Travel in Taiwan (No.44, 2011 3/4)

34

No. 44, 2011

/

AROUND THE ISLAND Dream of Many a Bicyclist THE BEST ROUTES

The Stunning Central Cross-Island Highway

HISTORY

Historic Buildings in Taipei

TAIWANESE OPERA

Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group

Wood Art DIY in Sanyi Seaside Rock Festivals Taiwan’s Best Night Markets A Day in the Life of a Fisherman The Official Bimonthly English Magazine of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau.

I S B N :1817 7 9 6 4 Website: ht tp: //t aiwan. net .t w

INFO ．Harbor View Hotel

Travel Green, Love Mother Earth

Bring Your Own Toiletries and Help the Earth Become Greener You and I can change the “nature” of our travel to make it more nature-friendly.

When traveling in Taiwan, choose accommodations that are green and prepare your own toilet articles to support members of the hotel industry that are trying to do their part in the global eco-protection movement. From each seed we plant,

The EPA’s Green Action Relay Project – Your Support Is Key To encourage travelers to bring their own toiletries to hotels as part of the adoption of a full green lifestyle, the Executive Yuan’s Environmental Protection Administration has developed the Green Action Relay Project. A team of 69 hotels have signed up, and will appropriate NT$1-10 to national environmental protection programs whenever guests bring their own toiletries and choose not to change bed sheets and towels during their stay. Participating hotels are also offering special green accommodation packages and rewarding guests who use a single set of bed sheets and towels on multiple-night stays with premium gifts and discount coupons.

e Resort

Lakesid

棲蘭 Cilan Forest

Recreation Area

ort & Spa

Res 富野HOYO Hot Springs

童年 Childhood

Resort Hotel

．Hotelcolor ．TAI-LEE BOUTIQUE HOTEL ．九份喜來園景觀民宿 ．Park City Hotel．Taipei (Danshui) ．Happy 88 B&B ．Gueylin Hotel ．Taoyuan Hotel ．Aspire Resort ．歡樂汽車旅館 ．Little Ding-Dong Science Park

good things will grow.

天水蓮

．華都飯店 ．Dandy Hotel Daan Branch ．Dandy Hotel Tianjin Branch ．Taipei GARDEN Hotel ．Kyoto Hotel ．Tokyo International Hotel ．Song Jiang Forward ．Nan Gang Forward ．Leder Hotel-Taipei ．Hotel Double One ．Yun Hsien Hotel

明池 Mingc

hih Forest

Recreatio

n Area

For more information, please visit the EPA’s Green Living Information Platform at greenliving.epa.gov.tw

．土牧驛健康農莊 ．山林雅境渡假農場 ．炭鄉八八庭園民宿 ．Flyingcow Ranch ．YuanLin Hotel ．Wuling Farm ．Lakeside Resort ．The Solars ．NanTou Hotel ．Cheng Pao Hotel ．Leader Hotel—Chi-Tou ．Leader House Lukang ．永興大旅社 ．秋田汽車旅館 ．真珠大飯店 ．文都旅社 ．Li-gin Motel ．鼎川大飯店 ．優仕飯店 ．Ying Shan Hotel ．Childhood Resort Hotel ．Chin Shan Hotel ．Long Yun Holiday Farm ．Atunas Holiday Country ．JJ-W Hotel ．YOHO Beach Resort ．Kenting Chinatrust Inn ．Kenting Maldives Hot Spring Hotel ．Mingchih Forest Recreation Area ．Cilan Forest Recreation Area ．Forest Blockhouse Yilan Homestay ．Forest Blockhouse Yilan Homestay ．Yosemite Homestay ．Leader Village Taroko ．涵星民宿 ．Vogue House ．Taitung Hotel For Teachers Public Workers ．Chinshang Pastoral Farm Resort ．HOYO Hot Springs Resort & Spa ．Dory Inn ．MingJianStar Hotel ．Chin-Be Village café ．神農山莊 ．馬吉民宿 ．馬蓋先民宿 ．璞舍藝文民宿 ．麗堤飯店

www.hhotel.com.tw 02-24202277 www.dandyhotel.com.tw www.dandyhotel.com.tw www.taipeigarden.com.tw www.kyotohotel.com.tw www.tokyohotel.com.tw www.fwhotel.tw www.fwhotel.tw www.leaderhotel.com www.leaderhotel.com www.yun-hsien.com.tw www.hotelcolor.com.tw taileehotel.com.tw www.gold999.com.tw www.parkcthotel.com www.happy88.com.tw www.gueylin.com.tw www.taoyuanhotel.com.tw www.aspireresort.com.tw www.okgo.com.tw/4133 www.ding-dong.com.tw www.tumuyi.com.tw www.823801.com.tw www.8898.tw/tanshiang88 www.flyingcowranch.com.tw www.facebook.com/YuanLinHOTEL www.wuling-farm.com.tw www.lakesideresort.com.tw www.solasresort.com www.nantouhotel.com.tw www.chengpao.com.tw www.leaderhotel.com www.leaderhotel.com 05-2278246 05-2316222 05-2274546 05-2222380 www.li-gin.com.tw 05-2340277 05-2332030 www.ying-shan.com.tw www.hotel-childhood.com.tw www.chinshan.com www.long-yun.com.tw www.atunas-inn.com.tw www.jj-whotel.com.tw www.yoho.com.tw kenting.chinatrust-hotel.com.tw www.kt-maldives.com.tw www.yeze.com.tw www.yeze.com.tw www.s888.tw www.yosemite.idv.tw www.leaderhotel.com www.hzlfh.tw www.hl-star.com.tw www.windblown.idv.tw www.ttp-hotel.com.tw www.mongo.com.tw www.hoyaresort.com.tw/springs hotel.matsu.idv.tw/dory hotel.matsu.idv.tw/mjstar www.chinbe-village.com.tw hotel.matsu.idv.tw/sengnong www.matsu.idv.tw/hotel/machi tour.matsu.idv.tw/hotel_magaixian.php tour.matsu.idv.tw/hotel_pushe.php hotel.matsu.idv.tw/liti

Welcome to Taiwan!

Dear Traveler, It’s March, warmth is returning to air and earth, and we feel reenergized and in the mood to get out and explore the world around us. If in the next while your explorations will be in Taiwan, well, we have a number of ideas on how you might f ill your days.

The stronger sun beckons us out for bicycle excursions, and we bring to you a menu of the best routes, with options running from leisurely to challenging. For the most ambitious, we plant the seed of a round-island tour, a must-have feather in the cap for serious local and expatriate riders.

There’s also advice on where you can source your two-wheeler, where bicyclists can stay, and what iconic foods can be sampled at places along your way.

For a four-wheel adventure, a west-east traverse on the Central Cross-Island Highway offers everything from a magnif icent Buddhist complex to an alpine sheep farm to powerf ul high-peaks scenery to the many moments of awe inspired by Taroko Gorge, a prime work of Mother Nature’s public art.

Our next excursion puts us going on a f ishing boat for a trip off the East Coast at Nanfangao to show you how local f ishermen go about their daily business. We then come back af ter a hard day’s work to show you how to navigate the menus at the island’s popular harborside restaurants, where the day’s catch may well arrive the same moment you do.

Back in Taipei, we switch from car to the many-wheeled MRT trains for an exploration of some of the city’s most beautif ul examples of heritage architecture, all on or quite near to Zhongshan N. Rd. and all within easy walking distance of MRT stations.

Some of the other adventure selections on this issue’s menu are f un DIY sessions at Sanyi, Taiwan’s woodcarving town, a few days at the biggest annual open-air rock-music festival on the island, a tour of the best local night markets, and a day at the (Taiwanese) opera.

Whichever you choose and however long you stay with us, I wish you the warmest sunny days.

Janice Seh-Jen Lai Director General Tourism Bureau, MOTC, R.O.C.

CONTENTS

Mar ~ Apr 2011

8

Photo/ Shu juan Lin

30 Publisher Janice Seh-Jen Lai Editing Consultants

David W. J. Hsieh, Wayne Hsi-Lin Liu Publishing Organization

Tourism Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications Address

9F, 290 Zhongxiao E. Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei, 104, Taiwan Tel: 886-2-2717-3737 Fax: 886-2-2771-7036 E-mail: tbroc@tbroc.gov.tw Website: http://taiwan.net.tw

台 灣 觀 光 雙 月 刊 Travel in Taiwan Bimonthly March/April Issue, 2011 www.tit.com.tw/vision/index.htm Copyright © 2011 Tourism Bureau. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form without written permission is prohibited.

,

Producer Vision Int l Publ. Co., Ltd. Address Rm. 5, 10F, 2 Fuxing N. Rd., Taipei, 104 Taiwan

Tel: 886-2-2711-5403 Fax: 886-2-2721-2790 E-mail: vision@tit.com.tw General Manager Wendy L. C. Yen Deput y General Manager Frank K. Yen Editor in Chief Johannes Twellmann English Editors Rick Charette, Richard Saunders DIR. OF PLANNING & EDITING J oe Lee MANAGING EDITOR Sunny Su Editors Aska Chi, Aysel Then, Percy Kung, Min-Jing Yin, Vivian Liu ark Caltonhill, Rick Charette, Steven Crook, Joe Contributors M Henley, David Bratt, Jessie Lin PHOTOGRAPHERS Jen Guo-Chen, Sunny Su, Maggie Song ART DIRECTOR Sting Chen ing Ting Wang, Daemon Lee, Maggie Song, Rinka Lin Designers T ui-chun Tsai, Nai-jen Liu, Xiou Mieng Jiang Administrative Dept H Advertising Dept Vincent Lin, Pamela Leu, Stacy Cai, Mamie Yang, Paul H. Chang 886-2-2721-5412 Advertising Hotline +

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ONLINE

Read the online version of Travel in Taiwan at www.zinio.com . Log in and search for "Travel in Taiwan". Or visit www.tit.com.tw/ vision/index.htm Bicycling is one of the best ways to discover the amazing attractions of Taiwan at a slower pace. (Photo

by Jen Guo-Chen )

In Taiwan

Tourism Bureau Visitor Center; Tourism Bureau; Taiwan Visitors Association; foreign representative offices in Taiwan, Tourism Bureau service counters at Taiwan Taoyuan Int’l Airport and Kaohsiung Int’l Airport, major tourist hotels; Taipei World Trade Center; VIP lounges of international airlines; major tourist spots in Taipei; visitor centers of cities and counties around Taiwan; offices of national scenic area administrations; public libraries

This magazine is printed on FSC certified paper. Any product with the FSC logo on it comes from a forest that has been responsibly maintained and harvested in a sustainable manner.

24 36

51 FEATURE

8

FOOD JOURNEY 36 Gone Fishing

Bicycling

— A Memorable Boat Trip to Find Out Where All that Fresh Fish Comes From

— Cycling Two Decades of Cycling in Taiwan — Eat Roadside Food — Stay Accommodation for Cyclists — Buy World-Class Bikes Made in Taiwan

LET'S EAT

40 Local-Style Teppanyaki

16 Five Top Routes

42 Fresh Fish Right by the Harbor

— Cycling the Highways and High Ways of Taiwan

1 Publisher�s Note 23 Peculiar Taiwan 4 News & Events around Taiwan 50 Festivals and Events 6 Concerts, Exhibitions, and Happenings

My Photo Tour

Learning Experience

18 Skewed Views

28 Working with Wood

— Assembling Simple and Funny-Looking Wood Sculptures in Sanyi

— It’s All a Matter of Perspective

ON STAGE/OFF STAGE THE BEST ROUTE 24 Taiwanese Opera

— A Synthesis of Old and New

30

— Gourmet Heaven is in Luodong

Over

the Hump

— Driving the Central Cross-Island Highway

— Eating Seafood at Nanfangao

FESTIVAL 46 Beach, Ocean, Rock!

— Taiwan’s Biggest Open-Air Festival Takes Place at One of the Island's Best Beaches

HISTORY 51 Re-Built, Re-Modeled,

Re-Furbished — A Tour of Taipei’s Heritage Buildings

Night Markets

54 Night Markets — Delicious Snacks, Cheap Clothes, Lots of People

3

Travel in Taiwan

WHAT'S UP

New Record High for Visitor Arrivals in 2010

News & Events around Taiwan Theme Park

Tourism

The total number of travelers visiting Taiwan last year exceeded 5.56 million, a staggering 1.17 million more than in 2009. The main factor in this growth was increased arrivals from mainland China (1.63 million), replacing Japan (1.08 million) as the largest single-country group of visitors from abroad. Thanks to successful tourism-promotion campaigns in Southeast Asia, growth in the number of visitor arrivals from that region has been especially impressive; the Malaysian market grew by an astonishing 71.11% year-on-year, with a total of 285,734 visitors arriving from that country in 2010.

Cherry Blossoms at Sun Moon Lake

Until the end of March the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village is offering a special discount on tickets, during what is the annual cherry blossom season. An entrance ticket + ride on the Sun Moon Lake Ropeway is NT$550. For more info, visit www. nine.com.tw.

Travel Info

Where to Get Your Bearings

Wandering about Taipei with your iPhone in hand but without a clue where to go? Here’s what you need -- an app introducing all the places of interest in the city, easily found with the help of Google maps, and all in English! This guide, called “Taipei Uncovered” and prepared by Phil Dawson, can be downloaded from the following website: http:// tinyurl.com/taipeiguide. For more information about using the guide, visit www.taipeiuncovered.com.

Hotels

New Sun Moon Lake Landmark A new visitor center on the shores of Sun Moon Lake has become the latest attraction at this premier tourist spot in central Taiwan. Designed by acclaimed Japanese architect Norihiko Dan, the futuristic concrete building is a oneof-a-kind architectural work featuring gentle curves and a design that blends smoothly into the surrounding lakeand-mountain scenery.

Tourism

Sanzhi Visitor Center In order to better serve tourists visiting the north coast area, the Tourism North Coast & Guanyinshan National Scenic Area (www.northguan-nsa.gov.tw) recently opened the new Sanzhi Tourist Center, located in the town of Sanzhi adjacent to the birthplace of former ROC president Lee Teng-hui (164-2, Putou Keng, Puping Village, Sanzhi District, New Taipei City).

Japanese Luxury Inn in Beitou

A new chapter in luxurious hot-spring pleasures has recently been written in Taipei’s Beitou District with the addition of Radium Kagaya, a Japanese-style fivestar hotel. What sets this new facility apart from other hot-spring hotels in Beitou is not only the hefty room rates, running from NT$24,000 to NT$120,000 per night, but also the focus on service. More than 70 women dressed in kimonos attend to guests’ needs, from check-in to tea serving, bathrobe dressing, and meal arrangements. www.kagaya.com.tw

Le Meridien Taipei and W Hotel Two brand-new top-of-the line hotels have recently been added to Hotels Taipei’s hotel scene, both located in the ultra-modern and vibrant Xinyi District close to the world’s second-tallest building, Taipei 101. The 160-room Le Meridien Taipei (www.lemeridien-taipei.com) introduces a new dimension of timeless chic with a focus on contemporary art and new restaurant concepts, while the 405-room W Hotel Taipei (tinyurl.com/w-hotel-taipei) offers a modern take on design, fashion, and music and brings an innovative and distinctive experience to the city’s hotel market.

Travel Info

Read Travel in Taiwan Online!

Read this, Taiwan’s best English-language travel magazine, online and download it to your mobile device (iPhone, iPad, etc.) to have it handy anytime in case you need some valuable travel info during your travels. All you have to do is create a free account on the online magazine service site “Zinio” (www.zinio.com) and then search for “Travel in Taiwan.” Reading the magazine online is free of cost.

Tell us what you think!

We, the producers of Travel in Taiwan, wish to improve our magazine with each issue and give you the best possible help when planning – or carrying out – your next trip to Taiwan. Tell us what you think by filling out our short online questionnaire at www.tit. com.tw/survey/travelintaiwan.html. Senders of the first ten completed questionnaires each issue will receive three free issues of Travel in Taiwan. Thank you very much for your feedback!

Transport

Tainan’s Airport Goes International

At the end of this May the airport of Tainan, Taiwan’s fourth-largest city, will operate as an international airport. This will be Taiwan’s fifth international airport, joining Taiwan Taoyuan, Songshan (Taipei), Kaohsiung, and Taichung. International charter flights between Tainan and Asian neighbors such as Japan and, possibly, mainland China are seen as a means to revive the airport’s business, which has declined significantly since the opening of the Taiwan High Speed Rail line in 2007.

?

Do You Know Taiwan?

If

you know the answers to the following

questions, you are most likely an experienced Taiwan traveler. If you don’t know the

answers, you can find them within the pages of this issue

of Travel in Taiwan.

1.

How many kilometers does a bicyclist have to ride, approximately, in order to complete around- the-island Taiwan trip?

(Find the answer on page 11)

2.

What is the highest point of Taiwan’s highest highway? (Find the answer on page 34)

3.

The town of Nanfangao in Yilan County is a good place to: stay at a recreational farm, eat freshseafood, visit an aquarium?

(Find the answer on page 42)

5

Travel in Taiwan Travel in Taiwan

CULTURE SCENE

Concerts, Exhibitions, and Happenings Taiwan has a diverse cultural scene, with art venues ranging from international-caliber concert halls and theaters to makeshift stages on temple plazas. Among Taiwan’s museums is the world-famous National Palace Museum as well as many smaller museums dedicated to different art forms and aspects of Taiwanese culture. Here is a brief selection of upcoming happenings. For more information, please visit the websites of the listed venues.

1/22 ~ 4/3

Taipei Fine Arts Museum

Aria of Life: The Art of Liu Keng-I 劉耿一回顧展 生命感知與詠嘆

This exhibition is a display of 60 paintings and dozens of handcrafted furniture items by contemporary Taiwanese artist Liu Keng-I. In this retrospective you can follow the artistic styles and creative philosophies followed during different stages of the artist’s life, starting from the 1960s, when Liu began painting with oil and pastels, up to the present day. In his art, Liu depicts scenes of daily life that express some radical views of society, as well as landscapes showing places visited around Taiwan.

