Li is one of Taiwan’s most common family names.
In the hills above Danshuei there are two splendid old houses which belong to the same branch of the Li clan.

One, the Stone-Walled Farm Garden, is open to the public. Within the compound, which covers 1.2 hectres, there are 100-year-old trees, various fruit trees, and – the principal attraction – a century old stone-walled, three-sided courtyard house.

In size and shape, this house is not so very different to many others in rural Taiwan. What makes it special is the quality of the construction, and the presence of various details, such as the beveled, fist-sized holes in the outer walls which, the owner says, were designed to allow the occupants to shoot at intruders without exposing themselves to danger.

The Stone-Walled Farm Garden can arrange meals for groups; there’s also karaoke, and plenty of picnic space outside.

Other Li buildings are more difficult to find, but worth the effort. If you head to the scattered hamlet called Jhuweizhih – about one kilometer west of the Stone-Walled Farm Garden – and locate the hospital (the tallest building around), by scanning the fields around, you should be able to see its clay red, almost crimson exterior.

From a distance, it is a strikingly beautiful abode. But up close, the dilapidation is obvious: A small part of the roof has collapsed, and foliage threatens much of the rest. The house is neither well maintained, nor open to the public.

…
Address: No. 3-3, Dapaitou, Jhongliaoli, Danshuei
…
TEL: (02) 2621-0252
…
Open Time 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
…
Public Transit: Buses on Road 101 from Danshuei to Beisinjhuang (which go onto Sanjhih) pass within a few hundred meters of the Stone-Walled Farm Garden. There is no public transport to the other Li house.
…
Personal Transit Take Road 101 from Danshuei to just past Jhuanjhoucuo. When you see the Siuming Temple on the right, turn left down a small road. You’ll see the Stone-Walled Farm Garden very soon.

Share This