Beimen Douhua Introduction
Lin Shih-Hsiang (born in 1951) came from Taipei to Beimen to work with friends and married Wang Jin-Xiang, becoming a son-in-law of Beimen. After marriage, in order to supplement the household income, he thought of running a side business as his younger brother in Taipei was closing his long-established douhua (tofu pudding) shop. He acquired the equipment for making douhua from his brother and learned the production techniques, thus beginning a history of over 30 years of selling Beimen douhua. Lin Shih-Hsiang worked during the day and made douhua and brewed red tea at night, allowing his wife to take care of the children while selling douhua and red tea the next day. Wang Jin-Xiang pushed the stall cart every day, rain or shine, to sell in front of the old public office. After the old public office was demolished, they moved in front of the old police station. When the old police station was torn down to build the King Furnace, they set up the stall next to it, and at that time, they were the only stall in the entire temple yard. Beimen douhua is available in both cold and hot varieties; during winter, both are sold, while in summer, only the cold douhua is offered. Traditional red tea is sold year-round. Initially, Beimen douhua had three flavors: red bean, green bean, and sweet potato, but currently, it primarily features red bean and tapioca, with red bean being highly popular and tapioca appealing to younger tastes. Nowadays, young people also enjoy red tea douhua and winter melon douhua. After the Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan Coastal National Scenic Area Administration settled in Beimen, it has been working hard to develop tourism in Beimen…
