Shui-Li Snake Kiln Ceramics Cultural Park
Shueili Shiang, site of the Shui-Li Snake Kiln, is located in Nantou Country, central Chinese Taipei, near the western foothills of the Central Mountain Range. Nantou County lies at the geographical heart of Chinese Taipei and is the only county that does not border the coast. Nantou covers an area of 410 square kilometers of mainly mountainous country.
 The Shui-Li Snake Kiln was established more than 70 years ago. |
The early settlement and development of the Shueili Shiang area was based on camphor and forestry products. Logs were harvested from the surrounding mountains and sent for collection and shipping to the town. Later, farming developed. Some time ago, however, camphor reserves became depleted, and more recently the government has banned most logging activities in the area. As a result, the current focus of economic activity in Shueili Shiang is on farming, primarily rice, fruit and betel nuts.
The main manufacturing activity in the area has for some time been the production of pottery. Good clay and the abundance of wood for firing the kilns made this a natural site. The Shui-Li Snake Kiln was established in 1927 by the grandfather of the present owner, and has been in continuous operation to the present day. It is the oldest and most traditional snake kiln still operating in Chinese Taipei.
Snake kilns were first developed in Fuzhour, China, early in the 17th century at the time of the late Ming Dynasty. They are named for their long, narrow snake-like appearance, and not so long ago were scattered throughout the central and southern countryside. The Shui-Li Snake Kiln is more than 30 metres in length, and when the charcoal ash falls on the pottery it imbues rich variations in colour. Modern kilns are not able to replicate this pattern.
During the first generation of operation, roughly the initial twenty years, the Shui-Lin Snake Kiln focused on the production of necessities such as water containers and vessels for pickling and preserving vegetables. During the second period, which lasted through the 1960s, production at the kiln broadened to include decorative items such as flower pots and vases. Now, in its third phase of operation, the kiln has added additional esthetic and practical items, including teapots, cups and wall hangings.
With the rise of the plastics industry in the early 1970s, many traditional pottery items were replaced by plastic products. The price of plastic, coupled with its durability, was too strong a lure for pottery to retain its dominance. By 1974, the pottery industry was well into a precipitous decline. At that time, there were six kilns in Shueili. Today, however, three of those have been sold, primarily for property development, and two more have simply ceased operating. The Shui-Li Snake Kiln is the only one remaining.
The survival of the Shui-Li Snake Kiln is based on a reorientation of the overall business operation. When the present owner, Lin Kuo-long, returned to his home in 1982 after completing studies in ceramic and glass engineering at a technical college, he quickly calculated that the operation was losing money and that, in fact, there was no future for pottery-making based on this older technology. Lin did, however, conclude that the enterprise had great value as part of Chinese Taipei’s manufacturing and cultural heritage.
In fact, at that time, the kiln was attracting a small but steady flow of visitors because of its intrinsic value as a heritage site. Snake kilns had already developed a reputation and a following, and it was increasingly difficult to find the remnants of one, let alone an operational kiln. Lin felt that if the tourism base could be further developed, the effort could become commercially viable. For almost a decade, Lin planned and prepared for the re-development of the kiln. Finally, in 1993, following a 13-month renovation period, the Shui-Li Snake Kiln opened to the public. Total investment to upgrade and develop the site, not including land or original equipment and facilities, amounted to NT$35 million.
During the renovation and expansion, the original buildings were preserved and adapted as much as possible. In addition, more buildings were completed, including classrooms where visitors can try their hand at “potting” under the steady eye of pottery masters. A new pottery demonstration area provides opportunities for visitors to see the entire process and watch experienced potters go about the business of commercial production, while a multimedia room shows films and slide productions describing the history and development of the craft and site.
Other buildings include a reading room with a collection of books on pottery assembled from aroound the world, an exhibition hall that shows the work of many of the most famous potters in Taiwan, a museum where early pottery tools and products are on display, a shop where visitors may purchase examples of the crafts, and a teahouse where simple meals and beverages are available. These additions have created the Shui-Li Snake Kiln Ceramics Cultural Park
In addition to the original snake kiln, two modern kilns have been added. Today, they handle the bulk of the production, though the original kiln is fired up every other month in order to help preserve it. Given the technology at work in the snake kiln, and the amount of wood — 16,000 kilograms per firing — required to operate it, this part of the operation is not commercially viable in any operational context.
Plans include the addition of a medium-size hotel on adjacent property. However, the overall space associated with the kilns, approximately 9,000 square metres, limits the potential to about 2,000 visitors per day. Annually, 190,000 visitors are attracted to the site.
 It is the heritage component, rather than the pottery itself, that attracts most visitors. |
Although the Shui-Li Snake Kiln Ceramics Cultural Park is privately owned, it has become, for several reasons, central to the life and well-being of the community. In this sense, the community has come to rely on and benefit from the Park.
Perhaps most important, the Park is the major attraction in the town of Shueili. There are other tourist attractions in the nearby area, including Sun Moon Lake and Dung-pu Hot Springs, but it is the Park that draws tourists to Shueili. Community benefits include employment at the Park itself, as well as in related jobs. People work in handicraft production and sales, hotels, food and beverage outlets, and transportation for visitors.
