Travel in Taiwan (No.48, 2011 11/12)

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No. 48, 2011

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FOOD JOURNEY

The Spring Onions of Sanxing

THE BEST ROUTES

Quick Trip around Hengchun Peninsula

HISTORY

Legacy of Mining in Jinguashi and Shifen

Taipei 101 Fireworks Modern Artist Jun T. Lai Late Evening Activities Pineapple Cake DIY

Hot-Spring Pleasures

Beitou, a Place for Recreation and Cultural Exploration

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

Welcome to Taiwan!

Dear Traveler, You’ve just recently f lipped your wall calendar over to the 11th month, and you no doubt have many empty boxes to be f illed in with “things to do.” Af ter f lipping through the many pages in this issue of Travel in Taiwan, you’ll no doubt then be faced with a serious box shortage. Thankfully, however, December presents you with another clean slate.

Explorations in our main articles are for the most part focused on the north part of the island, with one excursion to the southernmost tip. In our Feature section we soak up the history and culture of the famed Beitou hot-springs resort area, on Taipei City’s mountainous north side, an R&R destination that f irst f lourished under the Japanese 1895~1945. We stay in Taipei for a visit to artist Jun T. Lai’s studio in On Stage /O f f Stage, chatting about the inf luence her global travels have had on her work and her lifelong exploration of “being and transformation.”

In a lighter and more active vein, we then head out in Let’s Go Out Tonight! for a night on the town reveling in some of the healthy sporting activities Taipei offers well into the dark hours each day. Indoor rock climbing, anyone? Bowling? Ice skating? In our Histor y section we dig deep into the story of the mountain-def ined Shifen and Jinguashi communities, which sport proud mining legacies and attractive related tourist facilities, and in Food Journey we satisf y your appetite for cultural knowledge with a piece on “Spring Onion County,” Sanxing Township, in Yilan County, f inding out just what makes this area’s spring onions recognized as the best in the land.

Our southern-tip trip is to the Hengchun Peninsula, in the Best Routes section, where our intrepid writer takes you on a round-the-peninsula scooter adventure, you (vicariously) hanging on as passenger, introducing the many beautiful natural spots that can be visited inside and outside the large park that def ines the region’s character, Kenting National Park As you can see, an exploration of “small island” Taiwan requires many major decisions.

Enjoy.

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

CONTENTS

Nov ~ Dec 2011

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Publisher Janice Seh-Jen Lai Editing Consultants

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

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

Tel: 886-2-2711-5403 Fax: 886-2-2721-2790 E-mail: vision@tit.com.tw General Manager Wendy L. C. Yen Deputy General Manager Frank K. Yen Editor in Chief Johannes Twellmann English Editors Rick Charette, Richard Saunders DIRECTOR OF PLANNING & EDITING DEPT Joe Lee MANAGING EDITOR Sunny Su EDITORS Aysel Then, Ming-Jing Yin, Vivian Liu, Gemma Cheng CONTRIBUTORS R ick Charette, Joe Henley, Catherine Thomas & Alice Davis , Amanda Hsiao, Owain Mckimm, Andrew Crosthwaite, Richard Saunders, Kurt Weidner PHOTOGRAPHERS Sunny Su, Maggie Song, Bobby Wu, Karen Pan ART DIRECTOR Sting Chen DESIGNERS Ivy Chen, Maggie Song, Rinka Lin, Karen Pan Administrative Dept Hui-chun Tsai, Nai-jen Liu, Xiou Mieng Jiang Advertising Hotline + 886-2-2721-5412

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 November/December, 2011 www.tit.com.tw/vision/index.htm Copyright © 2011 Tourism Bureau. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form without written permission is prohibited.

Where you can pick up a copy of Travel in Taiwan Abroad

Offices of the Tourism Bureau in Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Frankfurt; Taiwan Representative Offices; Overseas Offices of the Ministry of Economic Affairs; Overseas Offices of the Central News Agency; onboard China Airlines, EVA Air and other selected international airways; selected travel agencies in Asia, North America, and Europe; and other organizations 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

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 Relaxing and healthful — hot spring bathing in Beitou is one of the popular things to do in Taipei during the cooler winter months.

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.

