Coffee dream from Taiwan comes to life in Fujian

Huang Wen-kuang was impressed by the mountain views of Nankeng village in Zhangzhou, Fujian province, when he came for the first time in 2005 to trace his family roots.

A businessman for several decades in Taiwan, Huang came up with the idea of running a coffee house here in 2008, when the tulou — or earthen buildings of Nankeng — were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.

"More tourists are coming here to see tulou, and coffee is a great option for them while taking a break," Huang said.

Investing about $5 million, Huang built a coffee park covering 200,000 square meters, with more than 10,000 coffee trees. He also registered a coffee brand, Nankeng Coffee, in Zhangzhou.

The park, known as Nankeng Coffee Park, provides a variety of entertainment choices, including indoor cafes; coffee sorting, roasting and grinding activities; and outdoor coffee bean picking.

The trees are from Tainan, a city in southern Taiwan, and were transported to Xiamen by air, and then by land to Nankeng.