Tourist Leaves Camera at Taitung Honesty Shop, Untouched for 7 Days

Reporter Li An-jun / Taipei – Telephone interview with Taitung

If you saw a high-end single-lens reflex Nikon camera sitting on the counter of an unattended little shop—and it had been there for a whole week without anyone touching it—would you be tempted to take it? At Lu Ye Gao Tai in Taitung, there’s an honesty ice cream shop that has operated without a shopkeeper present for nearly a month. Almost nothing has gone missing, and a foreign tourist even left an expensive camera here for several days without anyone taking it. The owner, Li Ming-huang, laughed and said, “Two kind tourists even called me to let me know a customer had forgotten a camera!” When talking about this, the shop owner was beaming with joy.

▲ The honesty shop “Lu Ye 76” operates without staff, relying on mutual trust between the owner and customers. The owner says almost nothing has gone missing, and he’s very satisfied.(Photo / Provided by customer Li Xiao-fa)

It’s winter now, and Li Ming-huang, who usually sells ice cream at Lu Ye Gao Tai in Taitung, closed up shop because there weren’t many tourists. He felt it wasn’t cost-effective to assign someone to watch the store, so he figured, “Let’s just close it down until winter is over.” Even though he said there weren’t many tourists, there were still visitors coming to enjoy the scenery and take walks. “Hey, hey, boss, where are you? We’re from Taichung, and you’re not open... We’re all standing outside waiting for you!”


▲ A foreign tourist visiting Taiwan left their high-end single-lens reflex Nikon camera on the honesty shop’s counter for seven days. The owner, Li Ming-huang, checked the photos and found out that a neighbor had brought their foreign friend for a trip. He quickly returned the camera to its rightful owner. (Photo / Provided by Li Ming-huang)

On September 2, 2012, the well-known Taitung Hot Air Balloon Festival officially came to an end, and the number of tourists dropped overnight. Li Ming-huang had a simple thought: “I’ll come back next summer.” So, he closed his shop named “Lu Ye 76” (76 is the street number). “Every now and then, customers would call me, saying they were already standing outside the shop. What should I do? I got those calls so many times. Honestly, I felt bad and thought I was letting my customers down. After thinking it over, I decided to do something simple—I’d reopen the shop and let everyone serve themselves.”


▲ The scenery at Lu Ye Gao Tai is so beautiful, it’s no wonder visitors love to come here and sit. Since becoming a self-service shop, the owner comes by every two weeks to tidy up. It takes a lot of time, but he doesn’t mind. As long as the customers are happy, he feels like he’s hosting old friends who’ve come from afar. (Photo / Provided by customer Li Xiao-fa)

“During the summer when the hot air balloon festival was going on, customers would come here to rest, eat ice cream, use the restroom, and chat. The atmosphere was great. I also stayed here brewing tea and enjoying the view, watching people come and go every day. It made me really happy. After summer, I traveled around Taiwan promoting my fruit-flavored ice cream, so I wasn’t around Lu Ye Gao Tai much. In October, I unexpectedly set up this honesty shop, and so many wonderful things have happened since.”

Li Ming-huang is actually the owner of the famous ice cream brand “Chun Yi Zhi.” To help farmers sell overripe fruit, he created delicious handmade ice cream in flavors like pineapple, sugar apple, roselle, and crispy plum. He also invested 5 million New Taiwan Dollars to build the “Lu Ye 76” shop at the highland to promote agricultural by-products. The small shop, located at a high vantage point, offers stunning views. “I also bought a few vintage pinball machines for kids to play with, so everyone can relive their childhood memories.”

▲ Li Ming-huang is very thoughtful, providing vintage pinball machines for kids to play for free. Sitting here playing and enjoying the view is incredibly joyful. (Photo / Provided by customer Li Xiao-fa)

The shop sells a variety of items, including ice cream, patented “ice cream sticks,” hawthorn beauty fruit, canned water, and more. There’s no longer anyone “manning the counter,” but the selection remains the same. “A friend suggested I install security cameras. Why bother? I believe people can be trusted. After over a month, we sold over a thousand ice creams. Many people are curious whether sales match the income. To be honest, I haven’t counted, but I trust my instincts—every cent is still here!”

▲ The honesty shop “Lu Ye 76” sells Chun Yi Zhi ice cream, hawthorn fruit, canned water... It’s been over a month, and the owner says with a smile that the tourists are all very honest. He’s very satisfied.(Photo / Provided by customer Li Xiao-fa)

“There are no shop assistants here—only the beautiful Central Mountain Range and handcrafted fruit ice cream. There’s no suspicion, only trust. Welcome to this simple place to enjoy ice cream and cool off!” These words are written on the shop’s sign. Li Ming-huang, who only comes to the shop once every two weeks, laughs and says that besides the beautiful scenery and tasty ice cream, many other heartwarming things have happened.

“Someone left a high-end single-lens reflex Nikon camera on the counter. At first, I thought, let it be, the owner will come back for it. But within a week, two customers specifically called to remind me. Later, I went back to check, pulled up the photos, and saw images of a neighbor with a foreigner. I quickly called them. The neighbor was thrilled and told their foreign friend, who usually stays at the ‘Lian Ji’ homestay. The foreigner only then remembered leaving the camera at the shop. They were so happy and said Taiwanese people are really kind. These moments are truly wonderful.”