In recent years low-carbon tourism has been a hot ticket for the little town of Ping­lin. From Tai­pei, travelers can reach Ping­lin in less than an hour via a metro ride and a bus transfer. Once they disembark, those familiar with the town mount bicycles. Newcomers, meanwhile, board a free electric shuttle bus to get a tour of the town’s tea plantations. Whether the journey means enjoying fish and ferns on creekside paths, visiting tea plantations, or strolling along old streets, everyone inevitably asks: “How is it that such a beautiful and clean place exists so close to Tai­pei?”

Tourism is booming in Pinglin, where a group of young people have opened Pumpkin No. 3 in a rented house. The homestay has injected some youthful energy into the community.

Before the Tai­pei–Yi­lan Freeway was opened, your only choice for road travel between Tai­pei and Yi­lan, apart from the circuitous route along the coast, was the Tai­pei–Yi­lan Highway, a mountain route famous for a particularly steep section full of switchbacks, known as the “Nine Bends and 18 Turns.” Ping­lin was located near the midpoint of the journey, so it served as a rest stop where travelers could stretch their legs. It always had a steady stream of people coming through. Moreover, the famous Wen­shan bao­zhong tea that grew here made for a perfect gift.

In 2006, after the Xue­shan Tunnel was finished, the Tai­pei–Yi­lan Freeway was formally opened, and the journey from Tai­pei to Yi­lan now took only 40 minutes. Ping­lin got skipped over and forgotten, and the town fell on hard times. One store after another closed. Tea farmers faced declining sales.

“A lot of people couldn’t take it anymore and quit,” says tea farmer Hua Yun­xiong. Growing tea is hard work. Very few young people wanted to take over the family farm to begin with, and after business plummeted, a lot of people in the prime of life were leaving too. “It was a miserable time.”

Hua, 54, says that only old people are left farming tea in Ping­lin today. Since he is one of the youngest among them, he was elected as chief of Da­lin Village to serve local residents not long after the Xue­shan Tunnel was completed. Witnessing the decline in the area’s fortunes, he has pushed for residents and the local government to work together to find suitable strategies to spark revival.

A tea farmer donated land for public restrooms, which employ solar panels and make good use of natural light and ventilation. The facility captures the essence of Pinglin’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.

Ping­lin is limited in what it can do in terms of economic development for a reason closely connected to the lives of the millions of people living in Greater Taipei.

After the Fei­cui Dam was completed in 1987, Ping­lin was included within the special water resources zone aimed at protecting the reservoir’s water quality. It was the only such zone in all of Taiwan. Unlike an ordinary water resource protection area, any development, construction, or disruptions of the soil in the zone must be approved by the Tai­pei Water Management Office of the Water Resources Agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. From the standpoint of water resources protection, ideally the land within the zone should remain undisturbed. Consequently, only applications to renovate, not expand, Ping­lin’s homes have been granted. Old rice paddies and tea plantations may be cultivated, but no new fields can be cleared.

With the outflow of people and industry, limits were also placed on the amount of public infrastructure that could be built. The restrictions put the people of Ping­lin in a bind, but they couldn’t simply sit around and do nothing. Taking stock of the situation, they held discussions among scholars, local government officials and citizen groups, and elected to turn the very water resources that had been an obstacle to development into a driver of growth.

“Have a pot of tea, and drink some Fei­cui water,” says professor ­Chang Sheng­lin of National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of Building and Planning. The residents of the water resources zone naturally enjoy excellent water quality and can make use of outstanding water resources to grow organic produce and higher-value teas. Currently, among Ping­lin’s nine tea production and marketing groups, two have shifted over to organic methods and created the “Taiwan Blue Magpie” brand. They are gradually expanding their sales channels.

It’s not easy to go organic. The plan will take at least three years to bear fruit. Consequently, the community reached a consensus that even if they couldn’t attain full-fledged organic certification, they would at least do their best to reduce the use of non-organic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Currently they are channeling water runoff through bio-retention cells made from a mixture of gravel, coarse sand and soil, and planted over with small shrubs. It’s a natural way of reducing the content of phosphorus and nitrogen by 70%. Farmers implementing the program receive environmentally friendly certification that can help them market their tea.

Offering gorgeous scenery, Pinglin is a Shangri-La just 30 minutes’ drive from Taipei.