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FEATURE

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FOOD JOURNEY 34

Beitou

— Main — Eat — Stay — Buy

The Beitou Hot Springs Resort Area Beitou Day Trip: A Good Soak & Good Food The Beitou Experience: From Rustic Japanese Inn to Sleek Modern Resort Beitou’s Museums: Cultural Showcases of Past Worlds

16 Hot Springs

— Soaking around the Island: Five Excellent Choices for Hot-Spring Fun in Taiwan

1 Publisher’s Note 47 Peculiar Taiwan 4 News & Events around Taiwan 52 Festivals and Events 6 Concerts, Exhibitions, and Happenings

on stage/off stage MY PHOTO TOUR 18 Artist Jun T. Lai

— About Being and Transformation

28 Vistas Big and Wide

— Capturing Amazing Scenes in

Grand Panorama Pictures

Spring Onion Country — Sanxing Township Offers Ideal Conditions for Cultivating Scallions

LET’S EAT! 38

“Eggplant Bites Onion” — Sampling Dishes Made with Spring Onion

LEARNING EXPERIENCE 40 Pineapple Pastry DIY

— Learning How to Make Taipei’s No. 1 Gift Choice at Kuo Yuan Ye Museum

THE BEST ROUTES 42 Sandy Beaches, Rocky Coastline, Quiet Country

HISTORY 22

Jinguashi

— Two Excellent Places for History Tours

and Shifen

LET’S GO OUT TONIGHT 30

Evening Workout

— Active Fun till the Late Hours

— A Whirlwind Tour Round Hengchun Peninsula

FESTIVAL 48 Launching the New Year with a Bang!

— Ringing in the New Year at Taipei 101

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Travel in Taiwan

WHAT'S UP

Number of Visitors Surpasses 500,000 in August

NEWS & EVENTS AROUND TAIWAN

Despite this year’s catastrophic earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Japan, which had a huge negative impact on travel in East Asia during Tourism the first half of the year, as well as other factors that have caused minor setbacks in the growth of Taiwan tourism, the number of visitors coming to Taiwan surpassed 500,000 in August, a growth rate of 14.62%, with visitors from Indonesia accounting for the largest growth (71.55%), followed

by Malaysia (42.21%), Argentina (40.48%), Singapore (29.35%), Japan (28.53%), and mainland China (16.91%). Tourism authorities are confident that, with this trend continuing, the total number of visitors to Taiwan for 2011 will surpass the targeted 6 million.

Flights between Taitung and Nanjing Starting this November, the city of Taitung in Taiwan’s southeast and Nanjing in mainland China’s Jiangsu Province will be connected by direct scheduled flights. There will be one flight per week, departing from Taitung Airport for Nanjing Lukou International Airport on Wednesdays and returning on Thursdays. The flights will benefit travelers based in Taitung, who otherwise need to travel to Taoyuan or Kaohsiung before flying to mainland China, and will allow mainland Chinese travelers direct access to the beautiful but comparatively remote southeast part of Taiwan.

Aviation

Movie Theater

Jiufen’s Shengping Theater Reopened

The town of Jiufen, overlooking the rugged northeast coast of Taiwan, was once a thriving mining town sporting northern Taiwan’s largest movie theater, Shengping Theater. When the town fell on hard times in the modern era, many businesses successively closed down, including the theater, in 1986. Now, with Jiufen having become a boomtown again, thanks to tourism, Shengping Theater has been reopened and has taken its place as one of the many historic and cultural attractions of Jiufen.

Repertory Theaters around Taiwan A new trend in Taiwan’s cultural scene is the establishing of repertory theaters around the island staging regularly scheduled shows. The Executive Yuan’s CounCulture cil for Cultural Affairs has launched an initiative whereby representative venues will be selected around Taiwan, and has so far approved three theaters, which will receive subsidies: Tainan Ten-Drum Culture Village, Neihu Studio 18, and the Chinese Culture and Movie Center. While Ten-Drum Culture Village (www.ten-hsieh.com.tw) presents traditional Taiwanese percussion music, Neihu Studio 18 is the venue for a “Formosa Show” with well-known Taiwanese artists and performing groups; performances at the Chinese Culture and Movie Center cover a wide range of Taiwanese cultural icons, from betel-nut beauties to drum performances to Taiwanese opera and aboriginal dance.