12/23 ~ 3/27

Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts

The Book of Faces – Secrets of Portraiture 臉書 神秘的肖像藝術

With this exhibition, the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts opens a book of faces – faces portrayed in the many paintings in the museum’s collection. The exhibition gives intriguing explanations on how the artists have viewed their models and their surrounding world, and how they have created their portraits. With this exhibition the museum attempts to establish a network resembling the popular social networking website Facebook, connecting viewers not only with the figures portrayed in the paintings but also with each other in the real world.

1/1 ~ 3/25

National Palace Museum

Fragrance Fills the Courtyard: Chinese Flower Paintings through the Ages 歷代花卉名品特展

Coinciding with the Taipei Int’l Flora Expo currently running in Taipei (until April 25), this exhibition gives visitors the opportunity to enjoy the wonders of flowers captured by Chinese painters of the past. The selection presented in this special exhibition has been divided into four sections: “Beautiful Scenes All Year Round,” “Formal Expressions of the Mind,” “The Many Features in Painting,” and “Auspicious Signs and Lucky Omens.” Flowers in bloom at specific times of the year have been chosen to express their relation to the seasons and specific Chinese festivals.

These artworks also demonstrate how artists wielded their skill in compositional arrangement and such basic techniques as ink outlines filled with colors, “boneless” washes, fine ink lines, and freehand “sketching ideas” to transform apparently simple subjects into a wide variety of forms in keeping with the times. The interpretation of auspicious metaphors in the paintings also reveals how artists portrayed blossoms from yet another point of view, allowing viewers to further appreciate the unique beauty and diversity of the art of painting flowers.

3/26

Taipei Arena

Venues

Taipei International Convention Center（台北國際會議中心）

Tanya and The Cities 蔡健雅–亞洲巡迴演唱會

Taipei

( 台北市信義 路五段一 號 )

Taipei Zhongshan Hall Plaza （台北中山堂廣場）

The famous award-winning pop singer, songwriter, and music producer Tanya Chua, from Singapore, will be in town to perform at the Taipei Arena as part of her first-ever concert tour through Asia. Enjoying a huge fan base in Taiwan, the arena is expected to be packed with fans longing to hear her greatest soulful love hits and see Tanya show off some new specially choreographed dance moves.

Add: 98, Yanping S. Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市延平南 路 9 8 號 )

Nearest MRT Station: Ximen

Taipei International Convention Center （台北國際會議中心）

Add: 1, Xinyi Rd., Sec.5, Taipei City ( 台北市信義 路五段 1 號 )

Tel: (02) 2725-5200, ext. 3517, 3518 www.ticc.com.tw/ Nearest MRT Station: Taipei City Hall

National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall（國立中正紀念堂） Add: 21 Zhongshan S. Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市中山南 路 21 號 )

Tel: (02) 2343-1100~3 www.cksmh.gov.tw Nearest MRT Station: CKS Memorial Hall

National Concert Hall（國家音樂聽） National Theater（國家戲劇院） Add: 21-1 Zhongshan S. Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市中山南 路 21-1 號 )

Tel: (02) 3393-9888 www.ntch.edu.tw Nearest MRT Station: CKS Memorial Hall

National Museum of History （國立歷史博物館）

Add: 49 Nanhai Rd., Taipei City

National Concert Hall

4/14

A New World for 88 Keys and Chinese Orchestra 88鍵的國樂新天地

( 台北市 南 海路 4 9 號 )

Tel: (02) 2361-0270 www.nmh.gov.tw Nearest MRT Station: CKS Memorial Hall

National Palace Museum （國立故宮博物院）

Add: 221 Zhishan Rd., Sec. 2, Taipei City ( 台北市至 善路 2 段 2 21 號 )

A rare blending of Western piano music and traditional Chinese music awaits music lovers in this special concert. Three world-acclaimed pianists and the Taipei Chinese Orchestra will come together to perform three remarkable compositions. Pianist Pi-hsien Chen will tackle the Concerto for Piano and Chinese Orchestra composed by Lei Liang, Chengzong Yin will play Yellow River, the best-known Chinese piano composition in the world, and Russian Mikhail Rudy will perform Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

4/26 ~ 5/1

National Theater

Tianjin Peking Opera Theatre 天津京劇院經典名劇大匯演

Founded in 1995, the Tianjin Peking Opera Theatre is one of the few successful Peking opera troupes not based in Beijing itself, where Peking opera originated. Having won numerous national prizes and other honors in mainland China, the troupe frequently goes on tour abroad, presenting a selection of the more than l00 plays in its repertoire to audiences around the world. During this stay in Taipei, the troupe will perform eight shows on seven consecutive days, each day presenting a different play. Lovers of Peking opera are in for a real treat!

Tel: (02) 2881-2021 www.npm.gov.tw Nearest MRT Station: Shilin

National Taiwan Museum （國立臺灣博物館）

Add: 2 Xiangyang Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市 襄 陽 路二號 )

Tel: (02) 2382-2566 www.ntm.gov.tw Nearest MRT Station: NTU Hospital

Add: 1 Xinyi Rd., Sec. 5, Taipei City Tel: (02) 2725-5200 ext. 3000. 3151~52 www.ticc.com.tw Nearest MRT Station: Taipei City Hall

Taipei Fine Arts Museum （台北市立美術館）

Add: 181 Zhongshan N. Rd., Sec. 3, Taipei City ( 台北市中山北 路 3 段 181 號 )

Tel: (02) 2595-7656 www.tfam.museum Nearest MRT Station: Yuanshan

Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei（台北當代藝術館） Add: 39 Chang-an W. Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市長 安 西 路 3 9 號 )

Tel: (02) 2552-3720 www.mocataipei.org.tw Nearest MRT Station: Zhongshan

Lin Liu-hsin Puppet Theatre Museum（林柳新紀念偶戲博物館） Add: 79 Xining N. Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市 西寧 北 路 7 9 號 )

Tel: (02) 2556-8909 www.taipeipuppet.com Nearest MRT Station: Shuanglian

Taichung Taichung Zhongshan Hall（台中中山堂） Add: 98 Xueshi Rd., Taichung City ( 台中市學士路 9 8 號 )

Tel: (04) 2230-3100 www.tccgc.gov.tw

National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts（國立台灣美術館） Add: 2 Wuquan W. Rd., Sec. 1, Taichung City ( 台中市五權 西 路 一段 2 號 )

Tel: (04) 2372-3552 www.tmoa.gov.tw

Tainan Tainan City Cultural Center （台南市立文化中心）

Add: 332 Zhonghua E. Rd., Sec. 3, Tainan City ( 台南 市中華東 路 3 段 332 號 )

Tel: (06) 269-2864 www.tmcc.gov.tw

Kaohsiung

Novel Hall（新舞臺）

Kaohsiung City Chungcheng Cultural Center（高雄市立中正文化中心）

Add: 3 Songshou Rd., Taipei City

Add: 67 Wufu 1st Rd., Kaohsiung City

( 台北市松 壽路 3 號 )

( 高 雄 市五福 一路 67 號 )

Tel: (02) 2722-4302 www.novelhall.org.tw Nearest MRT Station: Taipei City Hall

Tel: (07) 222-5136 ext. 8908, 8909, 8910 www.khcc.gov.tw (Chinese only) Nearest KMRT Station: Cultural Center

National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts（高雄市立美術館）

（國立國父紀念館）

Add: 505 Ren-ai Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei City ( 台北市仁 愛 路 四 段 5 0 5 號 )

Tel: (02) 2758-8008 www.yatsen.gov.tw/english Nearest MRT Station: Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

Taipei Arena（台北小巨蛋） Add: 2 Nanjing E. Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei City ( 台北市 南 京 東 路 4 段 2 號 )

Tel: (02) 2577-3500 www.taipeiarena.com.tw Nearest MRT Station: Nanjing E. Rd.

Add: 80 Meishuguan Rd., Kaohsiung City ( 高 雄 市美 術館 路 8 0 號 )

Tel: (07) 555-0331 www.kmfa.gov.tw Nearest KMRT Station: Aozihdi Station

Kaohsiung Museum of History （高雄市立歷史博物館）

Add: 272 Zhongzheng 4th Rd., Kaohsiung City ( 高 雄 市中正四 路 27 2 號 )

Tel: (07) 531-2560 http://w5.kcg.gov.tw/khm/index.asp Nearest KMRT Station: City Council

7

Travel in Taiwan

FEATURE

FROM MAD TO

NORMAL Two Decades of Cycling around Taiwan

BICYCLING

Taiwanese people thought me mad for cycling around Taiwan. They told me so. Repeatedly. For most of the first decade I lived here. Then, for the last ten years, local people have thrown themselves into cycling as a sport and hobby with characteristic passion. And now just about every dedicated Taiwanese cyclist has done a “round-island� trip or is thinking about it.

Photo / Jen Guo Chen

By Mark Caltonhill

FEATURE

Through an old railway tunnel

Along Taipei’s rivers

Things

could hardly be different. Twenty years ago, even though the bike I had ridden back home in Britain and those of many of my cycling f riends had been made in Taiwan, af ter I arrived here I found that most of these models were “export only” and my choice of two-wheeler was extremely limited, f urther restricted by my above-average height.

Nevertheless, I got hold of a nice, sturdy bike for roundtown use and, although not the touring model I would have liked, found a mountain bike suitable for longer trips. That there were no dedicated bike paths wasn’t such a shock: I’d lived in such cycling paradises as Denmark and the Netherlands, but two decades ago there weren’t very many bike paths in the UK either.

Being expected to give way to all larger vehicles in all situations was more of a surprise, and even today overseas visitors should not always assume that highway regulations will be followed to the letter. This situation has improved markedly, however, due to the construction of thousands of kilometers of bike paths. Taipei alone has riverside paths running north-south f rom Danshui to Xindian, and eastwest f rom the edge of Keelung out to Yingge and beyond to Daxi in Taoyuan County. When I did a second roundTaiwan trip last year, my f irst 60 kilometers and f inal 30 kilometers were on completely car-f ree bike paths, as were many more in between. This was completely different f rom

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Travel in Taiwan

Smaller roads lead you to mountains and waterf alls

the f irst such trip many years earlier.

Another huge change has been in the number of fellow riders. In the 1990s it was possible to cycle around the country without seeing a single other cycle-tourist; now one can barely go a kilometer. Taiwan’s cyclists fall into two main groups: one is made up of so-called credit-card tourers, on sleek top-of-the-range racing bikes, dressed in the latest styles, carrying little more than a water bottle and a credit card, staying in hotels and guesthouses, and eating wherever hunger demands; the other is made up of recently graduated students, recently f reed-f rom-childcare mothers and other rookie riders, usually on mountain bikes, folding bikes or even “sit up and beg bikes,” carrying panniers f illed with everything they can imagine needing and covering rather fewer kilometers each day.

Despite

the difference in appearance and ability, cycling in Taiwan is exceedingly egalitarian. Riding a bike is a shared passion that sets cyclists apart f rom the rest of society, and cyclists indiscriminately urge each other on and swap information about routes and conditions.

Whichever group you fall into, good preparations are recommended. Many foreign residents and locals publish English-language blogs about cycling in Taiwan. These, as well as general forums such as www.f orumosa.com, provide insight on equipment, accommodation and routes, and are

Photos / Jen Guo Chen, Vision Int'l

Bikeways are easy to find

BICYCLING as well good places to meet other cyclists if traveling alone is not to your fancy.

Round the Island

History buffs should def initely take in the island’s oldest buildings in the city of Tainan; those interested in aboriginal culture should linger in the counties and cities of Taitung and Hualien; beach-lovers might want to include Kending, at the southern tip of the island; gourmets and gourmands will want to make innumerable stops (see page 13), and wildlife af icionados will be happy to know that their route passes through or near all the national parks of Taiwan proper.

There are two main “round-island” routes: one that does pretty much circle the island, and one that takes a more inland route. The latter, known as the san-heng (“triple cross-island highway”) route, has more spectacular scenery, climbs to higher than 3,000 meters, and includes Taiwan’s highest roads. It is not for beginners, therefore; my f irst trip I took a half-day detour to cycle and moreover, since parts of the cross-island highways are up and down Taroko Gorge, while on my amended occasionally closed following typhoon/earthquake-induced triple cross-island highway ride last year I took a twolandslide damage, we shall concentrate here on the more day break to climb Yushan, Taiwan’s highest peak at 3,952 accessible route that is by far the most popular way to meters above sea level. circumnavigate Taiwan.

Typically, 100 kilometers per day The f irst choice in deciding your At around 1,000 kilometers in is not excessive, so many cyclists route is between traveling clockwise or total, the trip will take different allow about ten days for the counter-clockwise. On both occasions I amounts of time for different 1,000-km round-island route selected the latter, because as a fan of the people depending on the individual’s outdoors I wanted to save the east coast’s competence and interests. Typically, 100 kilometers per day spectacular scenery for last.

This route also means cyclists is not excessive, so many cyclists allow about ten days, will be nicely warmed up by the time they encounter the more for beginners – but apparently one nutcase has done hardest climbs of the trip. the route in less than 48 hours, during which he slept for a The second choice concerns roads. Heading clockwise: couple of hours in the southeast coast city of Taitung.

On the east coast there are a number of routes connecting While maintaining a steady pace is always important Taipei and Yilan County. Most popular are a) the No. 2 in cycling, it would nevertheless be a shame for visitors to coastal highway via Keelung, Fulong, and Toucheng; b) the miss out on the other treats Taiwan has to offer, so allocate No. 106 and 102 through the mining towns of southeast more time if possible.

On

If you want to keep the stunning scenery of the east coast for last, circle the island counter-clockwise

More

11

Travel in Taiwan

since drinking alcohol is less popular here than in the West, cycling can be safer than at home.

Nevertheless, a bike helmet, ref lective strips, and lights are thoroughly recommended (though most local riders seem to disagree). I even have a bright orange f lag on the end of a meter-long pole waving f rom the back of my bike.

Plan well but be open to changes. The more research you do before your trip, the more you Taipei in the evening, the perfect ending to a long will get to see and do. But bicycle tour by talking with cyclists along the route you will Taipei County (now New Taipei City), and c) the No. 5 f ind other places worth visiting, so try to build f lexibility connecting Taipei and Yilan via Pinglin. into your plans.

From the port of Suao at the south end of Yilan County And lastly, remember you are not mad. In fact, cycling there is but one road to Hualien, the No. 9. But what a around the island is now said to be one of the three road it is! When my sister visited Taiwan shortly af ter a great outdoor challenges to be tackled trip to California, she said it was From the port of Suao in Yilan County in Taiwan (the others are joining better than the highly acclaimed there is but one road to Hualien, the the annual Sun Moon Lake swim and Big Sur. climbing Yushan). Indeed, no one has No. 9. But what a road it is!

Af ter the city of Hualien called me mad for over a decade. But there is a choice between staying on the No. 9 through neither, now that there are thousands of cyclists on the East Rif t Valley or taking the No. 11 along the coast.

Taiwan’s roads, do the island’s hospitable residents wind Beyond the city of Taitung, some cyclists follow the No. down their car windows as they pass to offer me bottles of 9 to the west coast, while “purists” insist on taking in water, snacks, and shouts of encouragement, as they did on Taiwan’s southernmost tip at Eluanbi in Kenting National that f irst trip in that different era.

Park. (These same people will also extend their journey to KEELUNG include the north coast, of course, adding an almost-100Danshui {ENGLisH & CHINESE} kilometer loop f rom Taipei to Danshui, Jinshan, Keelung, TAIPEI and back to Taipei, which is well recommended if time 淡水 Danshui 大溪 Daxi YILAN allows.) 花東縱谷 East Rift The west coast, with its greater population and Valley 鵝鸞鼻 Eluanbi TAICHUNG wide plains between the mountains and sea, offers a 福隆 Fulong Taroko Gorge wide choice of routes. Travelers should f irst decide on 金山 Jinshan Sun Moon Lake HUALIEN 墾丁國家公園 Kenting which sights they would like to visit, then research National Park accommodation options, and f inally select a route that 坪林 Pinglin 三橫 san-heng joins these dots. 蘇澳 Suao TAINAN TAITUNG Naturally, choosing smaller roads will be more scenic 日月潭 Sun Moon Lake and means less traff ic, but could add signif icantly to the 太魯閣峽谷 Taroko Gorge KAOHSIUNG 頭城 Toucheng time required. And remember, once you get to Taoyuan 新店 Xindian County, there is the option of taking a cycle path all the 鶯歌 Yingge 玉山 Yushan way back to Taipei.

Kenting A Few Final Tips: Always put safety f irst. Taiwan’s National Park drivers are no more dangerous than anywhere else. In fact,

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Travel in Taiwan

Photos / Jen Guo Chen, vision int'l

FEATURE

EAT

Roadside Food

Changhua meatball

Something New and Delicious in Every Town

By Mark Caltonhill

Shenkeng stink y tofu

Madou“bowl pudding”

Different

cities and towns around Taiwan are not merely famous for local specialty foods and dishes; sometimes their names have even been appropriated to market the foods wherever they are sold. Thus soymilk is of ten called “Yonghe” soymilk even if it has no connection with the Taipei suburb, just as a papaya milkshake is of ten called a “Kaohsiung” papaya milkshake and custard apples are of ten sold as “Taitung” custard apples.

Cycling around Taiwan offers a chance to try many of these treats in their places of origin.