But high-quality tea and produce are insufficient in themselves to revive Ping­lin’s fortunes. Tourism is another important part of the puzzle. Located in the mountains, with little available land to develop, what has Ping­lin done to attract tourists?

“Our biggest assets are these two creeks,” says Hua of Bei­shi Creek and its tributary Jin­gua­liao, which cut through Ping­lin. Residents had long caught fish and shrimp in the creeks. As early as 1999 the Ping­lin Township Office began to push the idea of setting aside the creeks as protected areas for fish. After the Xue­shan Tunnel was built, the community came together to protect the creeks’ wildlife, and local residents, who used to love to fish in them, became members of creek protection teams, riding their bicycles along the banks. Familiar with the environment and the attitudes of fishermen, they were very effective.

The community also organized clean-up squads. Now there is almost no litter to be found along ten-some kilometers of creek banks in Ping­lin.

The town established fish viewing paths at a short distance from the water, giving visitors a chance to behold the multitudes of fish. According to research conducted by the Tai­pei Zoo, there are more than 50 fish in every cubic meter of creek water here. The efforts to protect the fish have been nothing short of a smashing success.

The wildlife protection efforts expanded beyond the creeks to all of Ping­lin. On late spring and early summer evenings, the tea plantations and hiking trails are full of fireflies. And the success of the fish protection efforts has naturally brought water birds. The flora too has rebounded with lush diversity. A veritable feast for the eyes is now provided to eco-travelers.

In creating ecotourism the cooperation of locals is paramount. Altogether there have been three keys to Ping­lin’s success in this regard.

First of all, there is the principle of minimizing development in the water resources zone so that the area has the outstanding natural conditions necessary for ecotourism. With the imposed legal restrictions, locals had no real choice on this score: their cooperation was mandatory. Secondly, since tea farming households in Ping­lin account for 80% of the population and the quality of tea is closely tied to environmental factors, protecting the environment was tantamount to protecting their livelihood­. Finally, with the crisis posed by falling agricultural production, villagers had a strong sense of solidarity and were willing to work hard for collective goals.

In order to further improve the cleanliness and serenity of the area, the community worked with the district office to foster a low-carbon community, bringing energy saving technology to the community. It has the nation’s first carbon-neutral temple. With solar electricity generation and highly efficient lighting, the temple, which serves as both a home for the deities and a community activity center, is shrinking carbon footprints and saving energy. A tea farmer donated land for installing environmentally friendly toilets. They feature a design that uses natural light and ventilation, as well as solar-generated LED lighting.

Along the banks of the creeks are 22 kilometers of bicycle trails. A traveler need only breathe in the pristine Ping­­lin air to sense the cares of city living melting away as mind and body are cleansed.

“Planting tea is low-carbon to begin with.” The old tea farmers are proud to belong to a low-carbon community. Eco-friendly behavior has permeated the life of the community. The public restrooms have LED lights, and restaurants are gradually phasing out the use of disposable plates and cutlery. Carbon emissions are on a steady downward trend. The town has regained its old vigor and then some.

In 2007, the year after the Xue­shan Tunnel was opened to traffic, a total of 33,000 tourists visited Ping­lin. After promoting low-carbon ecotourism and restricting fishing in the creeks, the number of tourists grew to 230,000 last year, a seven-fold increase. From a rest stop on a journey, Pinglin has become a destination.

Although the town rebounded from the opening of the Xue­shan Tunnel to find a new tourism niche, Ping­lin is still facing challenges. “In 15 years, Wen­shan bao­zhong tea may well disappear,” says Hua Yun­xiong with an air of resignation. The town is still suffering from a serious exodus of young people. In his village of Da­lin, half the people are elderly. There are quite a few folks in their eighties still planting tea. “When the older generation passes away, if their children and grandchildren don’t return, then the houses will just stand empty.” Hua points to a house nearby with its front door open. It’s one of a growing number of vacant houses here. Collectively, they bear witness to a decline in the numbers of farmers planting bao­zhong tea.

The community is working with universities and researchers in the hope that the skills involved in the growing and processing of tea can be passed down. At the same time they hope that the tourism wave will bring young people back to Ping­lin.

Walk around Ping­lin and experience for yourself its fragrant tea, fresh air and pristine water. Exchange some pleasantries with the old people along the roadside. Body, mind and soul will all benefit.