New Taipei City, All in One The New Taipei City Government has recently published a new comprehensive and practical multilingual travel guide for the greater Taipei area. The book, Guidebook named “New Taipei City, All in One,” is available in four different versions (traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, English, and Japanese), each featuring content designed to meet the needs of the respective targeted readership. The English version, subtitled “The Ultimate Travel Guide,” caters to Western tourists’ tastes, with a focus on outdoor activities, and includes helpful and practical info on how to get around New Taipei City. At the time of writing, the Chinese version of the guidebook was already available at major local bookstores such as eslite and Kingstone, priced at NT$149. The English version is expected to be in stores in early 2012. The guidebook (all versions) can also be downloaded free of cost via the App Store if you are using an iPhone or iPad and have the Chinese az Travel app installed.

Taiwan Hotels Recognized by WTA The Sherwood Taipei was recently named Taiwan’s LeadHotels ing Hotel and Taiwan’s Leading Business Hotel by the World Travel Awards (www.worldtravelawards.com). The Sherwood, a member of The Leading Hotels in the World, is a 5-star hotel in central Taipei known for its elegant European-style interior design, sophisticated services, and excellent cuisine. At the same time, the Crowne Plaza Hotel Kaohsiung E-Da World was named Taiwan’s Leading City Resort and Taiwan’s Leading Conference Hotel. The only fivestar hotel in the Kaohsiung area, the Crowne Plaza is an upscale resort hotel with 656 rooms and a wide range of facilities for leisure and business guests.

New Tourist Spot

Wushe Street Film Set in Linkou

“Seediq Bale” has been the movie-industry highlight of 2011 in Taiwan. The film, about the Wushe Incident, an indigenous-tribe uprising against Taiwan’s Japanese colonial rulers in 1930, was filmed in various locations around Taiwan.

A large set depicting the mountain village of Wushe in the 1930s was built in New Taipei City’s Linkou District. In September this year this set, called “Wushe Street,” was opened to visitors, becoming an instant tourist attraction. Here you can step back in time and get a feel for the living conditions of mainly the Japanese military and their families in Wushe 80 years ago. The facility is open to the public until December 4. Tickets (NT$180) can be bought at ibon vending machines in 7-Eleven convenience stores (tickets are not sold at the site). A shuttle-bus service (included in the ticket price) is available from the MRT Banqiao Station (Exit 3).

Fo Guang Shan’s Buddha Memorial Center On April 8, 1998, presumably the last existing relic of the Sakyamuni Buddha, a tooth, was brought to Taiwan. The tooth, rescued and protected by a Tibetan lama who brought it from Tibet to India during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, was donated to Master Hsing Yun, the founder of the world-spanning Fo Guang Shan Buddhist organization based in Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City.

The donation was made by a group of Tibetan lamas to whom Master Hsing Yun promised to build a shrine as home for the tooth and a religious site where the faithful could pay their respects to the Buddha and make offerings. Planning for the building of the Buddha Memorial Center in Kaohsiung started in 1998, with support from the government. Over a decade in the making, the center, featuring a wide boulevard flanked by eight tall pagodas, a pyramid-shaped shrine, and an 80-meter-tall golden Buddha statue, is now near completion, and is scheduled to be officially opened in late December. For more information about Fo Guang Shan, visit: www.fgs.org.tw.

Religion

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 in advance for your feedback.

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.

Taiwan’s first public bath was opened in Taipei’s Beitou area in which year: 1895, 1913, 1947?

(Find the answer on page 10)

2.

The township of Sanxing in Yilan County is famous for which produce: bitter gourd, sweet potato, spring onion?

(Find the answer on page 35)

3.

Which small mountain southeast of Taipei 101 is regarded as the best vantage point from which to watch the annual New Year’s Eve fireworks show launched from the skyscraper: Snake Mountain, Elephant Mountain, Dragon Mountain?

(Find the answer on page 50)

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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.

10/3 ~ 1/3

Yukie Nishimura is one of the most famous Japanese female pianists and composers on the contemporary scene. She started playing the piano at age three, and won the Yamaha Junior Original Concert Music Award when she was just eight. Her first solo album was released in 1986, and since then she has recorded more than 30 albums and gone on many concert tours in Asia, North America, and Europe. Among her bestknown compositions are the soundtracks for Japanese TV drama series, most notably the soundtrack for The 101st Proposal (1991), with 350,000 copies sold. Her music is known for a light and ethereal sound, with inner power and strength and beautiful melodies that go straight to the heart.