An interesting and beneficial approach which has positioned the Park as an economic force for the community has been the way in which it has developed relationships with local product and service providers. For example, although the Park has a teahouse, it does not have a kitchen. Local providers supply the food, in rotation. Thus, the Park is the setting for the “Tao of the Tea” experience, but community enterprise is directly involved in the business side of the operation. The result is a partnership of sorts, where various community businesses work together to ensure the success of the Park. The more visitors, the greater the benefits for the community.
In a similar manner, local agricultural producers have come to rely on the Park as a major source for customers. The area is lined with stalls selling products of all types to the visitors. More directly, the Park employs two dozen full-time workers, and another dozen part-time workers. These are, for the most part, local people who have been retrained for the business of tourism.
In addition to offering pottery instruction to visitors in general, the park also offers an eight-week course for volunteer cultural interpreters who then serve as guides for tour groups. School teachers are also encouraged to take instructional courses so that they may pass these skills on to their students. A clear goal of the Park is to diffuse pottery skills, and general appreciation for the art, as widely as possible.
As with other operations of this type, the Park serves as a local civic centre. It hosts a variety of community activities, including fairs to promote local products and indigenous culture, support for local scholarships through a foundation, pottery contests, a local “farmers’ band”, and even birthday parties. It hosted a birthday party for all 70 year-olds on the 70th anniversary of the kiln. Local residents are encouraged to visit the Park regularly through free admission and, in keeping with cultural practice, the handicapped are freely admitted. Seniors receive discounts as well as free instruction in pottery arts. Recently, the park has promoted international activities in ceramic arts by hosting seminars attended by foreign experts. This has led to valuable exchanges between local artisans and foreign specialists.
The Snake Kiln Ceramics Cultural Park is an example of a successful conversion of a sunset industry into a popular tourist site. The result has demonstrated that commercial viability exists in this industry, and that traditional handicrafts remain good business if they are presented in a way that attracts tourists. In this regard, the Park has successfully married cultural preservation, education, community participation, and commercial viability.
 The abundance of wood in the area originally encouraged pottery-making. |
The unique character of the Shui-Li Snake Kiln Ceramics Park is related in part to the way in which it has preserved traditional native crafts by converting an outdated production and manufacturing operation into a commercially viable tourist attraction. More importantly, however, it has become the major attraction for the town, and as a result of this, and the way in which it works with local suppliers, the Park is a major economic driver for the entire community.
Benefits accrue to a broad spectrum of local residents who work directly, or indirectly, as part of the tourism industry in Shueili. The result is a unique blend of private sector entrepreneurship spawning micro-enterprise and small business opportunities. Unlike some tourism developments, the benefits from the Shui-Li Snake Kiln Ceramics Cultural Park are purposely spread throughout the community by means of a management philosophy that emphasizes community development and involvement.
The success of the of the Park details several lessons. For example,
- it is possible for sunset-industries to become commercially viable with a new focus and new markets, particularly in tourism, with potential emphasis on cultural preservation and education;
- by providing local residents with employment, and by spreading business opportunities throughout the community, broad awareness and support will be developed for the activity;
- by re-developing industries of this nature, land may be preserved and protected from hard industrial development;
- emphasis can be placed on re-using or recycling discarded and waste products, examples in this case would be pottery shards, creating an awareness and educational model for broader environmental awareness and protection;
- people who might otherwise show little interest in their history and culture can develop great enthusiasm when presented with interesting and entertaining, hands-on educational experiences.
First, a heritage park which is faithful to traditional culture does not need artificial recreational facilities to succeed in attracting visitors. In fact, it may be that such facilities detract from the park’s central purpose and may deflect the visitors who are most interested in cultural heritage.
Second, as with other sites of a similar type and purpose, the arrival of visitors tends to concentrate in the middle of the day and on weekends. Consistent efforts must be made to work with tour operators and booking agencies to try to attract visitors at non-peak times. Discount prices or special programming may be tools in this regard. Also, international tourists tend to travel during the week, and are an important source of revenue diversification for parks of this type. Every effort should be made to attract them.
Third, it is extremely beneficial if major tourist sites share their market and enterprise opportunities with the surrounding community. Examples of how this might be done include providing sales outlets for local products, contracting food services to local providers, and by promoting local transportation systems and accommodation. Only by doing this can the private sector effectively build community tourism, which, in the long run, will be far more attractive to tourists, and beneficial to communities, than are isolated attractions which attempt to contain the experience and the profits. Tourism which involves and benefits the local community is shown in this example to be a good private sector investment.
 The Park offers instructional courses in order to keep the craft alive. |
Contact:
Kuo-long Lin
Chairman
Shui-Li Snake Kiln Ceramics Cultural Park
41 Dingkan Tsuen, Shueili Shiang
Nantou County, Chinese Taipei,
886 49 77-0967 (Phone)
886 49 77-5491 (Fax)
http://www.apot.com/bizplaza/enter/shuili/about-e.htm
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