Houghton (Houtong) - a small mining town located in the area Ruyfan (Rueifang District), Taiwan - an area known for its beautifully preserved railway culture - the old line Iilan (Yilan Line), built during the colonial period, when Japan exported resources of northern part of Taiwan. Houghton was the railway station line Iilan and one of the largest coal mines until 1970. During the richest years of the mine Haughton worked out 220,000 tons of coal - the largest volume of coal produced in the same area in Taiwan. Due to this, many people moved to Houghton, and the town has reached 900 families and a population of 6,000 people.
With the decline of the coal industry in the 1990s, the development of Houghton gradually began to slow down. Young people began to leave the city in search of better opportunities, and Houghton's only a few hundred residents. Once a thriving mining industry collapsed, and the last decade continues to be in decline.
The village cats Houghton
All of a sudden changed around 2008, when a cat lover organized a team of volunteers to provide the abandoned cats a better life. They posted pictures of cats on the Internet, many responded that other cat lovers. Tales of visitors to its visitors attracted fans of cats in this area who take pictures of cats and luxuriate with them. Houghton soon became the most attractive place for amateur photographers and enthusiasts cats. Now the mining town and about 100 cats wandering the streets, attracting thousands of tourists on weekends.
Houghton residents are cashing in on the increasing flow of tourists, souvenir shops opening and selling pineapple pastry in the shape of cats. Even the pedestrian bridge leading to the village located at the top of the cats have been recently restored and it was given a special "cat kind", with ears on one end and a tail at the other. On the bridge, even now there is a special path for cats that may come down from the village and greet visitors arriving by train.
Kotami to monitor residents Towns. Chan Bi-yun (Chan Bi-yun), 58 letnyaya retired yavlyaetsya odnoy through tech lip service influenced "koshachye» vozrozhdenie Hotonya.
"I started to follow the five cats that belonged to my neighbor, who died nine years ago and they gave birth to more and more kittens," - she said. "Now I have to lure the cat about half of the population Houghton."
Houghton was originally called Don Ho, which means "cave of the Apes". This was the name of the village, because this territory was located a cave in which lived a group of wild monkeys. This sign is located at the train station Houghton. Collage cat, miner, monkeys and a railway bridge indicates the four main characters Houghton.