This year she has performed concerts in Japan and other Asian countries to celebrate her 25th anniversary as a pianist/composer.

Emperor Kangxi and the Sun King Louis XIV: Sino-Franco Encounters in Arts and Culture 康熙大帝與太陽王路易十四 中法藝術文化的 交會特展

This exhibition reveals fascinating facts about the distant relationship between two great rulers of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Louis XIV of France (1638~1715), also known as the “Sun King,” and Chinese Emperor Kangxi (1654~1722), one of the three most important emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644~1912). Though worlds apart, both geographically and culturally, the two rulers led lives with many similarities, from ascending the throne at a young age, to being raised by a grandmother/ empress dowager, to becoming well versed in the literary and military arts, to exhibiting industry and diligence in ruling, and to consolidating the rule of their respective families. This exhibition, featuring a large number of objects from the National Palace Museum and museums in mainland China and France, gives a comprehensive account of the lives, times, and impact of Emperor Kangxi and Louis XIV, reveals the intangible bridge linking the two monarchs that was formed by French Jesuits, addresses connections between China and France and the mutual emulation in arts and culture prompted by missionaries and traveling merchants, and illustrates innovations in China and France that occurred in the wake of their encounters with each other.

Taipei International Convention Center

Yukie Nishimura: Smile Best Tour 2011 西村由紀江: 鋼琴演奏會

National Palace Museum

12/2 ~ 12/11

National Theater

12/11

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan: How Can I Live On Without You 雲門舞集: 如果沒有你

The inspiration for this dance performance came when Lin Hwai-min, founder and artistic director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, once found himself in the shower humming “How Can I Live On Without You,” a famous love song of the 1940s by Chinese singer Bai Kwong. He conceived the idea of having his dancers move to this old classic and other Chinese songs, as well as the latest pop-chart hits, breaking with his traditionally strict rules of minimal make-up and focus on the physical aspects of dancing. According to the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre dancers, there was great fun during rehearsals, the dancers enjoying moving to tunes they were very familiar with. Lovers of Cloud Gate can’t wait for the world premiere of this performance in December.

11/11 ~ 11/13

National Theater

La Com die-Française - Le Malade Imaginaire by Molière 法蘭西戲劇院—莫里哀 誰真的愛我?

The last play by French playwright and actor Molière (1622~ 1673), Le Malade Imaginaire (“The Imaginary Invalid”), is a comedy about a hypochondriac man and his relations with members of his family and the medical profession. The play ends with the man playing dead to find out about the real feelings of his second wife (who is only interested in his money) and his daughter (who loves her father deeply). In an ironic twist of fate, Molière died shortly after performing the lead character himself on four occasions, collapsing on stage. La Com die-Française is the world’s most longstanding French theatrical company, its home a sacred shrine for classical French drama; it is also known as La Maison de Molière (“House of Molière”).

Taipei Fine Arts Museum

11/11 ~ 11/13

The Photographic Journey of a Maverick – Huang Tse-Hsiu, 82 Years Young 臺灣攝影獨行俠—黃則修82影展

Venues Taipei Taipei Zhongshan Hall （台北中山堂）

( 台北市延平南 路 9 8 號 )

Add: 181 Zhongshan N. Rd., Sec. 3, Taipei City

Nearest MRT Station: Ximen

( 台北市中山北 路 3 段 181 號 )

Taipei International Convention Center

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

Add: 98, Yanping S. Rd., Taipei City

Born in 1930, Huang Tse-Hsiu is one of the pioneers of Taiwanese photography. His solo exhibition Longshan Temple (1961) and his exhibition with Wu Dongxing, entitled Yehliu – Forsaken Paradise (1962), marked the beginning of thematic photography in Taiwan. Apart from being a professional photographer, Huang also held such jobs as professor and news reporter. This exhibition includes selected photos from his earlier exhibitions as well as other black & white works and more recent color photographs. His photos are valuable depictions of Taiwan society and scenery spanning the past 50 years.

