddle in the large tatami. Later, “house for pedlars” was pulled down in 1962.

As for the Hsichou during 1940s-50s, the establishment of Taisugar brought the prosperity for Hsichou, but the sugar industry declined after the Taisugar was relocated. Accordingly, Cheng Gong Hotel was closed. Then, the hotel had been closed for over 30 years in the street of Hsichou, and nobody cared for it; afterwards, the deserted Cheng Gong Hotel was opened again.

Due to the curiosity, young people discovered this hotel full of history and memory, and they formed the team of “I Love Hsichou” with farmers. Under the strong support of village office, they “dress up” Cheng Gong Hotel well. The renovation process is complex and laborious, but the results shall be sweet because the hotel was revitalized step by step with the efforts of all the people.

The current Cheng Gong Hotel takes on a new look and has turned into the “Agricultural Bookstore”, also the headquarters of Hsichou Shangshui Water Farmer Co. Ltd. The hotel not only preserves the unforgettable appearance and furnishings of hotel, and it also increases the deep art and cultural atmosphere

↑The “Shangshui Rice”, “Happy Pear” and various featured products produced through the cooperation of farmers in Hsichou and Hsichou Shangshui Water Farmer Co. Ltd are placed on the first floor of Agricultural Bookstore; it can be seen from the article furnishing on the wall to the goods sold that Agricultural Bookstore is the combination of culture, art and history.

In Hsichou Township, it is difficult to find out such space with culture, history and a bit of rural emotions. The members of Agricultural Bookstore and farmers hope that Agricultural Bookstore is composite, where anything probably occurs, whether it is lecture, cinema, meeting or farmer’ having class, etc……
   The books in Agricultural Bookstore are just a small part of it. The team of “I Love Hsichou” pays more attention to the interpersonal interaction, like doing activities together in the paddy field and going for practical learning. At present, three brothers often appear in the bookstore, and they consider the bookstore as the place of tea making and chatting. In order to attract more people to come around, it is necessary to organize various activities related to everyone’s life.
    Most importantly, people can communicate with each other here, for instance, the rural people can interact, chat, exchange the farming methods with each other, etc. Meanwhile, farmers’ knowledge about crop cultivation and information in the literature are combined to develop the distinctive cultivation skills. Besides, the people from the metropolis can also see the rural appearance when they come to the Agricultural Bookstore.

Speaking of its inner furnishings, many people in the older generation will miss the past times, and the young people will feel excited. The room, devices, rotary phone on the desk and even the price list on the wall are all arranged tidily in the original place. At the sight of the retro and nostalgic furnishings, people seem like taking the time machine back to the prosperous Cheng Gong Hotel in Hsichou at that time!

Time and tide wait for no man, and the ever prosperous Cheng Gong Hotel has become dim.	After the renovation, the 3 big characters of “Cheng Gong Hotel” are written on the wall of the second floor in Agricultural Bookstore, and the wall is white and beam column is blue; some tables and chairs are placed out of the door, where everyone can have some tea and chat. Thus, the hotel comes back to life again.
the board with the words of “Agricultural Bookstore” is hung on the column at the door.
The books exhibited in Agricultural Bookstore are mainly related to agriculture and environmental protection, including second-hand books and works of the local poets of Mr. Sheng Wu and Ms. Yin-ning Wu. Once the new books are added, and they will be placed on the bookshelf for people’s reading.
At that time, there are only a few pieces of tatami in the shared house with the narrow space. Currently, the Japanese style is retained.	Objects from the rotary phone on the desk to the keys to hotel placed on the bed all witness the history.
In the hotel, even the old television set, metal bucket filled with water and electric fan are kept intact.	The organic and non-pesticide Happy Pears are also sold in the bookstore. After people eat the pears, their hope also becomes happy!

■2011

The volunteers clean the Cheng Gong Hotel and open the hotel gate being closed for over 30 years, and use Cheng Gong Hotel to hold the old photo exhibition of “Cheng Gong Hotel, view Hsichou repeatedly”

(Ref:http://cotton5019.pixnet.net/blog/post/390101516-%E6%BA%AA%E5%B7%9E-%E6%88%90%E5%8A%9F%E6%97%85%E7%A4%BE)

■2012

A series of salon of “lectured in Cheng Gong Hotel in groups”

(Ref:https://www.facebook.com/love.hsichou/photos)

■2013

The team of “I Love Hsichou” enters into the bookstore, and “Cheng Gong Hotel ‘special exhibition on joking the bridal chamber of Hsichou happy event’” is held as well.

(Ref:https://www.facebook.com/love.hsichou/photos)

■2014

A series of activities of meal sharing and Iron Horse Film Festival held in Cheng Gong Hotel

(Ref:http://ironhorse2013.blogspot.tw/2014/03/x_12.html)

Through this research subject, we have a better understanding of the local culture in Hsichou. The original Hsichou was once so prosperous. How is Cheng Gong Hotel operated to attract customers? The presidential suite in the former hotel was fully equipped and we cannot call it the most luxicious five-star hotel too much.