Some of the better known include (traveling counter-clockwise f rom Taipei):

• shenkeng stinky tofu 深坑臭豆腐 • Longtan peanut candy 龍潭花生糖 • Daxi dried beancurd 大溪豆干 • Hsinchu rice-flour noodles 新竹米粉 • Dajia butter pastries 大甲奶油酥餅 • Taichung sun cakes 台中太陽餅 • Puli shaohsing Wine 埔里紹興酒 • Changhua meatballs 彰化肉圓 • Yuanlin preserved fruit 員林蜜餞 • Chiayi turkey meat on rice 嘉義火雞肉飯

• Madou“ bowl pudding ”麻豆碗 粿 • Kaohsiung goose meat hot pot 高雄鵝肉火鍋 • Kaohsiung papaya milkshake 高雄木瓜牛奶 • Wanluan pork trotters 萬巒豬腳 • Taitung custard apples 台東釋迦 • Hualien mochi 花蓮麻糬 • Yilan onion pancakes 宜蘭蔥油餅 • Fulong railway lunchboxes 福隆火車便當 • Keelung Miaokou Night Market tempura

• Xiluo soy sauce 西螺醬油 • Tainan“ shoulder pole noodles ”台南擔仔麵 • Anping beancurd blancmange 安平豆花 • Dongshan marinated duck head 東山鴨頭

• Danshui“ iron eggs ”淡水鐵蛋 • shilin Night Market large chicken steak

Hualien mochi

基隆廟口夜市甜不辣

Hsinchu rice-flour noodles

士林大雞排

• Yonghe soymilk 永和豆漿

On a more practical note, visitors should note that cycling 100 kilometers can use up more than 3,000 calories of energy, and a trip around the whole island can therefore consume in excess of 30,000 calories. While cycling is an excellent way to lose weight, rapid weight loss is not healthy, and cyclists should consider supplementary sources of nutrition.

Even more important is the provision of water. Taiwan tends to be hot and humid, and sweating increases normal f luid requirements. Cyclists spending a long time on dedicated bike paths – which tend not to have convenience stores or restaurants – or heading into mountainous areas should prepare adequate resources of water as well as food.

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Travel in Taiwan

STAY

Accommodation

New Life Hot Spring Resort

for Cyclists

Places Paying Special Attention to the Needs of Bikers

By Mark Caltonhill

New Life Hot Spring Resort

Naruwan Inn

On

the east-coast leg of my f irst round-island trip in the early 1990s, I carried a tent, which I pitched at schools, temples, and parks af ter invites f rom generous local people. On the west-coast leg, I stayed in budget hotels. These were generally clean but basic, and cost around NT$500 per night. Most allowed me to take my bike into my room. They were easy to f ind around a town’s main railway or bus station.

At that time, these were pretty much the only options outside big cities other than f ive-star and business hotels. Since then, there has been a revolution in Taiwan’s tourism culture, partly due to a doubling of leisure time when work hours for white-collar jobs were reduced to a f ive-day week.

Budget hotels are still available (now at around NT$1,000), but there has been an explosion of other options, including niche and boutique hotels, family-run homestays, and backpacker hostels. The following are three

14

Travel in Taiwan

examples f rom the low-, middle-, and higher-end price ranges, all of which cater specif ically to cyclists’ needs.

Joser Bike Hostel Located behind a Giant bike store at the end (or beginning, depending on which direction you approach f rom) of the spectacular cliff-hugging coastal highway between Suao and Hualien, Joser offers little more than a bed.

Little, that is, except the company of fellow cyclists, and the enthusiasm of its cycle-crazy boss, Joser. NT$500/800 for single/double; just 5 rooms, so book ahead.

Add: 112, Suhua Rd., Sec. 5, Suao Township, Yilan County

( 宜蘭縣蘇澳鎮蘇花路 5 段 112 號 ) Tel: (03) 995-1595

New Life Hot Spring Resort ( 紐澳華溫泉山莊 ) Originally the private villa of hotspring-loving Leo Chen, this facility was later expanded into a resort. Now keen on cycling, Chen has converted

a couple of rooms into dormitories for budget travelers, but still offers them f ree hot-spring bathing and breakfast.

Rooms are available f rom NT$2,500 to NT$5,000, bunk beds for NT$800 per person.

Add: 41-5, (Antong) Wenquan, Yuli Township, Hualien County ( 花蓮縣玉里鎮 [ 安通 ] 溫泉 41-5 號 )

Tel:(03) 888-7333 Website: www.tws pa.com.tw

Naruwan Inn ( 娜路彎會館 ) This newly opened section of Taitung’s upscale Naruwan Hotel focuses on cyclists’ needs. Rooms have twin beds rather than doubles, and wall f ittings on which two bikes can be hung. Rentals are available at NT$200 per day. NT$2,500 ~ 2,700 per room, breakfast included.

Add: 385, Zhongxing Rd., Sec. 2, Taitung City

( 台東市中興路二段 385 號 ) Tel:(089) 235-500 Website: www.naruwan-inn.com.tw

BUY

World-Class Bikes

Made in Taiwan

There’s No Shortage of Quality Bicycles Available in Shops around the Island

By Mark Caltonhill

Photos / Vision Int'l, Ho Xie-Cheng, Maggie Song

When

buying a bike, the usual advice is to spend as much as you can. This is because a complete bike constructed in the factory is better value than buying the components separately.

Deciding that the bike you bought needs upgrading can end up costing a lot more than splashing out for a good model initially, especially since a good bike is going to last for decades.

Furthermore, unlike three or four years ago when customers had to wait months for a bike of their choice, most models can now be collected almost immediately.

This said, there are still many decisions to be made. Most important is whether to buy a race bike, touring bike, mountain bike, folding bike, something else, or some hybrid combining features of two of these.

In Taipei, the Neihu District, which has around a dozen bike stores around the junction of Ruiguang and Gangqian roads, is a good place to start

looking. Giant and Merida, Taiwan’s two biggest cycle manufacturers, both have stores there.

Asked about a model suited to doing the round-island route, Merida (100, Ruiguang Rd.) recommended a mountain bike, with models ranging f rom around NT$10,000 up to NT$40,000 that featured distinct improvements for the extra costs. Mountain bikes, staff argued, are sturdy and have aggressive gearing to handle Taiwan’s many hills.

The Giant branch (106, Ruiguang Rd.) stocks a range of mountain bikes, but staff said that most people are opting for road bikes nowadays, since these tend to be lighter and with a geometry that puts the cyclist in a posture that allows faster riding.

Neither store had what I would call a classic touring bicycle. Both companies bring out what they call a tourer every year or two (though not in 2010 or 2011), but these tend to be on the heav y side.

Cyclists

wishing to splash out a bit more and receive customized service can try an independent dealer.

One such, Howard Chen of Howard’s Bikes in Taipei (27, Lane 22, Guangf u S. Rd.), is an ex-triathlete who now organizes Taiwan’s Ironman events.

He speaks excellent English and sits down with customers to discuss what they want f rom a bike. For touring, he recommended a hybrid road bike that is North American-designed but Taiwan-manufactured.

Giant, the world’s number one bike maker, also has the local rental market cornered. Rentals are available at most of its stores, as well as near railway stations and tourist attractions. For a list of its rental stations around Taiwan, visit www.giant-bic ycles.com/ zh-TW /page /555/ (Chinese). {ENGLisH & CHINESE}

Neihu District Gangqian Rd. Guangfu S. Rd. Ruiguang Rd.

內湖區 港墘路 光復南路 瑞光路

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Travel in Taiwan

FEATURE

Five Top Routes Cycling the Highways and High Ways of Taiwan

By Mark Caltonhill

I cycled

more than 10,000 kilometers in Taiwan last year, the equivalent of going around the entire island 10 times. While this included almost daily trips to the market and countless predawn training runs with the Yangmingshan Cycling Club, there were also bike races in the counties of Miaoli, Hualien, and Taoyuan, as well as in Kending in the far south, explorations of the outlying islands of Penghu and Kinmen, and a round-island tour that took in Taiwan’s highest public road. The trips I like best tend to be challenging, as I seek to get away f rom civilization and into the mountains and these are of ten not suitable for all cyclists. The following f ive are representative of all levels, therefore; three for beginners, one for those of intermediate ability, and one that is a little more diff icult.

Lotus Lake and Love River Taipei City has hundreds of kilometers of bike paths, which offer a gentle introduction to cycling, but it was Kaohsiung that CNN selected as one of its “5 best biking cities in Asia” in 2010, crediting the local government with establishing a system of 50 self-service bike-rental kiosks and creating 150 kilometers of well-designed bike paths.* One of these starts at the city’s popular tourist site of Lotus Lake, passes the Indigenous Plant Garden, Tianhou Temple, and Kaohsiung Arena, then passes the Hakka Culture Museum, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, and Zhongdu Tangrong Brick Kiln along the Love River.

Allow a f ull day in order to give suff icient attention to these various attractions. *htt p://www.cnngo.com/ex plorations /play /asias-most-bike- f riendl y-cities-982373

Sun Moon Lake Many tourists consider Sun Moon Lake a must-see on any visit to Taiwan, and many of these enjoy traveling by boat between the various local attractions, among them Xuanzang Temple, the love-themed shrine at Longfeng Temple, Ita Thao (an aboriginal village), and Lalu Island

16

Travel in Taiwan

in the middle of the lake. Cien Pagoda, on a hill above the lake, can be reached by trail or vehicle, and nearby Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village (a theme park) can be reached by cable car or vehicle. With the creation of the cherry-tree-lined bike route that circumnavigates the lake, cyclists have another option for visiting Sun Moon Lake’s sights – save for Lalu Island, of course.

Allow at least half a day for a leisurely tour.

Little Kinmen Measuring around 20 kilometers in circumference and featuring a combination of bike path and quiet roads, Lieyu (also known as Little Kinmen) is ideal for a tranquil ride. Smaller than the main island, Kinmen, but similarly within sight of the mainland China coastline, it shares many of Kinmen’s abundant touristic attractions. These include wetlands, military fortif ications, tunnels, disused salt f lats, and oyster farms. Moreover, with the Kinmen County Government and Kinmen National Park both keen to promote eco-f riendly transportation, f ree bike hire is available for up to three days simply by showing your ID. For cyclists bringing their own bikes, the NT$50 bike fee for the ferry between Kinmen and Lieyu is waived.

TOP FIVE MOUNTAINS

Photos / Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration, Yannick Cariot, Jeng Guo Chen, Aska Chi, Vision Int'l

Taipei to Yilan The eastern part of New Taipei City (until recently “Taipei County”), where former mining communities cling to misty hillsides, has some of the most scenic cycling routes accessible f rom the capital.

In addition to pure biking adventures such as the ascent to the weather station on Mt. Wufen, there are routes that take you through the old town of Jiufen, past the gold museum at Jinguashi, and along the Pingxi Branch Railway Line. More experienced cyclists take pleasure in following provincial and county highway Nos. 106/102/2 across the hills and along the coast toward Yilan, with some taking a different route back (such as Prov. Hw y No. 9 or, even more challenging, the Northern Cross-Island Highway [No. 7]), making a round trip of around 160 kilometers or more. Others take the bus back, which allows f ree transportation of bikes.

Wuling Pass Anyone cycling for a while in Taiwan will hear of the fabled Wuling pass. At 3,275 meters, it is the highest point on a public road in the country. Along with doing a “round the island” trip, following the Central Cross-island Highway and ascending to Wuling is the ambition of most local riders. The road f rom west and east is thronged with twowheelers on warm spring and summer days. Leaving the 90 kilometers of Prov. Hw y No. 8 f rom the Hualien County coastline – with some 13-percent inclines in sections – for

a later adventure, most cyclists attempt the 55 kilometers of Highway No. 14, starting in the town of Puli. The route f rom here requires a total ascent of around 2,750 meters, equivalent to an average gradient of 5 percent.

Allow plenty of time, especially if you don’t have f riends with a car to collect you at the top.

{ENGLisH & CHINESE}

Central Cross-Island Highway Cien Pagoda Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village Hakka Culture Museum Kaohsiung Arena Ita Thao Indigenous Plant Garden Jinguashi Jiufen Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts Lalu Island Longfeng Temple Lotus Lake Love River Lieyu Little Kinmen Mt. Wufen Northern Cross-Island Highway Pingxi Pingxi Branch Railway Line Tianhou Temple Wuling Xuanzang Temple Zhongdu Tangrong Brick Kiln

中部橫貫公路 慈恩塔 九族文化村 客家文物舘 高雄巨蛋綜合體育館 伊達邵 原生植物園 金瓜石 九份 高雄市立美術館 拉魯島 龍鳳宮 蓮池潭 愛河 烈嶼 小金門 五分山 北部橫貫公路 平溪 平溪線 天后宮 武嶺 玄奘寺 中都唐榮磚窯廠

17

Travel in Taiwan

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Travel in Taiwan

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19

Travel in Taiwan

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Longshan Temple

Longshan Temple

Lugang Step into the coastal town of Lugang, one of Taiwan’s shining cultural assets, and you step back into Taiwan pioneering time. Chinese settlement of Taiwan started at the same time as European settlement of North America, and Lugang was long one of Taiwan’s three main ports in the era of sail, the gateway to central Taiwan. Silting put an end to its economic prowess over a century ago, leaving the town f rozen in economic time – good news for today’s tourists, for Lugang’s priceless trove of colorf ul temples, shophouses, mansions, and other heritage buildings, and its picturesque narrow streets and alleys, has survived almost intact, creating Taiwan’s most complete collection of classical-town architecture.

Lugang is home to more than 70 large temples, but its two greatest are Tianhou Temple and Longshan Temple, always thick with people and incense smoke. Tianhou Temple was built in the early 1700s as home to a late-1600s icon of Mazu, Goddess of the Sea, one of whose emperor-granted titles is Tianhou, Empress of Heaven. Lugang claims this as Taiwan’s oldest Mazu shrine, housing an icon said to have been brought by the admiral who took Taiwan for the Qing Dynasty f rom Chinese loyalists in the 1680s. Longshan Temple was built by early Chinese settlers to thank Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy, for their safe passage across the treacherous Taiwan Strait. This is one of Taiwan’s most artistically signif icant and best-preserved temples.

Handicraft shop

Gate of Tianhou Temple

Traditional Handicrafts In 1895 the Japanese took over Taiwan and abruptly closed down Lugang’s port and its crucial trade with the Chinese mainland. Their trade cut off, local f irms turned to manufacturing such handicraf ts as wooden f urniture and other articles for island sale. The town soon emerged as a key center for traditional-handicraf t production, and today scores of shops feature talented artisans wielding age-old skills introduced to Taiwan hundreds of years ago by their ancestors – religious icons and other paraphernalia, incense, kites, lanterns, oil-paper and bamboo umbrellas, tinware, fans, pottery, carved wooden f urniture, and more.

Old Market Street and parallel Zhongshan Road teem with ref urbished Qing Dynasty shophouses where you can ogle – and perhaps buy as take-home gif ts – traditional toys, craf ts, clothing, and other classical accouterments.

Craf tsmen of ten work right in the storef ronts, and visitors are welcome to watch and interact. Proof of Lugang’s status as Taiwan’s premier handicraf t center is the fact it has the most winners of the prestigious Living Heritage Award, created by the Ministry of Education to recognize Taiwan’s top artists and artisans. Here we meet some of these great masters, who have also won countless other cultural awards.

Photos /Changhua County Cultural Affairs Bureau, Vision int’l

Wu Dun-hou is the island’s most celebrated master of the traditional Chinese decorated lantern, his Wu Dun-hou Lantern Shop located at 312 Zhongshan Rd. Master Wu has been in the trade for more than 60 years, and has dedicated his life to passing on the traditional skills and promoting traditional lanterns as art.

Wu Dun-hou

Chen Wan-neng is recognized as the island’s leading craf tsman working with tin, the leading light of the Chen family which has been creating traditional Taiwanese craf ts out of tin for generations. His most famous work is his repertoire of legendary gods and creatures of folklore and their exploits. The Wan-neng Tin Sculpture shop is at 81 Longshan St.

Wu Qing-bo is a sculptor, creating exquisitely detailed statues of Chinese-religion

Chen Wan-neng

deities and other temple-worship items at his shop at 21, Lane 108, Minzu Rd. He represents the f if th generation at this shop, and follows the classical sculpting style of the Quanzhou area in China’s south Fu jian, f rom whence his own ancestors came as did those of a great many other Taiwanese.

Shi Zhi-hui is also a master wood sculptor who follows the Quanzhou style and specializes in Buddhist deities and other f igures of legend. Honing his inimitable skills for over sixty years now, since he was 16 and an apprentice at the foot of his celebrated father, he is noted for distinctive character poses and mise-en-scenes, as well as for the dignity of his characters. His shop is at 655 Fuxing Rd.

Wu Qing-bo

Shi Zhen-yang was born into a carving family in 1946, and began his apprenticeship at the age of ten. He specializes in traditional architectural decorations, generally closely related to folk religion, and has taken part in the ref urbishment and building of numerous famous temples in central and southern Taiwan. Shi specializes in woodcarvings of large size, such as dragon pillars, inscribed boards, decorative carvings, ceiling panels, and wall reliefs.

Li Song-lin, master carver of religious iconry, unfortunately passed away in 1999.

Thankf ully, however, his skills have been passed on to his son, Li Bing-gui, who carries on the emphasis in Buddhist imagery at the Song-lin Art Sculpture Center at 51 Putou St. The Li clan came f rom mainland China almost 200 years ago to work on Longshan Temple as woodcarvers, settling down in Lugang af terwards. The elder Li was noted for his temple f igurines, some of which grace Tianhou Temple

Zheng Ying-xie is Lugang’s, and Taiwan’s, most famous goldsmith, at his trade 50-

Shi Zhi-hui

Shi Zhen-yang

Son of Li Song-Lin, Li Bing-gui

plus years. A poor farmer boy, he lef t for Taipei at 18 to apprentice in goldsmithing with a famous China master, then opened his own Lugang shop in 1976, achieving fame with magnif icent gold teapots and since then producing ever more complex works illustrating Taiwan’s history, culture, and customs. His business is at 185 Zhongshan Rd.

