Xiang Yang-or Lin Chi-yang as he was first known-was born in Guangxing Village in Nantou's Lugu Township in 1955. The village sat at a major crossroads, and from the front of his house he could see Mt. Dongding, which is famous for its oolong tea. The family's neighbors and friends all grew tea, and in 1960 his parents opened the first teashop specializing in the tea of Dongding.
向陽，本名林淇瀁，1955 年生於南投縣鹿谷鄉廣興村，廣興村又名「車光水寮」，是鹿谷的交通樞紐，以生產烏龍茶聞名的凍頂山就在住家前方，鄰近親友都種茶，父母更於 1960 年開設全台第一家「凍頂茶行」。