After a while, the Japanese tried crossbreeding until in 1936 they came up with Taichung 65, a new short grain variety with qualities similar to Japanese strains but well suited to the Taiwanese climate. Because this strain was crossbred in Taiwan, it became known as Penglai Rice, after the old name for Formosa among Chinese mariners (who referred to it as the "Penglai Island of demigods and fairies").
後來，日人再度嘗試以兩種不同的日本稻種進行雜交，從其分離後代選出優良子代予以繁殖試驗，一九三六年終於栽植出適合台灣氣候、米質也類似日本米的新品種「台中六十五號」，由於這個品種是在台灣蓬萊仙島改良出來的，故稱之為「蓬萊米」。