Lugang Osmanthus Alley Artist Village

This special cultural project has seen the saving and ref urbishment of old, disused buildings in Lugang’s old district – worker dormitories built during the 1895-1945 Japanese colonial period – now used both as a showcase for the architecture and culture of the past and as an incubator for new artistic cultural creation, with local and foreign artists (primarily visual artists) living in residence and provided with living quarters, workshops, and display space. This is an open-concept facility, with public visits warmly invited and with regular exhibits and performances plus a visitor center and educational facilities, and is designed to serve as a place of creative ferment and inspiration for art in Taiwan’s central area. The artist village is located on Gongyuan Rd. For more information about traveling in Changhua County, please visit the following website: http://tourism.chcg.gov.tw/english/index.aspx

Zheng Ying-xie

Lugang Osmanthus Alley Artist Village

Contact Info Lugang Town Office(鹿港鎮公所) Tel: 04-7772006 Add:168 Minquan Road, Lugang Town, Changhua County, Taiwan 505 www.lukang.gov.tw /

Peculiar Taiwan

Chinese Temple Parades You

By Rick Charette

hear them coming before you see them. Out of the blasts of music from drum, Chinese flute, cymbal, and gong comes the

head of the Chinese temple parade, impossibly oversized and extravagantly

costumed characters, each a puppet, each w ith a hard-working and overheating young man inside. A god f rom a local temple is on an inspection tour, or off to visit another god elsewhere. He is in a sedan chair further back. In local belief the next world is much like this, except more a reflection of imperial times. The ornate puppets at parade’s head are officials and guardians in the service of their sedan-chair overlord, clearing the way for their master, scaring off lurking evil. The young mortals inside take great pride in bringing life to their puppet better than any other player, strutting about with the pomp and grandiosity an imperial-day retinue had, with impossibly wide gaits and swinging arms sometimes spanning ten feet.

For a light-hearted and deliberately kitschy look at these characters and temple prayer, see the recent surprise international Youtube music-video hit Bobee, by Taiwan entertainer Lotus Wang (王彩樺). “Bobee” (保庇) is

Photos / Vision Int'l, Sunny Su

Taiwanese for “deity blessings and protection.”

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Travel in Taiwan

ON STAGE STAGE/OFF / OFFSTAGE STAGE

Taiwanese Opera A Synthesis of Old and New

As the most prominent theater company performing Taiwanese opera (gezaixi, literally “Theater of Songs�) in Taiwan today, Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group puts on shows that adapt traditional Chinese drama to the tastes of a modern audience. In many ways, the lives of the actors in this group exemplify the synthesis of old and new that occurs whenever the group goes on stage. By David Bratt

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Travel in Taiwan

MING HWA YUAN

As

Photo / Maggie Song

Elaborate costumes and stunning acrobatics are part of Taiwanese opera

Ming Hwa Yuan is beginning its performance on a chilly December night not far f rom the city of Hsinchu, I am struck by how many different worlds and eras are coming together in the moment. Behind me is the two-hundred-year-old Fumei Temple, which houses a statue of the god whose birthday the play is being staged to commemorate. Around me is a huge crowd of Taiwanese people, running the gamut f rom old to young, elegant to plain. On stage is a f if tystrong group of actors, who are going to launch into their presentation of a story set in imperial China. There’s a keen sense of anticipation as people move f rom the food stands near the entrance to the temple complex back to the plastic stools in f ront of the stage as the play begins.

And what a show it turns out to be! The story centers on the struggle of a young prince – played tonight

by Sun Tsui-feng, the shining star of Taiwanese opera and also the wife of Chen Sheng-f u, president of Ming Hwa Yuan – to overcome the slanderous accusations of one of the king’s scheming concubines and her cowardly son. Side plots abound, with a delightf ul performance by another of Ming Hwa Yuan’s husband-and-wife teams as a comical ne’er-do-well and his daughter, who ends up marrying the prince in a charming concluding scene. Delivering their lines in Taiwanese and with the benef it of lights, microphones, and all the other trappings of modern theater, the Ming Hwa Yuan actors give a performance that draws the crowd both in and together in a powerf ul way. And so it has been doing for seventy-two years.

This magic is intimately linked to the genesis and development of Taiwanese opera as an art form.

Taiwanese opera developed out of the folk songs that early Han Chinese immigrants brought with them to Taiwan f rom mainland China, settling into more or less the form it has today in the early 20th century. As in

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Travel in Taiwan

ON STAGE / OFF STAGE

The

companies have had to struggle with.

Under the leadership of Chen Shengf u, who in 1997 took over management of the company f rom his father (who founded it in 1929), Ming Hwa Yuan has incorporated signif icantly more modern production techniques and props. While he admits that these reforms have been controversial in some quarters, Chen stresses that they are the types of changes that companies like his have to make in order to survive.

Ming Hwa Yuan’s performances draw the crowd both in and together in a powerful way

What hasn’t changed are the rigorous requirements that Ming Hwa Yuan imposes upon all actors who want to join the troupe. One critical skill that they all must develop is the versatility to play all four of the ma jor character types. Chen explains that this requirement not only pushes the actors artistically, but also provides a large pool of understudies in case an actor is unable to perform and someone else has to step in to play the part.

Sun Tsui-feng is Secondly, actors must be the brightest star of able to play characters of the Taiwanese Opera opposite sex ( fan chuan). When I talk to her in the Ming Hwa Yuan rehearsal space later in the week, Sun Tsui-feng describes Typical fighting scene

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Travel in Taiwan

and models in entertaining detail the many intricacies of deportment and demeanor that one has to master to play the opposite gender. “Women in general tend to have a more closed and demure posture. When I started to play male roles, I had to learn to sit with my legs wide open, to make sweeping gestures and, of course, to speak in a much deeper voice.”

The hard work involved in developing these skills inf luences the actors’ off-stage lives in interesting ways. Sun recalls that early in her career she would exhaust herself in her preparations. “Once, I had to play an emperor in a play. I was so f ully invested in my preparations that I started acting like an emperor around my home, barking orders at my husband and children. Luckily, my husband is also involved in the theater, so he understood the pressure that I was under.” Sun recalls that as she grew more comfortable playing male characters, she was able to draw more clearly the line between life on and off the stage. “That changed, though, when my husband had me play a female character a few years ago. It may sound strange, but this was quite diff icult for me; it was a challenge relearning how to perform as a woman. Once again, I was bringing my work home, but this time I was acting extremely effeminate instead of masculine. line between home and professional life is of ten blurred for the actors of Ming Hwa Yuan, because for many of them Taiwanese opera is a family affair – some of the actors are thirdgeneration members, and there are several married couples among the cast and crew. The all-consuming pace of life for these actors can, of course, inf luence

The

Photos / Maggie Song

Peking opera, the lead characters in Taiwanese opera are divided into four broad categories: the male protagonist (sheng), which Sun Tsui-feng plays tonight to such great effect; the lead female character (dan); the so-called painted-face character ( jing), who typically plays a powerf ul, loud-voiced character such as a demon, general, or minister; and the jester (chou). Even though it became more formalized over the years, Taiwanese opera has never become rigidly formal – indeed, early on it was seen as the simple, even vulgar theater of the hoi polloi, while Peking opera and other more ref ined types of theater were viewed as the entertainment of the elite. This easy accessibility remains a primary feature of Taiwanese opera to this day: the actors do not sing in falsetto (unlike in Peking opera), there are all sorts of f un acrobatics, and there is plenty of humor. question of how to preserve the appeal and relevance of Taiwanese opera in the age of television and now the Internet is one that Ming Hwa Yuan and other

MING HWA YUAN the l ives and career direction of their children. For example, Sun and Chen’s daughter, Chen Zhao-xian, who formally joined the company last year, recalls that she thought it was the most natural thing in the world that she played a minor role in a Ming Hwa Yuan production at the age of f ive. “My parents were always singing and practicing l ines around the house, and so many of the kids I grew up around were involved in the theater. It just seemed l ike the most

natural thing to me.”

As I take a cab away f rom the performance to the train station, I ask the driver (who has also just seen the show) what he thinks. He pauses for a second and says, “You know, when I was a kid I didn’t like stuff like what Ming Hwa Yuan does. But now, I don’t know, it is just so much f un.”

While I’m sure Director Chen wouldn’t like to hear the f irst part of what the cabbie said, he’d probably be pretty happy about the conclusion.

Ming Hwa Yuan Arts & Cultural Group 明華園戲劇總團

132-7 Dali St., Wanhua District, Taipei City (台北市萬華區大理街 132 之7 號 ) Tel : ( 02 ) 27 72 - 9398 , ( 02 ) 27 72 - 78 63 Website: h t t p: / / t w o p e r a . c o m /

Add:

{ENGLisH & CHINESE}

Chen Sheng-fu Chen Zhao-xian

chou dan fan chuan Fumei Temple

gezaixi Hsinchu

A dressing room busy with Ming Hwa Yuan’s many performers getting ready for a show

jing sheng Sun Tsui-feng

陳勝福 陳昭賢 丑 旦 反串 富美宮 歌仔戲 新竹 淨 生 孫翠鳳

Edison Travel Service specializes in Taiwan tours and offers cheaper hotel room rates and car rental services with drivers .

Edison welcomes contact with other travel services around the world.

27

Travel in Taiwan

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Working with Wood Assembling Simple and Funny-Looking Wood Sculptures in Sanyi

The

small town of Sanyi in Miaoli County is not only Taiwan’s undisputed center for woodcarving but also a great destination for visitors who want to enjoy the slower pace of the countryside, go on leisurely cycling and hiking trips, visit farms and historic sites, and do some wood-art DIY. On a recent trip to Miaoli we stopped by Zhamu Workshop to have some DIY fun assembling strange-looking wood figures. Here’s how we did it:

1

Step 1 Zhamu Workshop has shelves full of finished art objects, giving you an idea of the creative possibilities. We were given the choice of using a kit containing all the elements needed to create a figure or to go to the storage room in the back and pick out pieces of wood for our own freestyle creations. We opted for both, using one kit to create a guitar-playing dude and using our imagination to create a surfer hippie.

3 Step 3 Once we had put together the figures it was time to add some hair. Using woolen thread and some glue, we created a fitting hairpiece for the hippie surfer. The body of the guitar player was covered with a fluffy boa.

2

Step 2

The process of creating the figures couldn’t be easier. There are precut wooden (Taiwan acacia) discs and tiny bits of branches that already have holes drilled into them, so the only task is figuring out where to start and how to attach the pieces using the thin metal pins provided.

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Travel in Taiwan

SANYI About Zhamu Workshop Zhamu Workshop, established in 2003, was originally a combination of private guesthouse (“homestay”) and wood-art workshop. Owners Lin Jin-chang, an accomplished woodcarving master, some of whose work is on display at the workshop, and his wife Zheng Yan-zhen gave up the guesthouse operation in 2008 and moved their workshop to a new location deep in the countryside, on the road between two well-known tourist attractions, the old Shengxing Railway Station and the ruins of Longteng Bridge. The workshop has a work area accommodating up to 120 persons, with large wooden tables and a storage room full of material for woodwork. Zhamu Workshop is a great place to make a stop on a tour of the county of Miaoli, creating funny wooden sculptures and enjoying a cup of coffee on the patio while taking in the surrounding farmland and verdant hills.

Zhamu Workshop

Add: 21-2, Waizhuang, Neighborhood 3, Longteng Village,

Sanyi Township, Miaoli County ( 苗栗縣三義鄉龍騰村3鄰外庄 21-2號)

Tel: (370) 881-125, 0921-635-360 (pick-up from Sanyi Railway Station can be arranged.)

Web: www.zhamu.idv.tw

4

Step 4 The final step was painting the faces using simple watercolors. Since we liked the natural feel of the wood we merely added some paint to create the eyes and accentuate the hands and feet of the guitar player. Creating the figures is easy and fun, especially for kids. We too had a lot of fun, and want to thank Ms. Zheng Yan-zhen for introducing us to her unique workshop!

Photos / Sunny Su

GETTING THERE

During the week, Zhamu Workshop offers DIY courses exclusively f or groups o f 10 or more; during the weekend individuals and groups o f all sizes are welcome ( please call in advance). Wood- f igure kits are priced at NT$250 (20% discount f or groups o f 10 or more). To make it eas y to take home these f ragile f igures, Zhamu Workshop prepares convenient gi f t boxes f or visitors.

{ENGLisH & CHINESE}

Lin Jin-chang Longteng Bridge Miaoli Sanyi Shengxing Railway Station Zhamu Workshop Zheng Yan-zhen Zhunan

林進昌 龍騰斷橋 苗栗 三義 勝興火車站 札木工房 鄭燕貞 竹南

To get to the city of Miaoli by train you have to take the Mountain Line of the Nor th-Sou th railway connec ting the major cities on the wes tern sid e of Taiwan. The Mountain Line s tar ts sou th of Zhunan, and it doesn’ t take long from there before you are surround ed by the charming, rolling hills of Miaoli County. From the city of Miaoli it’s 20 minu tes by local train to Sanyi Railway Station, located at the far nor thern end of town. Since the dis tances between points of interes t in the Sanyi area are significant and taking public buses is ver y inconvenient, your bes t bet is to rent a motorscooter or a bicycle near the s tation to get around.

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Travel in Taiwan

THE BEST ROUTE

Over Hump the

Driving the Central Cross-Island Highway

My contender for Taiwan’s most magnificent drive, taking you above deep valleys, down into deep valleys, soaring up to the island’s highest road-point and eye to eye with the peaks of an Olympian line of mountain giants, and down, down into and through a long and impossibly narrow thousand-meter-high gorge. The Central Cross-Island Highway.

By Rick Charette

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Travel in Taiwan

CENTRAL TAIWAN

Highway, a grandiose engineering feat with long sections hugging sheer cliff averaging over 800 meters high.

Let’s get to it. The only way to go, for both this and the southern route, is selfdrive, releasing you from time pressures and allowing as much time as you please at what turn out to be your favorite sites. So let’s get a car. Most travelers to Taiwan come in through Taipei, so we’ll assume this is

Central Cross-Island Highway at Wuling

Photos / Aska Chi

One

of Travel in Taiwan’s other regular feature writers, Steven Crook, insists the Southern Cross-Island Highway beats this route for sheer majesty. But I say I trump him with the fact that once you emerge from the Central Cross-Island Highway at the rugged east coast, where the mighty Taroko Gorge abruptly disappears and disgorges its river-sculptor into the Pacif ic, you can immediately launch on the Suao-Hualien

THE BEST ROUTE your base. Reputable rental f irms accustomed to dealing with foreigners advertise in the nation’s three English-language newspapers; another option is to visit the Taiwan Tourism Bureau’s website (www.taiwan.net.tw), which means vetting has been done (click on “Getting Around” – “Car Rental” on the English main page). You’ll need to present an international driver’s licence and your passport. For a trip of 2-3 days a small sedan will be about NT$2,000 daily, a larger sedan like a Toyota Camry about NT$3,000; prices include compulsory insurance and tax, and you’ll have to leave a deposit, likely NT$10,000.

Next, get the most detailed maps and tourist information available. The place to go is the Tourism Bureau’s Travel Service Center on the f irst f loor at 240 Dunhua N. Rd., near the city’s Songshan Airport, where staff speak good English and the stock of printed material is wide-ranging. Also, take note of the bureau’s 24h toll-free hotline (0800-011-765).

WHAT’S UP ON THE WAY FROM CENTRAL TO NORTH TAIWAN There were many amazing things seen on this road-trip. Let me show you some!

Qingjing Set tlement

Time

to trace the route. Lay out the maps, f inger at the ready. Also pull up Google Map, using the satellite map option, which gives a good idea of the topography.

Just south of Taichung City, National Freeway No. 3 connects with No. 6, which ends at the high-hills basin town of Puli, connecting in turn with Provincial Highway No. 14 for our high-mountain climb. Though on the ground you won’t notice a change and the road will continue to run straight and true, it becomes No. 14A at the town of Wushe and then No. 8 on the east “downslope” for our run to Taroko Gorge and coast.

From Puli to coast we’re on the Central Cross-Island Highway. Note that the true, original central highway was the full length of No. 8 – look on the map to the north, starting north of Taichung – but earthquake and typhoon has caused the likely permanent closing of a long section (shown clearly on the Google map).

In terms of length and time needed, you could drive from the start of No. 6 to the east coast in 5-6 hours, with minimal stops. The question is, why? The drive deserves three days minimum, including the (minimum) two-hour-plus drives to/ from Taipei at trip’s head and tail. Stay the f irst night at one of the many f ine homestays or hotels at Qing jing Farm, and stay the second night right in Taroko Gorge. Here’s how things went on my most recent trip (I’ve been thrice now), just af ter Christmas. All sites visited are right on the highway, not a single detour needed.

1

The 37.5-km No. 6 is a great ride. Just a couple of years old, it is raised high above the ground, and as you shoot out of the many tunnels you’re high above the valley f loors and small settlements below, with deepgreen mountains on both sides as backdrop. It whisks you from Taichung to Puli in just 20 minutes or so, much faster than the building-crowded parallel section of No. 14.

As No. 6 enters Puli Basin, you see the town on the right.

The massive Chung Tai Chan Monastery (www.ctworld.org) dominates the basin on the lef t (north). Take the Zhongzheng Rd. exit and go north following the signs on No. 21. The day

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Travel in Taiwan

Tianfeng Pagoda at Taroko

Popsicle of Puli Brewer y

Wuling

CENTRAL TAIWAN

View from Qingjing Garden Chung Tai Chan Monaster y

Hualien County 1

8

Dayuling

Taichung City

Mt. Hehuan 3

Green Green Grassland Chung Tai Chan Monastery

Wushe 14

6

Wuling

Tianxiang

Small Swiss Garden Mt. Qilai Mt. Nenggao

Puli

Nantou County

N

Qingjing Garden

Green Green Grassland

Photos / Aska Chi

Silk s Place Taroko

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Travel in Taiwan

THE BEST ROUTE

Taroko Gorge

hotels hovering over steep slopes, is marked at bottom by a 7-Eleven and at top by another, the latter Taiwan’s highest convenience store. By the way, all 7-Eleven and FamilyMart stores on our route are tourist-oriented, bright and airy with sparkling-clean washrooms. Make these your pit stops.

A f ine large homestay, more an inn, is Qingjing Garden (www.cose.com.tw; Chinese), just below the higher 7-Eleven at the 11.2-km mark. Below the highway, views from your wide room windows – of small farms, deep valley, soaring

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Travel in Taiwan

mountain chain beyond, and pastel sunrise and sunset – are unobstructed and soul-caressing. Rooms are big, basic, and clean, and Chinese breakfast is served in a cozy restaurant with windows on three sides.

