“With the heart of making zongzi for their family,” Guo Qifang from Renshou Village, Zhushan Township, Chiayi County, began tying each zongzi with care. Years ago, by chance, she offered her family’s traditional wild boar ear leaf zongzi to hikers, which unexpectedly received high praise, leading her to start selling “Guo Family Zongzi.” However, she revealed that she dared not continue living in the old family house due to ghostly occurrences, prompting the move to their current location.
Guo Qifang’s family originally lived near Shuishe Liao, roughly between Tunnel No. 20 and No. 21 of the Alishan Forest Railway. She once heard her father mention that in 1938 and 1948, two consecutive train derailments occurred, resulting in many lives lost in those accidents. Although a temple was built for worship, ghost stories continued to circulate. She recalled that during her childhood, she would not go outside after around 3 p.m., staying safely indoors. Later, as neighbors also avoided the area and members of the Guo family had their own ghost encounters, they quickly moved out of the ancient house.
Speaking about selling her homemade zongzi, Guo Qifang laughed and said, “I never thought of it myself.” Since most mountain restaurants served set meals, she once saw two hikers from Kaohsiung looking for something to eat. She warmly offered them her family’s traditional wild boar ear leaf zongzi. Unexpectedly, the refreshing fragrance of the wild boar ear leaves and the hearty fillings became hugely popular. Encouraged by them, she started this small business, and they became good friends. Word-of-mouth alone helped the Guo Family Zongzi sell up to 2,000 pieces in a single day at its peak.
“Wild Boar Ear” is a unique plant species in Taiwan, growing only in mountainous areas above 1,000 meters in altitude. When it blooms, it resembles a spider lily, and its leaves look like the ears of a wild boar, hence the name. Wild Boar Ear leaves are not easy to harvest. Guo Qifang pointed out that locals usually go out to work in pairs, and each leaf is priced at around NT$2, making it a good opportunity for farmers to earn extra income just before the Dragon Boat Festival.
(China Times)