Meeting a different self
Heading uphill along Jin Gang Da Dao, we see many “little suns” on roadside utility poles and fences. This is a clever idea of the “Sunny Buhouse” homestay. If you collect a number of suns along the route, then when you reach the end of the road you can exchange them for a chat with the owner that may turn your ideas upside down.
Sunny Buhouse is a new realm carved out by husband-and-wife owners Zhang Nianyang and Chen Cibu after Zhang lost his job in middle age. Zhang reminds us of the character Grandpa Tomozou Sakura in the Japanese comic Chibi Maruko-chan, while Chen’s grace and cordiality make her like the girl next door, albeit an older version.
After being a public servant for 17 years, one day Zhang had had enough and felt the urge to change tracks. He got a job in an electronics company, but then the economy turned sour and the company was on the edge of collapse, so after eight years there Zhang found himself out of work.
Chance brought them to Changbin, where they bought land, built a guesthouse, and began to strive to fit in to local life.
Besides running their homestay, the couple has also launched the “Chang Cheng Project.” The chang refers to Changbin, while the cheng refers to the Huayuan Xincheng gated community in Xindian, New Taipei City, where they lived for a long time.
Zhang Nianyang enjoys making friends, and his friends back at Huayuan Xincheng have many talents. Families in remote areas lack economic, social, and cultural capital, and children may have limited visions of their futures. But what if the children could be linked up with his friends, and they could share their experiences with the kids? The Chang Cheng Project opens windows on the world for children living in remote areas. Zhang and Chen hope to be there for the children of Changbin as they go through the important process of growing up, and to awaken them to greater possibilities for their futures.
This idea has attracted all kinds of people to come and join the project. Renowned ultramarathon runner Kevin Lin came here on his own initiative to run with the children; Stacey Wei, spokesperson in Taiwan for Yamaha trumpets, brought a whole jazz band to Changbin to put on a concert; and Dr. Sheu Min-muh, winner of a Medical Contribution Award in 2014, has held free clinics here.
Part of the attraction of Sunny Buhouse is that it gives people a sense of ease that is like coming home.
At the guesthouse, the day begins with a breakfast meticulously prepared by Chen Cibu. Breakfast usually lasts two or three hours, with people sitting around the long table and chatting. The paths of many people have crossed at this long table, around which many stories have been told, and Zhang Nianyang is skilled at observing people’s innermost thoughts and feelings, helping them to lower their defenses and speak from the heart. “Other people help out by building bridges or laying roads, but I don’t have those skills, so I just inspire new ideas in people,” he says. And Chen Cibu can often touch the softest spots in people’s hearts.
Having lived here for the last decade, Chen says that her personality has changed from preferring to be solitary to feeling now that being alone or being with many people are both fine. A perfectionist in the past, she is learning to relax and to accept herself as she is.
Zhang Nianyang, who was always a top student, has been most tied up by rules in life. He still hesitates: Though their income is now reasonably stable, he thinks about putting something aside for a rainy day, and wonders if he shouldn’t be working more and saving more. But now the guesthouse is closed two days a week, and the husband and wife contentedly say they are happy if occupancy is 80%.
This attitude and this mood are just the right fit for living on Taiwan’s East Coast.
Wings are an important motif for sculptor Siki Sufin.
The easygoing atmosphere of Taiwan’s East Coast makes many a wanderer feel at home and settle down here. (photo by Chuang Kung-ju)
Zhang Nianyang and Chen Cibu, who bought land and built a guesthouse in Changbin, have found new versions of themselves in this out-of-the-way place.
The paths of many people have crossed at this long table, around which so many stories have been told. The Pacific Ocean is visible through the large windows, helping to change people’s mood for the better.
You can see quiet, simple scenes like this whenever you turn into a side road off Provincial Highway 11. Shown here is Zhangyuan Village in Taitung’s Changbin Township.