Qingjing Farm (www.cing jing.gov.tw), a major tourist attraction popular with local island folk, bills itself as “Little Switzerland.” The reasons are clear. In the Green Green Grassland section (entry fee) sheep munch on rolling mountaintop pastureland (note: brown grass in winter, leading to upset magazine photographers).

There’s the requisite tall-peak alpine panoramas, Swiss-façade hotels by the highway, small villages and hamlets seen far, far below, and even a windmill perched on a promontory. The Small Swiss Garden (entry fee) overf lows with bright alpine f lowers. Both sections are right beside the highway, closer to the lower 7-Eleven. day

2

The climb from Qing jing to the road’s highest point, at Wuling, takes about an hour. You leave homes and buildings behind; all permanent dwellings seem to be far below you.

There are a number of scenic places to stop, with good English posted telling you what you’re seeing. At Wuling (3,275 m), you’ve cleared forest cover and are amongst waving grasslands; just above, not more than a few hundred feet, is a world of bare rock. Mt. Hehuan’s east peak is right on top of you, the road running over its neck and down its back toward Taroko. Laid out to the right of the east peak is what seems like a scale model of ridges and peaks running far toward the island’s south, a who’s who of topographical stars lined up – Qilai Ridge, Nenggao Mountain, Yushan in miniature far at the end. All are now at eye-level, and you feel you can reach out and touch them all.

From here it’s all downhill – no, not scenery-wise, roadwise. You’ll meet up with Highway No. 8 and the sleepy town of Dayuling in about 30 minutes. Then it’s 57 km (2 hours) of twists and turns to Tianxiang at gorge’s head, down mountainside, into the impressive outer gorge, then your stop for the day right where impressive ends and

Photo/ Vision int'l

monastery, seeming to soar into the sky, is in the shape of a Buddhist devotee in the lotus position. The large halls and pretty parkland are home to statuary of striking size and wonderful aesthetic accomplishment. There is English printed info for the halls, and also in the f ine adjoining museum. Before leaving, go around back for a great view of the large pagoda built high up and right within the main tower. Visit before 11 am if possible, before the tour buses start rolling in.

Puli Brewery (in fact a winery) is in the heart of old Puli. Retrace your steps along Zhongzheng Rd. and keep going till you hit Zhongshan Rd., right downtown (passing Xinyi Rd./Highway No. 14 one block before). Turn right, and the winery is on the lef t (south side) a few hundred meters on. It is the famed producer of Taiwan’s version of Shaohsing Wine, made from rice. There is an interesting “wine culture” museum on the second level, with excellent English explanations. The downstairs food-vendor court is a lot of fun – try such inventions as Shaohsing popsicles, “chocolate wine sugar,” and Shaohsing-f lavored “salmon snack cubes” and sausages.

Onto the 14 now and out of Puli for the big-mountain climb. At a sauntering pace, with lots of photo-op stops as vistas become grander, about 90~120 minutes on the settlement of Qingjing looms into view, high above, stretching along what is now the 14A with deep valleys left and right, as though perched along the spine of a sleeping dragon.

The long thin settlement, with clusters of pretty

CENTRAL TAIWAN magnif icent begins, the inner gorge.

On the Dayuling-Tianxiang run your vehicle will rarely reach over 60 km/h; do not eat heavily before this run, and note there is a gas station just east of Dayuling but no more until Tianxiang.

A great place to spend the night is the upscale Silks Place hotel (taroko. silksplace.com.tw), where stained wood is the dominant theme. It sits right where two rivers meet before rushing into the inner gorge for more sculpting.

You’ve plopped yourself into the lap of luxury, but two stand-out highlights are the aboriginal (Truku Tribe) cultural performances at the large and lovely inner courtyard and the nightly roof top bonf ires on the deck by the pool, with drinks served while stars and moon perform high above.

The Taroko Gorge (www.taroko.gov.tw) is 19 km of unremitting wonder. You can putter through it in an hour without leaving the car, but it deserves, at minimum, your whole day

3

day. I have an image of it being the result of a party of the immortals; the massive riverbed boulders are marbles lef t behind, and because of the thick layers of marble in the cliffs, it strikes me as a magical marble cake sliced clean through by an immortal knife, tops almost meeting again as knife passes through.

New highway tunnels have been cut in more recent years, leaving long sections of original cliffside road to pedestrians. You’ll f ind excellent information boards throughout.

Your central highway sojourn is now over, but your driving fun is not. Turn lef t at gorge’s end and coast for two hours on the Suao-Hualien Highway.

Though you’ll be on it and looking right at it as it disappears round the next headland, you’ll spend much of your time thinking how impossible it is to build a road along sheer coastal cliff like this. Af ter this it’s another 90 minutes of smooth sailing to Taipei on National Freeway No. 5.

{ENGLisH & CHINESE}

Central Cross-Island Hwy Chung Tai Chan Mon. Dayuling Green Green Grassland Mt. Hehuan Nenggao Mountain Puli Puli Brewery Qilai Ridge Qingjing Farm Shaohsing Wine Small Swiss Garden Songshan Airport Southern Cross-Island Hwy Suao-Hualien Highway Taroko Gorge Truku Tribe Tianxiang Wuling Wushe Xinyi Rd. Yushan Zhongshan Rd. Zhongzheng Rd.

中部橫貫公路 中台禪寺 大禹嶺 青青草原 合歡山 能高山 埔里 埔里酒廠 奇萊稜脊 清境農場 紹興酒 小瑞士花園 松山機場 南部橫貫公路 蘇花公路 太魯閣 太魯閣族 天祥 武嶺 霧社 信義路 玉山 中山路 中正路

Qingjing Garden (清境家園) Tel: (049) 280 -3988 Add: 206 - 2 Renhe Rd., Datong Village,

Renai Township, Nantou County ( 南投縣仁愛鄉大同村仁和路206 -2 號 ) Website: www.cose.com.tw Silks Place taroko (太魯閣晶英酒店)

18 Tianxiang Rd., Xiulin Township, Hualien County ( 花蓮縣秀林鄉天祥路18 號 ) Tel : ( 03 ) 8 69 - 1155 Website: taroko.silksplace.com.tw

Add:

FOOD JOURNEY

A merchant at Nanfangao’s fish market presents the catch of the day

YILAN COUNTY

Gone Fishing A Memorable Boat Trip to Find Out Where All that Fresh Fish Comes From If you want to go to the source of the delicious seafood served around Taiwan, head to one of the countless fishing harbors that dot the long coastline of the island. We had the chance to go a step further when a local fisherman at the port of Nanfangao in Yilan County agreed to take us on one of his daily fishing trips.

By Jessie Lin

The

morning call came at 4:30 a.m. on the day of our trip, and I could hardly believe that I was awake. I had

never been up this early – voluntarily at least. However, I was

screens that showed us our latitude and longitude, and the

fully alert and ready for my first-ever experience out on a fishing

captain also showed us the auto-pilot system, installed 10 years

boat. We were due to meet our sea captain at 5 a.m. sharp at his

ago, which allows him to move about and help out with the work.

boat. The cool, refreshing morning breeze blew softly on my face as we reached the harbor. There were already early risers taking strolls by the fishing dock. The harbor wasn’t very big, but it had

As

the sky slowly started to light up, it dawned on me that this was the first time I was seeing the sun rise

while out on the ocean. The view put me in awe as the sun

a very nice and cozy feeling as we walked along the shore. Just

made its grand entrance from the east. On the opposite side, we

as I was thinking there wasn’t a lot of boat activity, we saw one

admired the shimmering effect created as it lit up the beautiful

come chugging into the harbor. We went over and saw that they

mountainous landscape of eastern Taiwan.

had been quite successful that morning, bringing back a large

Our captain told us that he has four areas where he can set

amount of fish. The captain told us that he had gone out at 2:30

up his net. He proudly noted that the eastern side of Taiwan

a.m. that morning.

has a wide variety of fish and that each area where he fishes

The fisherman we were sailing out with was Captain Huang

yields different species of fish and other marine life. As the clock

Qian-hao, a tanned, medium-built gentleman in his mid-fifties

closed in on 6 am, Captain Huang readied the net with his fellow

with about 20 years of fishing experience under his belt. He

workers, dropping it into the ocean in time with the rhythmic

greeted us with a friendly smile and invited us to step onto his

beat of a whistle blow.

boat, introducing us to his two onboard workers. We soon left the dock and were on our way to open sea, but before hitting open water we were privy to a time-honored ritual, the captain reciting a short prayer and then tossing Photo / Sunny Su

When we were beyond the harbor Captain Huang gave us a quick tour of his boat. Inside the cabin were two small computer

While chatting with the captain, it became apparent how passionate he was about fishing and how

It became apparent how passionate the captain was about fishing and how much in love he was with the ocean

some spirit money into the water in order

much in love he was with the ocean. Much of the process of catching fish is reliance on accrued experience. We were one small fishing boat out on the massive ocean, yet

to show respect to the sea. To exit the harbor, we had to pass by

Captain Huang seemed to instinctively know where to set the net,

a security checkpoint, where our documents were checked by the

showing a remarkable feel for what was going on, unseen, below

sea patrolmen. Then we were cruising out on full speed.

us in this vast expanse of “nothingness.”

37

Travel in Taiwan

FOOD JOURNEY

After some time had gone by, and I had drifted into pleasant daydreams while taking in the surrounding scenery, we were notified that it was time to take in the first catch. As the workers pulled up the net, a great swooshing flow of fish and other sea

at the current level, and couldn’t imagine how I would be able to stand straight with a level-8 wave hitting the boat.

The captain decided that it was better to return with one catch. “Better not take any risks,” he said. “There’s always

creatures dropped onto the boat. Fish came in all shapes and sizes.

tomorrow and the day after to catch more fish, whereas one

I immediately saw that there was one anglerfish, an ugly-looking

mistake can ruin an entire career.”

fish with a lamp-like figure dangling on its forehead. Other fish

As the boat neared the dock, we were greeted by a flock of

that I recognized were red bulleyes, and lots of “meat fish.” Along

seagulls eager to snatch the small fish scraps scattered about our

with the fish were small shrimps and sweet shrimps as well as

craft. There were already buyers standing around to see what

squid and octopus. The two workers quickly pulled several baskets

Mr. Huang had brought in that day. Other boats followed us in,

forward and began sorting the catch into different groups; all this

all skippers well aware of the dangers posed by the changing

was done in a matter of minutes. Whatever was deemed not sellable was thrown right back into the ocean. They then cleaned and stored the catch in ice in order to preserve

Fishermen and merchants were joking and gossiping with each other like good old neighbors

know each other, joking and gossiping with each other like good old neighbors.

Since Captain Huang had only taken in one haul that day he decided to sell the

peak freshness.

Captain Huang takes in three catches in one day. His daily

entire catch to a single merchant.

The merchant, with a prime location in the harborside

routine starts when he sails out at 5 a.m.; he then spreads out his

fish market, had Captain Huang’s catch dumped into large

first net at around 6 a.m. and takes in the first catch at around 8

buckets filled with ice water immediately after purchase

a.m. He does this two more times before arriving back at the dock

and moved to his site. Everything was cleaned one last time

at around 1 p.m.

before being separated into baskets for display. By this time

This particular day, however, was different. Soon after the

most of the fish market was set up, and customers were

first catch, Captain Huang told us that the breeze was picking

straddling in. Buying seafood doesn’t get any more local and

up and it would not be safe to stay out on the ocean for too

fresher than this.

much longer. He mentioned that the current sea wave was at about level 3, and was looking to go up to level 8. (Waves are measured on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 indicating a calm ocean

There

are two streets by the harbor. Each is lined with restaurants on one side, all boasting of

their house specialties, and shops selling dried seafood goods on

without a breeze and 10 a sea with waves that will knock a boat

the other. If you’re ever feeling the urge for a seafood run, this

dangerously back and forth.) I was already feeling a bit nauseous

is the place to visit. The restaurants pride themselves on using

Captain Huang

38

Travel in Taiwan

Leaving Nanf angao Harbor in the early morning hours

Photos / Aska Chi

Normally

weather. Everyone at dockside seemed to

RICE

only the freshest fish caught off the Yilan Coast on the same day.

As we strolled along the harbor, we came across two men preparing bait for catching mackerel. Hundreds of bait hooks had been prepared and tied by hand to fishing lines, each lure sporting a different flamboyant color. We also stopped by a unique museum called the Sun-Gan Factory Museum, housed in a former steel factory built in 1962 where fishermen would go to get their boats repaired, the oldest factory facility still standing in Nanfangao. The museum houses many different types of old machinery used over the decades, as well as personal collectibles donated by the owner. It is open daily 9 a.m. ~ 6 p.m.

Taiwan’s fortuitous location, floating on the high seas and along major marine-life migratory routes, makes it a mecca for seafood lovers. The methods used in preparing seafood dishes are as plentiful

suN-GAN fACTorY MusEuM ( 三剛鐵工廠文物館 )

Add: 81, Yugang Rd., Suao Township, Yilan County ( 宜蘭縣蘇澳鎮漁港路 81 號 ) Tel: (03) 996 -2465 (call in advance for guided tours) E-mail: nana.kawa@msa.hinet.net

as the types of seafood the hardworking fishermen bring to shore. Nanfangao is just one of Taiwan’s many excellent destinations for the ultimate seafood experience, and it was a privilege to visit the people of this hard-working community and learn more, first-hand, about the fishing industry in Taiwan

{ENGLisH & CHINESE}

anglerfish 鮟 Huang Qian-hao “meat fish” Nanfangao red bulleye

魚安 魚康魚 黃千豪 肉魚 南方澳 紅目鰱

and its intriguing culture. Experiencing the life of a fisherman for a day and meeting the friendly fishermen and merchants at the market made me much more appreciative of the dishes that were placed in front of me when we finally sat down at a local restaurant. The moment I tasted the first dish, I was amazed at how much my perspective on eating seafood had changed after my experiences of that day.

Sorting the catch

39

Travel in Taiwan

LET'S EAT!

Clockwise from top lef t: Bar and dining area of Shen Yen; Chef Ah-Yong; self-made soy sauce; deep-sea prawns; fried rosy seabass

Local-Style

If someone tells you about a great teppanyaki restaurant with exquisite gourmet food, you’ll probably suspect it to be in the downtown area of a big city like Taipei, close to or inside one of the fancy shopping malls of the East District for example. But in Luodong, Yilan County? Deepcountryside Yilan? Don’t be put off by its remoteness. The amazing food at Shen Yen Teppanyaki makes any trip to Yilan a rewarding one indeed! By Sylvester Kreutz

40

Travel in Taiwan

Photos / Aska Chi

Teppanyaki

Insider Tip for Gourmets: Heaven Is in Luodong!

SEAFOOD

There

were many doubters in the beginning.

“How will you be able to make ends meet at this location?” f riends and family would ask him. “Who will come all the way out here to eat teppanyaki?” But Cheng Zhi-yong had his vision, his dream, and he was going to realize it no matter what, based on the conviction that Yilan, the place were he was born and had spent most of his life, was the best location to do it. That was almost nine years ago. The restaurant has come a long way since.

Googling for Shen Yen Teppanyaki to get a f irst glimpse at what the restaurant has to offer, I am surprised by the large number of Chinese blogs with rave reviews about the food, the service, the prices and, most of all, the f riendly family-like atmosphere. No reason at all, therefore, to not give it a try. When, a few days later, I f inally arrive at the restaurant, a lovely place decorated in warm wood and sandy colors, and sit down in f ront of the crescent-shaped teppanyaki griddle, I soon discover another reason for this eatery’s success: the man in charge.

Chef Cheng, called “Ah-Yong” by f riends and regulars, has an enviable passion for cooking and a strong desire to share this passion with his guests. “I try to create a local-style teppanyaki, using the best farm produce and seafood of Yilan, an area with great mountains and great water, and share delicious food with my f riends in an interactive way.” Friendly and thoughtf ul, like a good uncle taking care of his extended family, the chef creates a relaxed atmosphere where diners feel f ree to walk around, talk about food, and laugh a lot. of Chef Cheng’s unique “interactive” method is his recommendation for ordering food: “Allow yourself to be surprised!” The restaurant does have a menu, but most diners don't even bother to look at it, instead putting their culinary fate in the hands of the chef, letting him

Part

make the decisions af ter telling him the desired price range or simply how hungry they are.

Since I have seafood on my mind I ask the chef to prepare a multiplecourse meal with selected morsels from the sea. He shows me different types of f ish, and some very large deepsea prawns, all f resh catch of the day selected and purchased by the chef himself a few hours earlier at the f ishing harbor in nearby Nanfangao.

Sipping some delightf ul highmountain tea, I watch the chef go to work. First he prepares a platter of sashimi – thin slices of raw parrot bass and paradise threadf in. What a delightf ul sensation, feeling the f ish virtually melt on my tongue! The richly f lavored soy sauce which serves as the dip is produced by Chef Cheng himself. come some more sashimi slices, but this time in combination with crab eggs, leaves of garden chrysanthemum grown by the chef ’s mother, and f ragrant chicken soup. Delicious!

Now come the bright orange prawns, still alive when placed on the hot metal surface. About 20 centimeters in length and f illed with a mass of white f lesh larger than my middle f inger, the prawns are cooked with just a bit of olive oil and a splash of water. “I prefer not to add any f lavors. The all-natural taste is always the best!” explains the chef.

The sweet and succulent prawns are truly phenomenal.

Next on the griddle is a fat slice of f ish, purplish amber jack. It contains enough fat that no oil needs to be used to f ry it. Just a few seconds and the outside is done, while the inside remains raw. A quick dip in the soy sauce and the sof t meat is teasing my palate. The next slice of the same f ish is cooked and quickly rolled up in a coating of crispy parmesan cheese.

Sensational!

On to the highlight of the evening.

