Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
in Meinong the percentage is around 95%. Hardworking people who value higher educa-
tion, the Hakka of Meinong can count a disproportionate number of PhDs (and in the
past, imperial scholars) among their population.
Thoroughly rural in character, and once the centre of a well-protected tobacco in-
dustry, Meinong was hit hard by Taiwan's entry into the World Trade Organization
(WTO) in 2002. With the monopoly system abolished, the town began to refashion itself
into a country retreat. Hakka culture, historic sites and butterfly-watching became the
cornerstones of the new economy.
Winter is a great time to visit, as the weather is perfect - warm and dry - and tourists
are few. Summer is the season of the yellow butterflies; in the valleys to the northeast
they swarm in the hundreds of thousands.
