Meinung began cultivating tobacco during the Japanese occupation. Curing barns were then used to fire-cure tobacco, but a dozen or so years ago tobacco curing technology changed, and computers were brought in to control the process. The old curing barns have gradually slid into obsolescence, but they remain an interesting architectural feature of the area, and Meinung has nearly 1,000 of them.
美濃從日據時代開始發展種菸產業，菸樓是用來烤火燻菸葉的，十幾年前，燻菸技術進步到由電腦控制，菸樓慢慢地被廢棄不用了，而今美濃地區約有近千座菸樓，成為當地頗具特色的建築。