Next

“You are lucky today!” says Chef AhYong giddily, presenting a sizable redskinned beauty of a f ish with huge dark eyes. “You don’t get such a big ang ao (rosy seabass) as this every day at the harbor.” This type of f ish, according to the chef the favorite of his two-year-old daughter, takes quite a bit of time to cook, but the long wait is well worth it. The crispy skin and tender meat remind me of some big trout my f riends and I once caught in a Norwegian lake.

For the encore, my gastronomic tour guide presents omelet with Yilan scallions and tiny f ish, a Taiwangrown caramelized apple served with f resh mascarpone cheese and peppermint leaves, a glass of f reshpressed guava juice – the f ruit of Chef Cheng’s father’s orchard – and f inally a glass of rich-f lavor house-made plum wine.

The dining experience is for me a true revelation, even without trying the many meat dishes Chef Cheng promises to prepare for me the next time. I’ll def initely be back to visit this gourmet heaven in Luodong, Yilan County – and soon! sHEN YEN TEPPANYAKi 響宴鐵板燒

(03) 965 -7998 (reservation well in advance highly recommended) Add: 326 Hebin Rd., Luodong Township, Yilan County ( 宜蘭縣羅東鎮河濱路 326 號 ) (Shen Yen offers high-quality food at very affordable prices; a typical meal sets you back NT$1,000 ~2,000) Tel:

HoW To GET THErE: Public transport: Train from Taipei to Luodong (fastest train 1 hr 20 min.; NT$ 239) or bus (Capital Star from Taipei City Hall Bus Station; about 1 hr 30 min.; NT$120). From Luodong railway/bus station take a taxi to the restaurant.

Self-drive: Freeway No. 5 to Luodong Exit (north side). Follow road under elevated freeway back in northern direction, turn left onto County Road 22 and follow this road all the way to the restaurant. {ENGLisH & CHINESE}

ang ao (rosy seabass) Cheng Zhi-yong Eastern District garden chrysanthemum Luodong Nanfangao paradise threadfin parrot bass purplish amberjack Xueshan Tunnel

紅喉 程智勇 東區 茼蒿 羅東 南方澳 午仔魚 石鯛 紅甘 雪山隧道

41

Travel in Taiwan

LET'S EAT!

Clockwise from this picture: The owner of the restaurant presenting squid; red bulleye; sweet and sour anglerfish; meat fish

Fresh Fish

Right by the Harbor

Located

right alongside the harbor at the f ishing village of Nanfangao on Taiwan’s northeast coast is the popular seafood restaurant Zhengzhu Liuye Seafood. This restaurant has just seven tables, and the small and cozy setting allows the proprietor to serve and chat with every one of his

42

Travel in Taiwan

diners. Make sure to show up early, as the seats tend to f ill up quickly with hungry customers eager to taste what is the f reshest possible catch of the day. On a recent excursion to the coast, as my group entered the restaurant we were greeted by a f riendly woman f illeting a blowf ish in f ront of tanks of f reshly caught f ish. Toward the rear

of the restaurant we saw very neatly hand-written signs specif ying the specialties of the house. The attractive calligraphy had all been personally done by the owner of the restaurant.

The restaurant specializes in two types of f ish: blowf ish and a f unky looking anglerf ish. Aside f rom these two house specialties, the

Photos / Aska Chi

It’s not hard to find a good seafood restaurant in a Taiwanese fishing village. There are usually several options not far from where the fish and other catch come off the boats, and freshness is guaranteed. By Jessie Lin

SEAFOOD menu changes daily depending on what local f ishermen catch that day.

The owner stresses three things for his restaurant: seasonal, local, and daily. He doesn’t cook anything that is caught outside of the Nanfangao area, and nothing f rom a catch made the day before will ever be served to customers.

The ordering process is unique and straightforward. The restaurant has a display of the f reshest catch that day by the entrance. Customers can pick out a certain type of f ish and the owner will either recommend a way of preparing it or the clients themselves can specif y how they want the f ish cooked. Immediately af ter ordering, customers can help themselves to unlimited servings of rice. This is quite convenient, because diners usually want rice ref ills during a meal to complement the tasty seafood dishes.

The food is served in typical Taiwanese family-dining style.

Dish af ter dish gets brought out f rom the kitchen window right af ter preparation. Eager and hungry customers slowly spin the lazy Susan on the middle of their round table until their favorite dish is in f ront of them.

This day, we ate f ish that had been caught on the local f ishing boat we had gone out on earlier in the day (see

pages 36-39). The chef used selections to create the following dishes: Dish 1: Sweet and Sour Anglerfish Jaw – This dish is the star of the restaurant; no customer leaves without tasting this nicely f lavored offering.

The jaw of the f ish is lightly f ried and then placed in a house special sauce. The chew y texture allows one to literally eat it right down to the bone.

The dish is also nutritious, as it is a good source of collagen.

Dish 2: Pan-fried Red Bulleye – This was probably my favorite dish of the day. It sounds so simple, yet to properly pan-f ry a f ish takes a lot of skill and experience. The skin was cooked to a perfect crispness. The meat was tender and f ull of f lavor. All you need is a bit of salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice for the f inishing touch.

Dish 3: Steamed Meat Fish – Meat f ish is a small and f lat white f ish. Its meat is f laky; therefore, it is best to steam it. The dish is topped with ginger, green onion, chili pepper, and shuzi (the f ruit of the f ragrant manjack tree) to enhance the f lavor.

The meat came easily off the bones, and the small size of the f ish made it the perfect portion for each person.

Dish 4: Blowfish Jelly – This was by far the most unique dish that I have ever tasted. Don’t let the name of the dish scare you off. This jelly

Blowfish

dish is made by cooking the skin of the f ish in water for about 10 hours in order for the collagen to form into a jelly-like texture (hence this was the only dish prepared with catch we had not brought in on our own boat). The cooked jelly is then f lavored and put into a mold along with some ju jube.

It is surprisingly light and tangy, and makes an excellent dessert. This is probably the only place where you’ll taste something like this!

From start to f inish, the restaurant offered us the f reshest seafood prepared f lawlessly. Everything about the restaurant, f rom its atmosphere, to the kitchen, to the owner, and f inally to its food, will surely satisf y any hungry visitor, seafood-lover or not.

ZHENGZHu LiuYE sEAfood 蒸煮流野海鮮

5, Nanning Road, Suao Township, Yilan County ( 宜蘭縣蘇澳鎮南寧路 5 號 ) Tel: (03) 995 - 5000 Hours: 11 am ~ 8 pm (closed on second Tuesday each month) Add:

{ENGLisH & CHINESE}

anglerfish blowfish red bulleye

shuzi meat fish

魚 河豚 紅目鰱 樹子 肉魚

43

Travel in Taiwan

Huang Ying Vietnamese Restaurant & Bar

A Mother Honored by Bringing Back the Tastes of Her Kitchen Recapturing Childhood Memories in Delicious Hand-Crafted Vietnamese Food Four years after arriving in Taiwan newly married Ruan Huang-ying from Vietnam opened a small restaurant in Taipei’s Nangang District. Featuring just four tables, she proudly named it Huang Ying Vietnamese Restaurant.

With a passion for creating fine food and showing an entrepreneurial flair, today her name graces the signboards of three restaurants. Back in her youth, Huang Ying’s mother ran a restaurant back in Vietnam, and her young girl was always at her side watching closely, learning all the secrets of the Vietnamese kitchen and authentic Vietnamese flavors. Before opening her own restaurant she practiced incessantly to recreate these flavors, trusting to her brimming memory bank of wonderful aromas, opening her business only when she knew she was able to bring customers the authentic tastes of her mother’s kitchen.

After running her business for three years, Ruan plans to make regular trips back home to learn more about the cuisine of central and north Vietnam and bring new recipes back to Taipei for the enjoyment of her loyal clientele.

Her efforts in introducing ever more of the light and refreshing tastes of Vietnamese treats has played a key role in the ever increasing popularity of this cuisine among Taiwanese in recent years, as has her refreshing approach.

For example, her new Nanjing branch has thrown off the traditional design approach for Vietnamese restaurants, with a bar taking up fully one-third of the premises, and customers have been quite taken with this comfortable oasis for experimenting with Vietnamese beers and coffees.

Pork with French Bread

For this dish an agent is introduced during mixing to promote fermentation in premium-selection ham, which is made into ball shapes with an attractive pink color. These are then placed inside savory French bread along with fresh vegetables and seasonings, created a filling and deliciously textured taste experience.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

The Vietnamese version of the spring roll comes cold, features fresh shrimp and a variety of vegetables, with leek prominent, and has a translucent skin that allows the palette of ingredient colors to show through. The rolls here are dipped in the special house-made seafood sauce, the taste cool and fresh.

Shrimp with Sugarcane

Shrimp meat is made into a paste and formed into rolls wrapping roasted sections of juicy sugarcane. You first take out the sugarcane, wrap the shrimp roll in lettuce and eat it, and then follow this up by chewing on the sugarcane for a sweet and juicy “chaser.”

Fried Pork Chop with Rice

This is the restaurant’s signature dish, a hearty selection abundant in terms of both visual appearance and tastes. A pork chop is fried to crispy perfection, cut into thick slices, and presented with a specially prepared steamed egg and three-layer shredded pork. Lemongrass features prominently in this dish.

Huang Ying Vietnamese Restaurant & Bar (Nanjing Rd. Branch) (凰鶯越南餐館南京東路店) Tel: (02) 2547-4518 Add: No.5, Aly. 4, Ln. 133, Sec. 4, Nanjing E. Rd., Songshan Dist., Taipei City 105, Taiwan (R.O.C.) (台北市南京東路四段133巷4弄5號) Website: http://oanh.e68.com.tw (Chinese) Hours: 11 am ~ 3 pm, 5 pm ~ 10 pm (open all week) Price per meal for one person about NT$200 Huang Ying Vietnamese Restaurant & Bar (Nangang Branch) (凰鶯越南餐館南港店) Add: 1F, 76, Xinmin St., Nangang District, Taipei City (台北市南港區新民街76號1樓) Huang Ying Vietnamese Restaurant & Bar (Kunyang Branch) (凰鶯越南餐館昆陽店) Add: 1F, 4, Kunyang St., Nangang District, Taipei City (台北市南港區昆陽街4號1樓)

FESTIVAL

Ocean, Beach, Rock!

Taiwan’s Biggest Open-Air Rock Festival Takes Place at One of the Island’s Best Beaches By Joe Henley

46

Travel in Taiwan

According to a legend of the Amis indigenous people of Taiwan which predates written history, the ancient people of Taiwan discovered the sea, but did not know what to call it. Listening to the rhythm of the waves crashing on the beach, they began to hear a distinct melody emerge – “Ho-Hai-Yan.” From then on, this has been the Amis word for the ocean, and is now also the name of the international rock festival held annually in July at Fulong Beach in the northeast corner of the island.

Located less than an hour east of Taipei City by train, Fulong Beach is a wide strip of white, flat sand that looks out over a calm, blue bay. Every summer, hundreds of thousands of music fans from Taiwan and around the world converge on the beach, gathering in front of Ho-Hai-Yan Rock Festival’s two stages to see both local and international acts perform in a wide array of musical styles, from rock and reggae to punk, metal, indie, and anything else you can imagine. The festival was founded by 43 Zhang, the head of the Taiwan Color Music Company record label. Using the Woodstock Festival as his model, he started Ho-Hai-Yan with the twin goals of promoting the Taiwan music scene and helping people appreciate the beautiful waters surrounding the island by holding his festival at what is a magnificent seaside setting.

Ho-Hai-Yan was first staged as a oneday festival in 2000, and drew about 8,000 revelers that first year. As is still the case today, attendance was free.

Since then, the event has been expanded to three days, and has drawn upwards of 400,000 music fans in peak years. Since 2001, an important part of the festival has been the “battle of the bands,” in which Taiwanese artists compete for a cash prize and instant recognition on the Taiwanese music scene. Taking the top prize at Ho-Hai-Yan is often a ticket

47

Travel in Taiwan

Photos / Northeast Coast National Scenic Area

Ho-Hai-Yan Rock Festival

During the three days of the Ho-Hai-Yan Rock Festival, Fulong is transformed, awash with a sea of people

to stardom for Taiwan’s bands, and is a vital stepping-stone in getting signed to a major label and earning valuable airtime on local radio and MTV.

does have some beachfront guesthouses,

Beach fronts the small town of Fulong Village in Gongliao District, New Taipei City. For most of the year it’s a sleepy town, known primarily for its beach and its white-rice boxed lunches that were first championed on the railway system and then by Taiwan’s truckers.

During the three days of the Ho-HaiYan Rock Festival, Fulong is transformed, awash with a sea of people. The beach is just a short walk from the railway station. Be prepared for large crowds at the station and at the beach, but also for a warm, friendly, and safe atmosphere.

People of all ages attend, though most are college students enjoying their first taste of summer vacation. Fulong Village

return to nearby Taipei City, or book

Fulong

48

Travel in Taiwan

but they are inevitably booked far in advance. Your best bet is to take the train out for the day and stay in/ a guesthouse/homestay in one of the other cozy coastal communities nearby along Taiwan’s northern coast. Ho-HaiYan Rock Festival will take place in July this summer – don’t miss out on the chance to hear some of the best music that Taiwan and the world have to offer while enjoying a glimpse of the laid-back beach lifestyle of the northern coastline.

For more info about the festival, visit www.hohaiyan.com.

Spring Scream In early April, Spring Scream, Taiwan's other big little multi-day music festival, gives tens of thousands of music and art fans, the young and the young at heart, a chance to unwind in the island's idyllically

scenic south. Kending, once a sleepy seaside village, has been transformed into a top-notch tourist destination while still hanging on to its small-town charm, and Spring Scream has grown, in its own organic and natural way, right alongside it.

Jimi Moe, an American expatriate who, along with another American, Wade Davis, founded the festival in 1995, is quick to point out that while Spring Scream has grown by leaps and bounds from its unpretentious beginnings, it hasn't lost the vibe of a small, tightknit group of friends getting together to enjoy some great music. “It started small and modest and humble,” he says, “and now it's big and modest and humble.”

Davis and Moe met in Indonesia, where the two attended the same international school. Moe moved to Taiwan in 1991, and Davis followed shortly thereafter. The two were roommates and played in a band

Spring Scream hasn’t lost the vibe of a small, tight-knit group of friends getting together to enjoy some great music

together. By the mid-nineties, the two friends had decided to stage a music festival, simply as a way for a few bands to get together and jam. Almost all the bands played cover songs, as Taiwan's then nascent music scene had yet to flourish.

“I think over the weekend we heard one Green Day song three times, a Bon Jovi song twice, and a Clash song that two different bands played, but it was great,” Moe recalls. “Everyone had a great time.” Nevertheless, Davis and Moe, wanting to encourage bands in Taiwan to start concocting their own musical formulas, decided to stipulate that if bands wanted to play Spring Scream in the future they had to mostly play their own material.

-forward 15 years to the present, and Spring Scream sees between 8,000 and 10,000 people on its busiest days, about 5,000 on the slower days, and the festival roster has swollen to include over 150 bands playing on anywhere from six to eight stages over four days. Taiwan's music scene has exploded as well, and has gone from having about ten bands doing their own thing in the festival's early days, to over 500. The Eluanbi Lighthouse area, which is part of Kenting National Park, serves as the festival's current, stunning seaside location. “It's a site of gorgeous, lush, sloping grassy fields that overlook the ocean,” says Moe as he sets the scene. “It's a beautiful place to look at the water.”

The multiple stages are spread out across this superlative setting, far enough apart so as not to drown each other out with competing and eclectic sounds. Indeed, fans of everything from rock, to pop, to punk, to metal, to reggae, funk, folk, and everything in between will find something that

Fast

appeals to them at Spring Scream.

The most popular stage belongs to the DJs, however, who spin all manner of electronic music; at any given time, 500 to 1,000 revelers can be found dancing the day or night away at the DJ stage.

Another

thing that makes for a great festival is the ease with which people can get around the town of Kending. All the action occurs along and just off the town’s main road, Kending Road (Prov. Hwy No. 26), and there is easy access from this road to the town's two main beaches. The festival grounds are a few kilometers east of the town, so renting a scooter or a bike is advisable if you're staying close to the town center.

Kending's range of guesthouses, hostels, high-end resort hotels, and homestays/B&Bs mean that all budgets can be accommodated. The lighthouse area also has its own campground adjacent to the festival grounds. Taiwan's High Speed Rail can get you from Taipei in the north to Kaohsiung in the south in just 90 minutes; from there, you can take a bus or team up with other travelers to split the cost of a taxi to get to Kending. It's about a 90-minute drive by car from Kaohsiung.

Spring Scream will take place from April 1 to 4 this year. For more information, check out www.springscream.com.