10/29 ~ 1/29

National Taiwan Science Education Center

Traveling The Silk Road 穿越時空—絲路行

In collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the National Taiwan Science Education Center presents this special exhibition featuring precious historical artifacts and specimens related to the Silk Road, on loan from five prestigious museums around the world. Unlike

Taipei Fine Arts Museum （台北市立美術館）

（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

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

National Taiwan Science Education Center（台灣科學教育館）

National Concert Hall（國家音樂聽） National Theater（國家戲劇院）

Add: 189 Shishang Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市 士商路 189 號 ) Tel: (02) 6610-1234 www.ntsec.gov.tw Nearest MRT Station: Shilin

Add: 21-1 Zhongshan S. Rd., Taipei City

Taichung

( 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 ( 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

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.ntmofa.gov.tw

（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 )

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

National Taiwan Museum

other exhibitions about the Silk Road, the focus of this show is on the technological innovations of the major cities along this ancient trade route. The exhibition includes life-like recreations of natural scenes, fascinating videos, high-tech computer-generated displays with interactive experiences, and even hands-on games, bringing the ancient Silk Road closer to visitors than ever before.

（國立臺灣博物館）

Add: 2 Xiangyang Rd., Taipei City

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

( 台北市 襄 陽 路二號 )

Kaohsiung

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

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

Novel Hall（新舞臺）

Add: 67 Wufu 1st Rd., Kaohsiung City

Add: 3 Songshou Rd., Taipei City

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

( 台北市松 壽路 3 號 )

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

National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall （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.

( 高 雄 市五福 一路 67 號 )

Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts（高雄市立美術館） 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://163.32.121.205/ Nearest KMRT Station: City Council

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FEATURE

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Travel in Taiwan

BEITOU

More Hot-spring bathing with nighttime views of the city at The Mountain Star hot spring resort

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Travel in Taiwan

Photo/ Bobby Wu

Based in Taipei, have a full day to play, and wondering where your hours can be edu-tainmentally whiled away? Let me show you the way. We’re headed off to a valley enclave in Taipei’s Beitou area where hot-spring waters flow and many attractive resorts, public baths, museums, and other attractions exist because of them.

FEATURE

Thermal Valley

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Travel in Taiwan

Photos/ Bobby Wu

Get

Facing the library, just outside the park, is the Ketagalan on the Taipei Metro (MRT) Danshui Line and head Culture Center. The Ketagalan tribe were Beitou’s original to Beitou Station, transfer to Xinbeitou Line and inhabitants, plains-dwellers. The local steaming waters and get off at Xinbeitou Station. Exiting, look up to see the sulf urous mists made them think witches lurked about, and peaks of Yangmingshan far off – Taipei’s north f rontier. they named the place “Patauw,” meaning “witches’ abode,” Look straight ahead and you’re staring into a narrow valley transliterated as “Beitou” in Mandarin Chinese. The center leading up into the Yangmingshan massif. The valley was hosts myriad temporary/permanent displays, performances, carved by the Beitou Stream and people have been soaking in symposiums, and other activities to introduce Taiwan’s 14 the sulf urous hot-spring water of this stream for more than a off icially recognized indigenous tribes and the f latland century, if not centuries. Narrow Beitou Park stretches along peoples now mostly absorbed. Especially the stream, and we’re headed up the attractive is the exhibit on the wellvalley, through the park, on a dayThe sulfurous waters bubbling craf ted traditional dress, highly varied, tour, visiting historical, cultural, and and spitting, the steam sometimes and arts/craf ts by today’s creators. natural sights strung out all the way fills the entire Thermal Valley on up to the valley’s top like a necklace cool days Back in the park, beside the library of priceless gems. If you walked to the is Beitou Hot Spring Museum, its home top-most site at a brisk pace without a fetching Victorian-style building. The Japanese, rulers of stopping, you’d need no more than 30 minutes, but we’re Taiwan 1895-1945, began developing Beitou’s springs soon af ter going easy, using a f ull day. taking over. This facility was Taiwan’s f irst public bath, long East Asia’s largest. It opened in 1913, in part because the First up, right in the park, is the young (opened in 2006) hygiene-strict Japanese wanted soakers out of Beitou Stream.

