Checheng has had several booms and busts. A hand-powered railway was built in 1919 from Checheng ~15 miles NNE to Puli, to carry sugar cane cut in Puli and to support construction of a dam and power station at Daguan. The railway was extended to Ershui in 1922. There was a boom due to logging 1958-85, and dam construction at Minghu and Mingtan 1981-95. In the 21c the main draw has been tourism.

November 10, 2017