There were pine trees and lichee in the mountain forests, and one could catch fish, shrimp, and clams in the sea. "It was a self-sufficient small village, but by no means well off," says Li Po-hsin, former director of the Museum of the Former Residence of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Thus many residents went outside the village to seek their fortunes.
和廣東省南部尋常的小村一樣，翠亨也是一個務農為主的山村，主產稻米、花生，山林中則種松樹和荔枝，沿海可捕魚蝦和蚌殼類，「這是一個可以自足的小農村，但是並不富饒」，國父故居紀念館前館長李伯新指出，不少居民因此多往外發展。