Taipei Public Library Beitou Branch. This, Taiwan’s f irst A Romanesque pool and columns have been restored, as has “green” library, is a place of stimulating innovation. Built of the original large, breezy tatami resting room, and there are wood and steel, everything recyclable, it looks more like a good artifacts and info displays, but for me the most valued big ski lodge in the North American Rockies than a library. gem is the wonderf ul (and rare) documentary footage of Roof top greenery keeps things cool, rainwater is gathered for Beitou and Taipei’s riverside areas, made quite beautif ul by interior use, and there are tree-shaded reading balconies, plus the Japanese, inveterate landscape “improvers.” many other impressive green-architecture highlights.

BEITOU 1. Enjoying a relaxing foot bath in the warm waters of Beitou Stream 2. Memorial marker outside Longnaitang commemorating Japanese crown prince Hirohito’s visit to Beitou 3. Beitou Outdoor Public Baths 4. Thermal Valley is a popular tourist spot in Beitou

Next up, still in the park, is the young, attractive Beitou Outdoor Public Baths. Wood is the theme, well complementing the surrounding green of the hills.

There’s a series of outdoor hillside pools, and a twohour soak costs just NT$40. Unlike Japanese practice, in Taiwan soakers wear swimgear and the sexes bathe together, unless otherwise stipulated.

Outside 1

2

3

the park, just downhill, is Longnaitang, Beitou’s oldest operational bathhouse (built in 1907). Small and simple by today’s standards, this is a purists’ delight, the “old days” still in place – separate male/female pools (though swimwear now obligatory), and the original “Beitou Stone” pools. The stone has hokutolite, a weakly radioactive crystalline substance that forms on stone in crusts, found only in Beitou and Japan. Immerse yourself in history here – literally – for just NT$100.

Back in the park, beside the baths is Plum Garden, an attractive villa of timber featuring Japanese and Western elements. Built in the 1930s, it was a summer home to celebrated politico and calligrapher Yu Youren 1949~1964. Today a visitors center, the old residence has Yu’s calligraphy on display and features various distinctive architectural and decorative elements. Most interestingly, the villa was built atop an existing bomb shelter, and has outer walls with battlements.

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Travel in Taiwan

FEATURE

1. Beitou Hot Spring Museum 2. Taipei Public Library Beitou Branch 3. Puji Temple

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From the villa, continue uphill through the ever-narrowing park via Beitou Hot Spring Museum a tree-shaded boardwalk. You’ll pass a was Taiwan’s first public couple of the small waterfalls that served bath, long East Asia’s largest as the area’s original hot-spring pool points. At pathway’s end, leave the park, cross the road, and enter Beitou Thermal Valley, Beitou Stream’s sulfur-water source, popularly called Hell Valley.

This is the heart of the hot-springs area, where witches long dwelled before modernity drove them out. A deep rock-strewn depression created by a long-ago volcanic burst, it’s f illed with what’s more a lake than pool, the sulfurous waters bubbling and spitting, the steam sometimes f illing the entire little valley on cool days. These are the Yangmingshan massif ’s hottest waters, at about 100 degrees Celsius.

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TAIPEI PUBLIC LIBRARY BEITOU BRANCH ( 臺北市立圖書館北投分館 )

Add: 251 Guangming Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City ( 台北市北投區光明路 251 號 ) KETAGALAN CULTURE CENTER ( 凱達格蘭文化館 )

Add: 3-1 Zhongshan Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City (台北市北投區中山路3-1號) BEITOU HOT SPRING MUSEUM (北投溫泉博物館 )

Returning to the main road, your walk now becomes steeper, leading in 10 minutes to three Japanese wood-built heritage sites near the valley’s top – in order, the still-operating Whispering Pine Inn and complexes today home to the Taiwan Folk Arts Museum and Shann Garden restaurant/teahouse. Detail on this trio is given in the articles following.

We

end our printed-page practice trip with a few tips. Af ter passing Thermal Valley, there are no stores, so bring water. Also, the folk-arts museum has a free shuttle to/from the MRT Xinbeitou/Beitou stations; on hot and humid days, consider doing this tour “backwards,” walking downhill.

