Jen-Hung Peng, the founder of Goldfish Space, saw three major problems in his hometown: the decline of the neighborhoods along the old streets, the outmigration of younger people, and the year-by-year increase of seniors. In 2015, he returned to his hometown and called on the local youth to organize the first Toucheng Old Street Art and Culture Festival. Later, he rented the old home of the late mayor of Toucheng, Jin-Yu Chiu, as a base for starting a business in his hometown. Since then, he has continued to organize the Toucheng Old Street Arts and Culture Festival, hoping to establish a connection and an interactive relationship with the townspeople. At the same time, he has also created a young talent cultivation system in the hopes of realizing regional revitalization.
Jen-Hung Peng is now an entrepreneur. He founded Lancheng Alley Co., Ltd., and he set up a workshop located in the old mayoral residence called “Goldfish Space”, which serves as a center that disperses local information and an activity space in Toucheng. He is also a part-time lecturer at Soochow University and the host of the program “Young Entrepreneurs’ Express” on National Educational Radio. During his school years, he raised over NT$3 million for charity and devoted himself to social services in remote areas. He was the chairman of the Yilan County University and College Alumni Association and the vice convener of the Youth Affairs Committee of Yilan County Government. He urged the county government to establish the Yilan Youth College to recruit young people from the county to discuss public affairs. During his visits to every street and alley in the town to understand the historical background and cultural development of his hometown, he found that the elderly craftsmen and artists had no one to pass their skills on to, and their knowledge was about to be lost to time. Therefore, he called upon local youths to organize the “Toucheng Old Street Arts and Culture Festival” for four consecutive years, and devoted himself to the innovation and transmission of the arts and culture of Toucheng, so as to promote the overall development of old neighborhoods.
This year, through the eyes of Jen-Hung Peng, the Royal Explorer will take travelers on a slow walk through the town of Toucheng, which is known as the “First Town of Kailan”, to enjoy the quiet, remote, simple and authentic atmosphere of the town and its culture, as well as to appreciate the wonderful memories and touching stories of several generations of people in the town!