{ENGLisH & CHINESE}

Amis indigenous people 43 Zhang Eluanbi Lighthouse Fulong Beach Fulong Village Gongliao District Ho-Hai-Yan Rock Festival Kending Kenting National Park Taiwan Color Music Company

阿美族 張四十三 鵝鑾鼻燈塔 福隆海水浴場 福隆村 貢寮區 貢寮國際海洋音樂祭 墾丁 墾丁國家公園 角頭音樂

49

Travel in Taiwan

UPCOMING Festivals and Events from March to May 2011

Now ~ MAR 20 Yangmingshan Flower Season 陽明山花季 Location: Yangming Park ( 陽明公園 ); 26, Hushan Rd., Sec. 2, Taipei City ( 台北市湖山路 2 段 26 號 ) Tel: (02) 2861-6533, 2861-3388 Website: www.ymsnp.gov.tw

MAR 11 ~ APR 24

Now ~ JUN 18

Zhuzihu Calla-Lily Festival

Kaohsiung Spring Art Festival 高雄春天藝術節

竹子湖海芋季 Location: Zhuzihu, Yangmingshan, Taipei City ( 台北市陽明山竹子湖 ) Tel: (02) 2725-6598 Website: www.dot.taipei.gov.tw

Location: Bureau of Cultural Affairs, Kaohsiung City Government ( 高雄市政府文化局 ); 67 Wufu 1st Rd., Kaohsiung City ( 高雄市五福一路 67 號 ) Tel: (07) 222-5136 Website: w4.khcc.gov.tw/ksaf2011

Now ~ MAY

Now ~ APR 5

Dajia Mazu International Festival 大甲媽祖國際觀光文化節 Location: Taichung City ( 台中市 ) Tel: (04) 2228-9000 Website: www.culture.taichung.gov.tw

Hsinchu Glass Art Festival 新竹市玻璃藝術嘉年華 Location: Glass Museum of Hsinchu City ( 新竹市玻璃工藝博物館 ); 1, Lane 15, Dongda Rd., Sec. 2, Hsinchu City ( 新竹市東大路二段 15 巷 1 號 ) Tel: (03) 562-6091 Website: www. hcccb.gov.tw

Now ~ MAY 31

JUN 6

Hakka Tung Flower Festival 客家桐花季

Bitan Dragon Boat Culture Festival 碧潭龍舟文化節暨園遊會

Locations: New Taipei City ( 新台北市 ), Taoyuan County ( 桃園縣 ), Hsinchu County ( 新竹縣 ), Miaoli County ( 苗栗縣 ), Taichung City ( 台中市 ), Changhua County ( 彰化縣 ), Nantou County ( 南投縣 ) Tel: (02) 8789-4567 Website: www.hakka.gov.tw

Location: Bitan Lakeside Park, Xindian District, New Taipei City ( 新北市新店區碧潭水 岸公園 ) Tel: (02) 2960-3456 Website: www.ntpc.gov.tw

For more information on upcoming festivals and events visit the website of the Tourism Bureau at http://eng.taiwan.net.tw and click on “ Festivals, ” or call the 24-hour toll-free Travel Information Hotline at 0800-011765.

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Travel in Taiwan

TAIPEI

A Tour of Taipei’s Heritage Buildings Taipei is a modern city, with many big, tall, bold, and beautiful buildings jostling for your attention. But the city is also graced with a great many buildings of more mature countenance that are no less attractive. These heritage buildings have served as silent witnesses to the unfolding of Taipei’s, and Taiwan’s, modern history, and we head out now on an MRT and foot tour of a prized collection, all but one opened to the public as tourist/cultural sites after thorough renovations only in the past 10 years or so.

Our launch point is Taipei Railway Station (MRT Taipei Main Station), and all sites are along or close to Zhongshan North Road.

By Rick Charette

51

Travel in Taiwan

HISTORY Huashan 1914 Creative Park National Taiwan Museum Taipei Story House

National Taiwan Museum (國立台灣博物館)

theater troupe began using it in

This imposing and majestic structure,

1997. Today the site thrives, in a

at the north entrance of 228 Memorial

public/private partnership, as a

Peace Park, was built by the Japanese in

venue for exhibits, performances,

1915 in Greek Revival style to house the

and workshops for the cultural-

findings of their researchers on Taiwan’s

creative arts, with many of the elements from the former brewery left intact. The “Huashan” in

the Japanese controlled Taiwan as a

the name is Chinese for Kabayama, reference to Count Kabayama

colony from 1895 to 1945. This collection

Sukenori, the first Japanese governor-general of Taiwan; the area

remains the key source for today’s permanent exhibits.

The building’s façade is defined by fluted Doric columns. In the stately lobby are large columns standing atop marble bases that form the foundation for the large stained-glass dome. Note the two fine Wall Street-style bull sculptures before the museum – these were originally placed along the approach to Japan’s main Shinto shrine in Taiwan, where the Grand Hotel is today, the

around the sake factory was known as Huashan.

1, Sec. 1, Bade Rd. ( 八德路一段 1 號 ) (A few minutes east of MRT Shandao Temple Station) Website: www.huashan1914.com Add:

Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei (台北當代藝術館) MOCA Taipei is housed in a two-story red-brick building that was built in 1919, and originally served as an elementary school for Japanese children,

shrine destroyed by the incoming Kuomintang after WW II. Add:

with some select Taiwanese.

2 Xiangyang Rd. ( 襄陽路 2 號 ) (Five minutes south from MRT

The building later served as

Taipei Main Station) Website: www.ntm.gov.tw

Taipei City Hall, from 1945

Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山 1914 創意文化園區)

to 1994. The architectural

This complex of old cement buildings was constructed in 1914

style is a hybrid of Victorian

as a Japanese sake-production facility, then served as the Taipei

and Edwardian elements, with perhaps the most visually

brewery for the state-owned Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly

compelling attraction of the pleasantly symmetrical design

Bureau for 40 years after WW II. When production was moved out

being the bell tower rising from the center of the roof. The

of the city in 1987, the site was abandoned until an avant-garde

building was meticulously refurbished before being reopened in 2001 as Taiwan’s first museum dedicated exclusively to contemporary art, concentrating on the themes of art, design, and architecture, with no permanent exhibits.

39 Changan W. Rd. ( 長安西路 39 號 ) (Less than 10 minutes southwest of MRT Zhongshan Station) Website: www.mocataipei.org.tw Add:

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Travel in Taiwan

Photos / Sting Chen, Vision Int'l

natural history and aboriginal peoples;

SPOT-Taipei Film House

TAIPEI

Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei

SPOT-Taipei Film House (台北之家)

Taipei Story House (台北故事館) This pretty two-story

This two-story Tudor-style mansion was erected in 1914

white-stucco mansion was built

by a leading local tea merchant, based in Taipei’s Dadaocheng

in 1925 in a loose American

area, as a countryside villa. It stood beside what was then the

antebellum style, first serving

Japanese imperial promenade stretching from the old walled

as the US consulate and then

city to the main Shinto shrine in Taiwan, on the promontory

as the residence of the US

where the Grand Hotel is now perched

ambassador. Abandoned for a time, it was saved and renovated by

overlooking Taipei Basin. The villa was

the city and opened to the public in 2002 as a complex dedication

later used for a period as a place for the

to art-house film. Among the many attractive interior-design

detention and interrogation of political

reorientations was the transformation of the original expansive

prisoners. The building was restored to

garage into a cozy 98-seat cinema, with daily screenings from

its original grandeur in 2002/2003 and

11:30 am to midnight. The C25 open-air café on the first level,

today houses a museum, the Taipei Story

and Sixth Avenue wine lounge on the second (with seating on balcony), are both very popular.

House, filled with antiques, old photos and music records, and a wealth of audio/visual materials

Add: 18, Sec. 2, Zhongshan N. Rd. ( 中山北路二段十八號 ) (About five minutes northeast of MRT Zhongshan Station) Website: www.spot.org.tw

Lin Liu-hsin Puppet Theatre Museum (林柳新紀念偶戲博物館) This museum consists of two interconnected historical buildings, donated by the

demonstrating the luxurious lifestyle of Taiwan’s elite in the early 20th century and telling the story of tea and the Taipei Basin’s economic flourishing. Attached is also a lovely courtyard teahouse/restaurant.

Add: 181-1, Sec. 3, Zhongshan N. Rd. ( 中山北路三段 181-1 號 ) (Five minutes east of MRT Yuanshan Station) Website: www.storyhouse.com.tw

widow of Mr. Lin Liu-hsin, an important name in traditional Taiwanese puppet theatre. One building houses the museum displays, the other a performance theater. Regular shows are staged, with English assistance available (the director is a Dutchman, Robin Ruizendaal), and there are also regular workshops on puppet carving

{ENGLisH & CHINESE}

228 Memorial Peace Park

228和平公園

Dadaocheng Kabayama Sukenori Kuomintang Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau Zhongshan North Road

大稻埕 樺山資紀 國民黨 菸酒公賣局 中山北路

and traditional performance techniques, plus puppet-master demonstrations.

Add: 79 Xining N. Rd. ( 台北市西寧北路 79 號 ) (About 15 minutes west of MRT Shuanglian Station; or 5 min. by bus R33 from station).

Website: www.taipeipuppet.com

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Travel in Taiwan

LET'S GO OUT TONIGHT!

Night Markets Delicious Snacks, Cheap Clothes, Lots of People

No visitor to Taiwan should leave without wandering around at least one of the island’s 300-odd night markets. Every bit as colorful and bustling as Middle Eastern bazaars, these afterdark attractions are places to eat, shop, and slowly wander around while soaking up iconic Taiwan sounds and smells. By Steven Crook

THIS

might surprise you, but night markets (which typically run from dusk until nearly midnight)

are very different from morning or day markets. At the latter

– which early-birds will find well worth visiting – housewives stock up on vegetables, fruit, meat, and fish.

Night markets sell very little in the way of fresh cooking ingredients. Instead, they’re renowned for offering tasty snacks like squid-on-a-stick, oyster omelets, steamed sweetcorn, and something that resembles a doner kebab – but with pork rather Here’s another surprising fact: Even if the food doesn’t tempt you at all, spending an hour or two exploring a night market still brings many a reward. Photographers will lap up the visual possibilities: Piles of gewgaws, racks of clothes, games to play, and people of all shapes and sizes. Taiwan’s most famous night markets include:

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Travel in Taiwan

Photos / Maggie Song, Sunny Su

Photos / Daemon Lee, Maggie Song

than lamb, and a conventional bun instead of a pita.

NIGHT MARKETS

Keelung’s Miaokou Night Market If you read Chinese, you’ll guess why Keelung’s busiest night market is called “Miaokou” (you may also see it transliterated as “Miaokow”). Miao means “temple” and kou is “entrance”; this market developed around Dianji Temple, one of Keelung’s two most important places of worship. Nowadays it’s much more famous than the shrine. Gourmands from all over north Taiwan come here, attracted by the market’s single-minded focus on food.

Keelung is a major port, and those expecting seafood won’t be disappointed. In addition to the usual fresh fish and delicious crustaceans, you’ll see some creatures you might never have eaten before, such as puffer fish.

Lethally poisonous if incorrectly prepared, puffer fish taste exquisite when cooked right. Great numbers of people eat this delicacy at Miaokou each year without mishap, so it's fair to assume the chefs here know what they're doing.

Miaokou's success means that the 60-odd stalls in the official, open 24/7 section (on Ren 3rd Road, between Ai 3rd and Ai 4th roads) are joined each evening by at least 100 others at the end of Ai 4th Road nearest the Tianliao River.

Keelung is linked to Taipei by dozens of commuter trains and buses per day. From Keelung's train station it's a leisurely 15-minute stroll to the night market.

Fengjia is especially good for inexpensive, youth-oriented fashions and accessories Taichung’s Fengjia Night Market Named after the adjacent university, Fengjia Night Market is way out in the suburbs of Taiwan’s third-largest city. Yet if you arrive at eight o’clock on a pleasant evening, you’ll encounter crowds that make the downtown seem deserted by comparison.

Fengjia is said to be Taiwan’s largest night market. This claim is hard to verif y (night markets, by their very nature, grow and shrink over time), but no one can deny that it’s very big indeed.

It’s especially good for inexpensive, youth-oriented fashions and accessories. Before browsing handbags and baubles, fill your stomach; if you’ve not tried it before, go for some of the braised snacks Mandarin-speakers call luwei.

A mixture of tempura, soy-based items such as tofu, and animal parts that will delight lovers of exotic cuisine (think gizzards, hearts, and necks of chickens, ducks’ tongues, and various pig innards), luwei is usually eaten with noodles – but it can also be enjoyed as a main dish.

Taipei’s Shilin Night Market Depending on wind direction and the time of day, mouthwatering wafts of tempting aromas from Taipei’s bestknown night market might well reach you before you’ve even exited MRT Jiantan Station.

One of the few night markets housed in a permanent building, the Shilin bazaar boasts well over 500 vendors, some of whom keep going until two o’clock in the morning. Not all of these minieateries are open every day of the week, but you can be sure of finding something that’ll make your palate very happy indeed.

One of the most famous snacks here is dabing bao xiaobing, literally “small bun wrapped inside a big bun.” The small bun is a deep-fried dumpling filled with red beans or sesame.

It’s placed inside a larger bun a bit like an Indian chapatti, then thumped with a stick. Dabing bao xiaobing are quite filling, but happily enough you’ll still have space for something else.

You’ll see some creatures you might never have eaten before, such as puffer fish Tainan’s Flower Garden Night Market Unlike some of Taiwan’s other famous night markets, Flower Garden (a direct translation of its Chinese name, Huayuan) is open only three days per week: Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.

There’s a good reason for this – the authorities want to give those who live nearby some relief from the great presses of fun-seekers and traffic jams. Flower Garden gets exceptionally crowded; I’ve been in Taiwan for almost two decades, so when I say here you can see what locals mean when they talk of “people mountain, people sea,” believe me – it gets packed. Arrive on two wheels or, even better, take a taxi to Haian Road, Section 3.

There is, of course, a reason why this night market is so popular. Per hectare, the range of foods (meals you sit down for as well as morsels to munch on while walking) is pretty much unbeatable.

Fengshan’s Zhonghua Street Tourist Night Market Now a district within the Kaohsiung City mega-municipality, Fengshan used to be a down-at-heel city that all but a few tourists skipped. In recent years, it’s been made over. It used to be a walled settlement, and among other initiatives the 200-yearold gun emplacements have been tidied up. The banks of the canal, which dates from the late 1830s, have been turned into an appealing promenade.

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Travel in Taiwan

LET'S GO OUT TONIGHT! Zhonghua Street Tourist Night Market, which last year placed in the top 10 in a poll on Taiwan’s most popular night markets, isn’t a collection of mobile vendors but rather a strip of eateries less than a 10-minute walk from Fengshan Railway Station (taking the KMRT Orange Line to Fengshan Station gets you even closer).

If you want great food at night-market prices but without strangers brushing your elbows as you eat, this could be the place for you. Shaved-ice and jelly-fig desserts go down well if you feel you’ve been overloading with oily food.

If you’re happy to stand up, head for nearby Weixin Road.

Vendors there specialize in dumplings, but be prepared to queue.

For more information about Taiwan’s night markets visit: www.2010night.com/en.

What's this? {ENGLisH & CHINESE}

Small sausages wrapped in big sausages Vegetable rolls

Ai 3rd/4th Road Dianji Temple Fengjia Night Market Fengshan District Flower Garden Night Market Haian Road, Sec. 3 Miaokou Night Market puffer fish jelly fig

kou luwei miao “people mountain, people sea“

Bubble tea

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Travel in Taiwan

Ren 3rd Road shaved ice Shilin Night Market “small bun wrapped inside a big bun“ Tianliao River Weixin Road Zhonghua Street Tourist Night Market

愛三/四路 奠濟宮 逢甲夜市 鳳山區 花園夜市 海安路三段 廟口夜市 河豚 愛玉 口 滷味 廟 人山人海 仁三路 剉冰 士林夜市 大餅包小餅 田寮河 維新路 中華街觀光夜市

TIME Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:30pm Saturday at 8:00pm

LOCATION Cement Hall at Taiwan Cement Building 113 Zhongshan North Road, Sec. 2, Taipei Take Jinzhou Rd. Entrance www.taipeieye.com

TICKETING INFORMATION NT$550 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday (60mins Show) NT$880 on Saturday (90mins Show) Tickets at Cement Hall, TaipeiEYE Box Office Ticketing Inquiries 886-2-2568-2677

15% discount if paying with Citibank credit card or upon showing international student card

Advertisement HOTEL INFORMATION

Hotels of Taiwan

V

THE GRAND HOTEL 圓山大飯店

Taipei 台北

isitors to Taiwan have a wide range of choice when it comes to accommodation. From five-star luxur y hotels that meet the

highest international standards, to affordable business hotels, to hot-

spring and beach resort hotels, to privately-run homestays located in the countr yside there is a place to stay that satisfies ever y traveler’s

No. of Rooms: 487 (Suites: 57) Room Rates:

Single/DBL NT$ 5,700 – 11,000

Suite NT$ 15,000 – 28,000 Desk Personnel Speak: English, French, Spanish, and Japanese

needs. What all hotels of Taiwan — small and big, expensive and affordable — have in common is that ser ve and hospitality are always of the highest standards. The room rates in the following list have been checked for each hotel, but are subject to change without notice.

Restaurants: Western, Cantonese, Northern China Style Dumplings, tea house, coffee shop Special Features: Grand Ballroom, conference rooms for 399 people, 10 breakout rooms, business center, fitness center, sauna, Olympic-size swimming pool, tennis courts, billiards

Room rates at the hotels apply.