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Travel in Taiwan

Add: 2 Zhongshan Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City ( 台北市北投區中山路 2 號 ) PLUM GARDEN & BEITOU OUTDOOR PUBLIC BATHS (梅庭 / 北投公共露天溫泉 )

Add: 6 Zhongshan Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City ( 台北市北投區中山路 6 號 ) LONGNAITANG ( 瀧乃湯 )

Add: 244 Guangming Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City ( 台北市北投區光明路 244 號 ) PUJI TEMPLE (普濟寺)

Add: 112 Wenquan Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City (台北市北投區溫泉路112號) ENGLISH & CHINESE

Beitou Beitou Park Beitou Stone Beitou Stream Beitou Outdoor Public Baths Thermal Valley Plum Garden Puji Temple Taiwan Folk Arts Museum Tangshou Guanyin Yangmingshan Yu You-ren

北投 北投公園 北投石 北投溪 北投公共露天溫泉 地熱谷 梅庭 普濟寺 北投文物館 湯守觀音 陽明山 于右任

Photos/ Bobby Wu

Beitou Park ends outside Thermal Valley. The two roads running along its sides merge and, just ahead, this road veers lef t. Make the turn and, on the high-slope (right) side, you’ll see a sign and steps leading up to Puji Temple, just beyond view. This is one of Taiwan’s few intact Japanese-style temples. Started in 1905, it was later f inished with signif icant donations from Japanese railway employees.

It long enshrined the spirits of railway workers who gave their lives in the line of duty, and today enshrines the Tangshou Guanyin, protector of the local hotsprings. An immaculate, rarely seen Shingon Buddhist sect temple, it’s in a style popular in Japan’s Edo period.

EAT

Beitou Day Trip

A Good Soak & Good Food

By Rick Charette Fine dining at Shann Garden in Beitou

Explorers of the Beitou hot-springs area have a number of upscale dining options, some in rustic Zen-style surroundings, others in chic new resorts.

Few

expatriates based in north Taiwan who have an interest in modern Chinese history are not aware that the Shann Garden in Beitou was once the Taiwan home of the “Young Marshal,” Zhang Xue-liang, a Manchurian warlord best known for kidnapping Generalissimo Chiang Kaishek in 1936. Zhang survived the incident and lived under house arrest thereaf ter.

Zhang lived for a time in what is today the Shann Garden (“Marshal Zen Garden”), a complex of Japanesebuilt wooden structures high on the Beitou slopes, f ronted by a sprawling panorama. In the Japanese era it served as a hot-spring inn, off icers’ club, and short-stay R&R retreat for kamikaze pilots. A Taiwan company, af ter undertaking a magnif icent renovation, now runs it as a teahouse/restaurant complex.

Shann Garden in Beitou was once the home of the “Young Marshal,” Zhang Xue-liang

indigenous-style roast pork ribs, introduced to him by Taiwan natives when he lived in the Hsinchu County hills, and the delectable cherry tomato marinated in Taiwanese Shaoxing wine. Additional non-food treats are outdoor foot-soak mineral pools, f ree for customers, and cozy private hot-spring rooms, rented by the hour; both come with grand outlooks.

Other

memorable dining experiences in this hotspring area – the many local historical treasures draw me here about every six months – have come at the teahouse/restaurant inside the Taiwan Folk Art Museum next door to the Shann Garden, which offers traditional Kaiseki set meals associated with the Japanese tea ceremony, and at Chikurintei and Elegant 18 restaurants just down the slope at the Spring City Resort. The former serves Japanese Kaiseki, the latter Western and Chinese, in modernistic settings complemented by antiques, high-end art, and big-window vistas.

SHANN GARDEN (少帥禪園 )

The menu, turned over every two months, features the Young Marshal’s favorite delicacies. My favorites f rom among his (as of Sept. this year) are the f ried shrimp cakes, which he ate f requently af ter being introduced to them by his chef in 1928 as part of his daily late-night health snack, the

Add: 34 Youya Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City ( 台北市北投區幽雅路 34 號 ) Tel: ( 02 ) 2893 - 5336 Website: www.sgarden.com.tw ENGLISH & CHINESE

Shaoxing wine Zhang Xue-liang

紹興酒 張學良

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Travel in Taiwan

STAY

Beitou's Resorts

From Rustic Japanese Inn to Sleek Modern Resort

By Rick Charette

Places

to stay run f rom rustic inns to large-sized box-type hotels catering to the tour-bus trade to sleek and modernistic newer resorts with attractive wood/glass/polished-stone themes, the latter ranging f rom mid-range to very expensive. Of course, the higher your location the better your view, with your sense of quiet isolation increased. Here are a few spots I’ve particularly enjoyed.

