Beimen Douhua Introduction
Lin Shih-Hsiang (born in 1951) came to Beimen to work with friends from Taipei and married Wang Chin-Hsiang, becoming a son-in-law of Beimen. After marriage, in order to supplement the family's income, Lin's younger brother, who ran a tofu shop in Taipei for many years, decided to close it. He sold the tofu-making equipment to Lin Shih-Hsiang and transferred the techniques for making tofu, thus beginning a more than 30-year history of selling Beimen tofu. Lin Shih-Hsiang worked during the day and made tofu and brewed red tea at night, allowing his wife to take care of their children while selling tofu and red tea the next day. Wang Chin-Hsiang pushed a cart to sell in front of the old public office, undeterred by rain or shine. After the old public office was demolished, they moved to the front of the old police station, which was also later demolished to build a Jinlu (golden stove), and set up the stall next to it for selling. At that time, there was only this one stall in the entire temple courtyard. Beimen tofu is available in both cold and hot varieties; in winter, both hot and cold tofu are sold, while in summer, only cold tofu is offered. Traditional red tea is sold year-round. Initially, Beimen tofu came in three flavors: red bean, green bean, and sweet potato, but now it mainly features red bean and tapioca as primary flavors. Red bean has become popular and sells well, while tapioca captures the taste buds of younger people. Nowadays, young people also enjoy red tea tofu and winter melon tofu. After the Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan Coastal National Scenic Area Administration settled in Beimen, it has actively worked on developing tourism in Beimen...
