The town of Puli is located in the geographicalcenter of Taiwan in the northern part of NantouCounty，61 kilometers southeast of Taichung and17 kilometers north of Sun Moon Lake.There is not onlybeautiful natural scenery，but also unique recreational agriculture.
In order to help farmers overcome the challenges presentedby the rules imposed on agriculture by the WTO，the Puli Agricultural Association set up the Tourist ServiceCenter and developed the policy of setting up a leisureagricultural plot for each village to take advantageof the unique mountain water and closely integrate thenatural scenery with agriculture.On the one hand，thepolicy will provide tourists with a comprehensive highqualityagricultural tour and on the other assist farmersin developing high-quality and interesting leisureagriculture and boosting sales of local produce and processed agricultural products.Leisure agriculture represents a change from traditionalagricultural production bystrengthening utilization ofagricultural land and naturalresources to develop anew service industry thatmakes use of agriculturalland to combine“agricultureand tourism，”“agricultureand education，”and“agriculture and recreation.”
The development of leisure agriculture has increasedthe efficiency of themeans of production，increased employment opportunitiesand boosted the local economy.It is a new measure inthe form of a leisure service industry that helps farmersimprove their operations.
The Puli Agricultural Association also introduced theactivity to set up a combination agricultural and fishingpark for each village.In addition to putting on traditionalsinging performances，exhibitions，ecological forest tourism，and nature conservation activities，the associationalso set up a special bus service to take tourists from onesite in the park to another so the tourists can convenientlysee the entire park and allow individual tourists to visitand enjoy sites operated jointly by local residents and buylocal produce.In addition，the Puli Agricultural Associationis strongly promoting the formation of an alliancewith the Tienshulien Hotel，Puli Distillery and the TaiyiEcological，Educational and Leisure Agricultural Park ina powerful effort to develop the leisure and educationfunctions of traditional agriculture.
The leisure agriculture of Puli has improved the competitivenessof the local agriculture and created a greenmiracle in the Taiwan region.Encouraging farmers tomake use of the special local agricultural scenery andrural culture，and allowing tourists to truly appreciaterural life has not only changed the traditional structure of agriculture，but also boosted local economic developmentand growth and greatly helped overall social development.
Leisure agriculture has increased the sources of incomefor local farmers and made corresponding improvementsin their standard of living.
A prime example of Puli leisure agriculture is the TaiyiEcological，Educational and Leisure Agricultural Park.
The 10-hectare park is located in the Puli Basin in NantouCounty，with its clear mountain water and mild climate.
The park makes use of Puli’s ample agricultural resourcesand human environment to carry out its main purpose ofsupplying local farmers with seedlings for growing fruitsand vegetables as well as its secondary activity of developingagricultural tourism and resources for expandingapplication of science and technology in agriculture.Enteringthe park today you can see plots of seedlings andflowers in a wide variety of colors，offering a spectacularsight.Inside the park there is a pressed flower center，which displays beautiful pressed flower articles as wellas provides an opportunity for visitors to make their ownpressed flowers.The education section of the park helpsvisitors understand the growth process of plants and providesthem with the opportunity to work on a vegetableplot themselves and better appreciate a farmer’s life.Effortsare made to ensure that the ecological environment is kept as pristine as possible and all development projectsare required to disturb the ecology of the area as little aspossible.Mainly local crops are grown in line with thedecision for the park to concentrate on green cultivation.
Growing a wide variety of local crops is not only a specialfeature of the park，it also constitutes a smorgasbord oflocal crops.Also on display in the park are agriculturaltools and equipment such as water carts and windmills tohelp visitors appreciate rural life and culture.
The rich variety of plants and moving scenes of life onthe farm provide visitors with an unforgettable ecologicaleducation experience.The park also gives visitors thechance to experience a totally restful stay in one of thepark’s lodgings—the Fairy Tale Wooden Cabins，whichare sloped-roof buildings with exquisite rooms.The FairyTale Wooden Cabins are also known as the EarthquakeMemorial Cabins.After the September 21，1999 earthquake，the likes of which only occur once in a century，thepeople were afraid to sleep in their homes whether theywere severely injured or not.Puli was covered with tentsthen，and these 12 wooden cabins were built later in theshape of tents to commemorate that time.