1 Chung shan N. Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei City, 10461 R.O.C 10 4 61台北市中山北 路 四段1號

Tel: 886.2.2886.8888 Fax: 886.2.2885.2885

www.grand-hotel.org

THE REGENT TAIPEI

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Taipei 台北

MIRAMAR GARDEN TAIPEI 美麗信花園酒店

Taipei 台 北

No. of Rooms: 93 rooms, 28 offices, 4 meeting rooms Room Rates:

Superior Room NT$ 5,600+10% Executive Room NT$ 6,000+10%

Junior Room NT$ 6,800+10% Excellency Room NT$ 7,800+10%

Premium Suite NT$ 8,800+10%

No. of Rooms: 203 Room Rates:

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Boss Suite

Premier Suite

English, Japanese, Chinese

General Manager: Te Yao

Restaurants:

Desk Personnel Speak: Chinese, English

Desk Personnel Speak: English, Japanese, Mandarin, Taiwanese, Cantonese

No. of Rooms: 538 Room Rates:

Superior Room Deluxe Room Junior Suite Corner Suite Residence Elite Suite

NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$

Desk Personnel Speak:

12,000 13,000 20,500 30,500 17,000 24,500

Szechuan & Cantonese Cuisine, Japanese Cuisine, Steak House & Teppanyaki, Lounge Bar, Buffet, Café

Special Features: Executive business

center, fitness center, sauna, rooftop swimming pool, SPA, ballroom and convention facilities, parking, laundry service, 24-hour room service, wireless Internet, airport transportation service

58

Special Features: Free wireless acess, VIP lounge, private meeting rooms and secretarial services, private office rental services, high-speed ADSL broadband Internet, non-smoking floors, safety deposit box, laundry service, limousine service, airport transportation, basement parking, gym

TAIPEI GARDEN HOTEL 台北花園大酒店

No. of Rooms: 241 Room Rates: NT$ 7,000 NT$ 8,000 NT$ 9,000 NT$ 13,000 NT$ 18,000

General Manager: Linda Chu

Restaurants: Rain Forest Café, Garden Terrace, Lounge 81

Superior Room Premier Room Deluxe Room Junior Suite Garden Suite

Taipei 台 北

NT$ 7,000 NT$ 8,000 NT$ 9,000 NT$ 10,000 NT$ 16,000

(All rates are subject to 10% service charge)

Desk Personnel Speak:

Japanese, English, Chinese

Restaurants: La Fusion Restaurant, La Fusion Bakery, Hanazono Japanese Restaurant, La Fusion Bar, La Fusion Deli Special Features:

Special Features:Business center, Pyramid Club - luxury executive floor, multifunctional room, Internet service, 32-inch LCD TV, garden terrace, bar, fitness club, outdoor pool, sauna, spa, aromatherapy, car park

Fitness Center, Business Center, Conference & Dining Facilities; (Rooms Facilities) 32” LCD TV/Pay Broadband Internet Access/ Multi Channel Satellite TV with Domestic and Foreign Programming/En-suite Shower and Bath/TOTO Washlet

83 Civic Boulevard, Sec. 3, Taipei City, 104 104台北市市民大道三段8 3號

1, Zhonghua Rd. Sec. 2, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10065

41 Chung Shan (Zhongshan) N. Rd., Sec. 2, Taipei City, 104

11F, 495 Guangfu S. Rd., Xinyi District, Taipei City 110

104台北市中山北路二段41號

110 台北市 信義 區 光復 南 路 49 5 號 11樓

Tel: 02.2523.8000 Fax: 02.2523.2828

Tel: 02.8780.8000 Fax: 02.8780.5000 E-mail: pbc.taipei@msa.hinet.net

Tel: 02.8772.8800 Fax: 02.8772.1010 E-mail: info@miramargarden.com.tw

Tel: 886.2.2314.6611 Fa x: 886.2.2314.5511 E-mail: fo@taipeigarden.com.tw

www.grandformosa.com.tw

www.businesscenter.com.tw

www.miramargarden.com.tw

www.taipeigarden.com.tw

Travel in Taiwan

10 0 6 5台北市中正 區中 華路二 段 1號

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GLORIA PRINCE HOTEL TAIPEI 華 泰 王 子大 飯 店

Taipei 台北

No. of Rooms: 220 Room Rates: Deluxe / Single / Twin & Double NT$ 7,800~8,500

Suite NT$ 9,500~20,000 Desk Personnel Speak: Chinese, English, Japanese

COSMOS HOTEL 天成大飯店

No. of Rooms: 226 Room Rates:

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NT$ 3,200 ~ 3,500 NT$ 4,000 ~ 5,000 NT$ 4,000 NT$ 4,500 NT$ 4,800 ~ 5,000 NT$ 7,000 ~ 10,000 NT$ 4,300

Restaurants: La Fontaine (Western), Chiou Hwa (Chinese)

Desk Personnel Speak: Chinese, Japanese, English, Cantonese

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Restaurants: Shanghainese,

Special Features: Conference rooms,

flower shop, barber shop, souvenir shop, parking area

ROYAL BIZ TAIPEI 金來商旅

Taipei 台 北

No. of Rooms: 48 Room Rates:

Standard Room NT$ 6,000+10%

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Superior Suite NT$ 7,500+10% Desk Personnel Speak: English, Chinese, Japanese, Restaurants: Lobby Lounge (Western and Chinese buffet breakfast) Special Features: Full-amenity meeting rooms, gym, business services, airport limousine service, laundry service, free mechanized parking lot, tour arrangements, currency exchange, close to the MRT system and major commercial and tourist sites.

43, Chunghsiao (Zhongxiao) W. Rd., Sec. 1, Taipei City, 100

369 Lin-sen (Linsen) N. Rd., Taipei City, 104 104台北市林森北路3 69號

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Tel: 02.2581.8111

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71, Sec. 1, Jinshan S. Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 100 10 0 台北市中正 區 金 山南 路 一段71號

HOTEL ÉCLAT 怡亨酒店

Taipei 台 北

No. of Rooms: 60 Room Rates:

Deluxe Room Grand Deluxe Room Premier Room Premier 9 Éclat Suite

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12,000 12,500 13,000 15,000 35,000

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Restaurants: Ming Yuen, Éclat Lounge, George Bar

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370, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd., Da-an District, Taipei City 106 106 台北市敦化南路一段370號

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No. of Rooms: 211 Room Rates:

No. of Rooms: 211 Room Rates:

Mountain View King Room NT$ 13,000~14,000 Mountain View Two Queen Room NT$ 13,000~14,000

Zen Mountain View Room NT$ 13,000~14,000

Lake View King Room NT$ 15,000~16,000

Lake View Two Queen Room NT$ 15,000~16,000

Washiki Lake View Room NT$ 15,000~16,000

Governor Lake View Suite NT$ 20,000~21,000

Royal Lake View Suite NT$ 25,000

Summit Lake View Suite NT$ 120,000

Penthouse Suite NT$ 150,000 (All rates are subject to 10% service charge)

Special Features: Business center, fitness center, meeting rooms, Club House with luxury furniture and advanced media facilities for private meetings and gatherings, wood-floored open-air Sky Garden, parking tower, close to the MRT system near Zhongshan Elemen tary school MRT station and key commercial and entertainment districts.

Desk Personnel Speak: English,Chinese, Japanese RESTAURANTS: La Rotisserie, Le Palais, Le Thé, Le Bar Special Features:Gym, business center, ballroom and function rooms, VIP salon, wireless internet, gift shop, room service, E-butler service, airport transportation service, located in an area of the city with heritage sites and tourist attractions.

477, Linsen N. Rd., Zhongshan District, Taipei City 104 104台北市中山區林森北路477號

No.3, Sec. 1, Chengde Rd., Taipei City 10351

No.23, Zhongzheng Rd., Sun Moon Lake, Yuchi Township, Nantou County 55546

10 3 51台北市承德 路 一段 三號

Tel: 02.7743.1000 Fax: 02.7743.1100

5 5 5 4 6 南 投 縣 魚 池 鄉日月潭中正 路2 3 號

Tel: 02.2181.9999 Fax: 02.2181.9988

www.hotelsense.com.tw

www.palaisdechinehotel.com

Tel: 049.285.6788 Fax: 049.285.6600

Desk Personnel Speak: Chinese, English, Japanese RESTAURANT:Chinese food, buffet, teppanyaki, afternoon tea, lobby lounge, rooftop restaurant

Special Features:Banquet and conference facility, VIP lounge, boutique, wireless internet, e-butler, laundry service, room service, parking, SPA, hotspring, play ground, swimming pool, gym, HSR transportation service, out circular concourse, trail hiking, etc.

www.fleurdechinehotel.com

Superior Single Room Superior Twin Room Superior Triple Room Superior Family Room Deluxe Family Room Deluxe Suite Room Executive Suite Room

Hualien 花 蓮

NT$ 4,800 NT$ 5,400 NT$ 6,000 NT$ 6,600 NT$ 7,800 NT$ 8,800 NT$ 16,800

(All rates are subject to 10% service charge)

Desk Personnel Speak: English, Taiwanese, Chinese, Japanese

Restaurants: Western buffet-style, Chinese Special Features: Multifunctional banquet and meeting facilities, business center, male and female saunas, rental facilities for cars and bicycles, lounge bar, children’s games room, fitness center, chess room, outdoor swimming pool, green eco-pond, free transport to railway station and airport.

No.2, Yongxing Rd., Hualien City, Hualien County 97060 97060花蓮市永興路2號

Tel: 03.823.5388 Fax: 03.822.1185

hualien.chateaudechine.com

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Travel in Taiwan

Advertisement HOTEL INFORMATION SUNWORLD DYNASTY HOTEL TAIPEI

Taipei 台 北

王朝大酒店

No. of Rooms: 738 Room Rates: Deluxe Room NT$ 7,700 Premier Room Junior Suite Deluxe Suite Executive Suite

NT$ 8,200 NT$ 9,200 NT$ 11,500 NT$ 17,500

EXECUTIVE CLUB FLOOR

Deluxe Room Premier Room Deluxe Suite Executive Suite

NT$ 9,000 NT$ 9,500 NT$ 15,000 NT$ 21,000

TAIPEI GALA HOTEL 慶 泰大 飯 店

Taipei 台 北

No. of Rooms: 160 Room Rates:

Single Room NT$ Deluxe Single Room NT$ Deluxe Twin Room NT$ Suite Room NT$

4,200 4,600 5,000 6,600

SAN WANT HOTEL TAIPEI 台北神旺大飯店

Taipei 台 北

English, Japanese, Chinese

阿里山賓館

No. of Rooms: 268 Room Rates:

No. of Rooms: 35

Single NT$ 6,000~ 8,800

Twin NT$ 6,800~ 9,600

Suite NT$ 8,000~ 36,800 D esk Personnel Speak:

English, Japanese, Chinese

Desk Personnel Speak:

ALISHAN HOUSE

Restaurants: French All Day Dining (French), Chao Ping Ji (Cantonese & Dim-Sum), Sumie Nouvelle Japonaise Cuisine (Japanese), Pozzo Bakery, Zorro Bar

Chiayi 嘉 義

Room Rates:

Scenery Suite NT$ 6,600 Honey Suite NT$ 6,600 Fragrant Suite NT$ 8,600 Superior Suite NT$ 9,500 VIP Suite NT$ 12,000

(Prices above not including 10% Service Charge)

General Manager: Mr. Jen-Shing Chen

Desk Personnel Speak:

Restaurants: Golden Ear Restaurant (Western semi buffet); Golden Pot (Chinese Cuisine)

Restaurants: Le Parc Café, Magnolia Court,

Special Features: Business Center,

Special Features:

Restaurants: Chinese, Café, Courtyard

meeting rooms, airport transfer service, parking lot, laundry service, free Internet access, LCD TV, DVD player, personal safety box, mini bar, private bathroom with separate shower & bath tub, hair dryer

Two minutes walk from MRT ZhongXiao Dunhua Station. Business Center, Fitness Center, Conference Room, Banquet Room for 500 people, Free Parking for Room Guests, Free Broadband Internet Access in Guestrooms, In-Room Safe, Express/Dry Cleaning Service, Fine East and West Art Collections on Display

Special Features:

Chinese, Japanese, English Canton Palace

Special Features: 738 large-size guest

rooms with high ceilings, incl. 42 suites.

Grand lobby entrance with magnificent atrium.

Outdoor swimming pool heated during winter.

Fully equipped gym, fitness center, sauna, and aerobics room. Fully equipped business center.

Hi-speed broadband Internet access. Safety deposit box. Express laundry service. Limousine service, airport pick-up. State-ofthe-art audiovisual equipment.

Desk Personnel Speak:

Chinese, English, Japanese

Broadband Internet access in guestrooms, business center, Souvenir Shop, Gazebo, 1950’s dance hall, foot massage

186 Songjiang Rd., Taipei City,104

16 Sianglin Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County, 605

104台北市松江路18 6號

100 Dun Hua North Road, Taipei Taiwan R.O.C. Tel: 02.2719.7199 Fa x: 02.2545.9288 E-mail: bc@sunworlddynasty.com.tw

Tel: 02.2541.5511 Fax: 02.2531.3831 Reservation Hotline: 02.2541.6888 E-mail: galahtl@ms18.hinet.net

www.sunworlddynasty.com

www.galahotel.com.tw

台北市敦化北路100號

ZENDA SUITES 成大會館

No. of Rooms: 90 Room Rates: Business Single Room Deluxe Single Room

Deluxe Twin Room

Business Suite

Deluxe Suite

Tainan 台南

NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$

3,900 4,100 4,500 5,600 6,800

(All rates are subject to 10% service charge)

Desk Personnel Speak: English, Chinese, Japanese RESTAURANT: Breakfast Lounge Special Features: Located in the center of the city, spacious rooms with wide views, 24H self-service business center, free Internet access, gym, multifunctional meeting and banquet rooms, coin laundry, free indoor parking, Tainan Railway Station and shuttle-bus stop for High Speed Rail close by, beside major university campus with century-old trees and jogging opportunity.

KING’S TOWN HOTEL 京城大飯店

172 ZhongXiao East Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei City, 106 106台北市忠孝東路四段172號

Tel: 02.2772.2121 Fax: 02.2721.0302 E-mail: reservation@sanwant.com

花蓮 經 典假日飯 店

No. of Rooms: 150

No. of Rooms: 79

Room Rates:

Room Rates:

Business Single Room NT$

Deluxe Single Room NT$

Business Twin Room NT$

Family Twin Room NT$

2,640 3,080 3,080 4,400

( Prices above including 10% Service Charge )

Desk Personnel Speak: Chinese, English, Japanese

Restaurants:Chinese and Western style food, delicious buffet, cold dishes, fruit, and salad bar Special Features:Business center, non-

smoking floors, wireless Internet access, 32” LCD TVs, newspaper, free parking, tourist map, currency exchange

E-mail: office@alishanhouse.com.tw

www.alishanhouse.com.tw

www.sanwant.com

HUALIEN CITY CLASSIC RESORT HOTEL

Kaohsiung 高雄

605嘉義縣阿里山鄉香林村16號 ALISHAN Tel: 05.267.9811 Fax: 05.267.9596 TAIPEI Tel: 02.2563.5259 Fax: 02.2536.5563

Hualien 花 蓮

Standard Room Superior Twin Superior Triple Superior Double Twin Superior Suite Classic Suite

AZURE HOTEL

花蓮藍天麗池飯店

Hualien 花 蓮

No. of Rooms: 153 Room Rates: NT$ 4,000 NT$ 4,200 NT$ 4,800 NT$ 5,600 NT$ 6,000 NT$ 10,000

Desk Personnel Speak:

Superior Room Classic Room Deluxe Room Theme Room Azure Suite

NT$ 3,800 NT$ 4,600 NT$ 6,800 NT$ 6,800 NT$ 12,000

Desk Personnel Speak: Chinese, English, Japanese

Chinese, English, Japanese

Restaurants:Taiwanese/Hakka cuisine,

Restaurants:Chinese, Western, and International cuisine, afternoon tea

Special Features:Guestrooms with floor-

Special Features:1/2F public area with unlimited Internet access, broadband Internet access in guestrooms, notebooks available at meeting room, free self-help coffee and tea, free parking, central location (5-min. walk to railway station), pick-up service, projector and screen available at conference room, newspapers and magazines, LCD screen TV-sets

brunch, Western cuisine

to-ceiling windows, views of Pacific Ocean or Central Mountain Range, multifunctional public space, Azure Club, gym, pet hotel, KTV, board game and computer game room, located in Hualien City center, close to snack food and shopping streets

Tel: 06.275.8999 Fax: 06.209.3567

362 Jiuru (Chiu Ju) 2nd Rd., Sanmin District, Kaohsiung City, 80745 8 0 74 5 高 雄 市 三 民 區 九 如 二 路 3 6 2 號 Tel: 07.311.9906 Fax: 07.311.9591 E-mail: ksthotel@ms33.hinet.net

139 Guolian 5th Rd., Hualien City, 970 970 花蓮市國聯五路139號 Tel: 03.835.9966 Fax: 03.835.9977 Reservation: 03.833.6066 E-mail: service@classichotel.com.tw

www.zendasuites.com.tw

590 Zhongzheng Rd., Hualien City, 970 970 花蓮市中正路590號 Tel: 03.833.6686 Fax: 03.3.832.3569

www.kingstown-hotel.com.tw

www.classichotel.com.tw

www.azurehotel.com.tw

2, Daxue Rd., Tainan City 701 台南市大學路2號

60

Close to Exit 1 of MRT Xingtian Temple Station on the Luzhou Line.

Travel in Taiwan

“Taiwan – The Heart of Asia” is the new brand used by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau in its efforts to promote tourism in Taiwan and make the island a top travel destination in the world. It replaces the brand “Taiwan, Touch Your Heart”, which was successfully used since 2001.

Accompanying the new brand is a new heart-shaped visual identity showing www.taiwan.net.tw

things representative of Taiwan, such as a temple, Taipei 101, tea and dumplings, birds and butterflies, flowers, indigenous art, and fine cuisine. The new logo signifies a new era in Taiwan tourism, an era during which visitors will be able experience the warmth and hospitality of the Taiwanese people and find out why Taiwan is the “Heart of Asia”!

ISSN:18177964

GPN:2009305475

200 NTD

FEATURE

Spectacular scenery awaits travellers following the highway between Hualian and Suao.

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TOP FIVE MOUNTAINS

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FEATURE

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Travel in Taiwan

TOP FIVE MOUNTAINS

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Bicycing on Little Kinmen allows you to get close to nature and explore this f ascinating island.

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Travel in Taiwan

FEATURE Breathtaking scenery along Central Cross-Island Highway near Hehuanshan.

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Travel in Taiwan

Among the greatest challenges of bikers in Taiwan is riding up to Wuling Pass in central Taiwan.

TOP FIVE MOUNTAINS Back

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FEATURE Back

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TOP FIVE MOUNTAINS

The East Rif t Valley attracts bicylists with paddy fields, tea plantations and towering mountains as backdrop.

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FEATURE

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TOP FIVE MOUNTAINS

In recent years, bicycling in Taiwan has become a popular way of spending weekends and holidays.

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FEATURE

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TOP FIVE MOUNTAINS

In Taipei and Kaohsiung dedicated bikeways can be found along the cities’major rivers.

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FEATURE Back

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The port town of Danshui is a popular destination for bicycle trips in northern Taiwan.

TOP FIVE MOUNTAINS Back

At New Life Hot Spring Resort in Hualien bicylists can refresh their weary bodies in soothing hot spring pools.

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FEATURE Back

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TOP FIVE MOUNTAINS

Buying a quality made in Taiwan bicycle is very convenient in one of the many bike shops on the island.

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Travel in Taiwan