🌴 Pingtung - Hengchun | Sisal Industry Historical Monument (瓊麻工業歷史展示區)

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Most plants would wither under the searing summer heat and punishing winter gales of the Hengchun Peninsula, but for sisal, these brutal forces of nature create a perfect habitat. Sisal was brought to Taiwan from Central America in 1901 by the U.S. consul James Davidson, and within 50 years the Hengchun Peninsula had become the center of Taiwan’s sisal industry. Though the industry began to fade when nylon replaced sisal as the material of choice for rope making, it is remembered at the Sisal Industry Historical Exhibition on the south side of Longluan Lake. The museum is marked by a sisal sculpture at the entrance on the road to Maobitou. The southern Fujian style building is divided into three halls, with displays on butterflies, shellfish, and sisal, respectively. There is also a briefing room where visitors can learn more about the heyday of the sisal industry in Taiwan.

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