Zhongzheng Village in Alishan Township, Chiayi County, with a population of only 156, ranks seventh among the "richest villages" in the country. In addition to the fact that there are 40 local taxpaying households and a small number of registered households, it is also located in the Alishan Forest Recreation Area and has tourism industry income; in recent years, China Although tourists have stopped coming, driven by the New Southbound Policy, it has survived the COVID-19 epidemic, and local villagers have expanded diversified tourism services. It still attracts Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Singaporean and other tourists, making a lot of money from tourism, and earning a reputation as a "rural rich village".
Zhongzheng Village ranges from Zhushan Station to Alishan Visitor Center, including accommodation areas and shopping streets. Under the planning of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Department, there are currently 12 hotels and 34 shops in the village. Lin Xiaozhou, the head of Zhongzheng Village, said that when Chinese tourists still came to Taiwan, during the "Alishan Flower Season" in March and April every year, shops used to earn 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a day, and hotels and restaurants were almost full.
However, the development of the industry has not been smooth sailing. In 2009, Typhoon Morakot disrupted roads, bridges, and Alishan Forest Railway trains, resulting in a sharp drop in tourists. In 2019, China restricted tourist arrivals in Taiwan, and then the COVID-19 epidemic broke out, leaving very few tourists in the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area.
Cai Huiying, chairman of the Alishan United Community Development Association, said that Typhoon Morakot caused serious damage to roads and bridges, and some businesses "expanded" in order to survive and went down the mountain to operate hotels, restaurants, tea shops and other diversified businesses.
In addition, the central government and the Chiayi County government provide guidance to hotels, shops, and restaurants to provide services in Chinese and English. They also create a Muslim-friendly environment and provide Muslim-friendly meals to attract tourists from Southeast Asian countries. Although Alishan's tourism industry has been hit repeatedly, whenever there is an opportunity, Alishan villagers will seize the opportunity and find a way out. In recent years, Taiwan has promoted the New Southbound Policy. Last year, Alishan was ranked 19th among the 52 most worthwhile destinations in the world by the New York Times. The Chiayi County Government participated in the International Travel Exhibition, and the Alishan Forest Railway's "Fusen" and "Xuyue" sightseeing trains, as well as the 4-day, 3-night and 5-day and 4-night itineraries planned by foreign travel agencies to Alishan, were highly inquired by international tourists and were very helpful to local industries.
Wu Qinghui, secretary of the Chiayi County Branch of the Southern District of the Ministry of Finance, analyzed that the reputation of "Rural Rich Village" lies in the high average comprehensive income tax of Zhongzheng Village. This is mainly due to the small population and the concentration of high incomes, which may significantly increase the average comprehensive income of the area. Although the median data can more truly reflect the general economic status of households, it also allows the outside world to see the struggle of rural residents.