The Whispering Pine Inn began whispering its welcome in 1934. This cozy Japanese wood-built getaway, a place of f irstrate woodwork, has a small, secluded garden strategically graced with stone steps, a f ishpond, and other sculpted-landscape gems. Rooms are tatami and Western and have stone baths but no phones/Internet. Shoes come off at the front entrance.

(Rooms start at NT$3,600)

The Mountain Star offers 360-degree big-picture scenery and a sense of isolation

360-degree big-picture scenery and sense of isolation. There is green all around, either trees or small farm plots. To the rear looms Yangmingshan’s broad-shouldered Mt. Datun, to the east is Mt. Qixing and rounded Mt. Shamao. Chinese Culture University is perched on a plateau in the distance, looking like a giant mountain monastery. Taipei 101 twinkles and blinks, far off and far below, in the Taipei Basin.

The resort, mid-range in price, has a strong wood-plank theme. There are just three levels, the upper taken up with a quality restaurant wrapped in French windows, presenting majestic panoramas. The largest rooms are furthest from the northwest-corner lobby, facing downslope, with isolated alfresco hot-spring pools. The least expensive rooms, in the rear (upslope), have pretty hot-spring rooms viewed through an almost complete wall of glass, with two sunken tubs and foliage that gives them the look of encased Japanese-courtyard miniature sculpted gardens. (Rooms start at NT$2,500) THE MOUNTAIN STAR (山玥新館 )

Spring City Resort is perhaps the f irst of the new generation of chic upscale resorts built when Beitou’s hot-spring renaissance began in the 1990s, there are both Western- and Japanese-style rooms, all in bright creamy hues, and the wellchosen antiques and high-end art in rooms are a true pleasure.

Note that not all rooms have mountain views, and hot-spring rooms have private sulfur baths in stone tubs, all ref lected in the price. (Rooms start at NT$6,800)

Add: 68 - 15 Dongsheng Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City ( 台北市北投區東昇路 68 - 15 號 ) Tel: ( 02 ) 2896 - 5858 Website: www.mountain-star.com.tw

The Mountain Star resort sits far up above the close-knit cluster of commercial and residential buildings of the lower hot-springs area. What I like best about a stay here is the

Mt. Datun Mt. Qixing Mt. Shamao Yangmingshan

SPRING CITY RESORT ( 春天酒店 )

Add: 18 Youya Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City (台北市北投區幽雅路18號) Tel: ( 02 ) 2897 - 5555 Website: www.springresort.com.tw WHISPERING PINE INN ( 吟松閣溫泉旅館 )

Add: 21 Youya Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City ( 台北市北投區幽雅路 21 號 ) Tel: ( 02 ) 2891 - 2063 ENGLISH & CHINESE

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Travel in Taiwan

大屯山 七星山 紗帽山 陽明山

Photos/ Bobby Wu

The Mountain Star

In its heyday, the Beitou hot-springs area was home to a dense concentration of about 100 Japanese inns, hotels, and related enterprises.

Mineral water was brought in by underground pipe from high above. Today, you can still opt to stay at an original Japanese inn.

MUSEUM/BUY

Beitou’s Museums

Cultural Showcases of Past Worlds

By Rick Charette

An enclave with a deep-flowing stream of history and nostalgia, it is only appropriate that the Beitou hot-springs area has a number of fine museums amidst its many inns and resorts. They can be seen as bookmarks defining the valley, located at its bottom and top.

At

the valley’s top is my choice as Taiwan’s Japanese-style stone garden at Taiwan Folk Arts Museum prettiest museum, Taiwan Folk Arts Museum. Housed in a former Japanese hot-spring inn (built in 1921) that served as an imperial off icers’ indigenous peoples, and tells the tale of the tribal people club and once entertained kamikaze pilots on their f inal that once inhabited the hot-springs area. Beitou Hot Spring nights of mortality, the complex is among Taiwan’s largest Museum (beitoumuseum.taipei.gov.tw; Chinese) is housed in an examples of Japanese wood-built architecture, measuring attractive Japanese-built building of red brick, stucco, and about 2,500 square meters. Built in Chinese Tang Dynasty stained wood that has many original public-baths facilities style, it was renovated top to bottom 2002~2007, and is a work intact. It’s focused on the f lourishing of the Beitou hotof art in itself. springs culture in Taiwan’s f irst developed resort area.

Taiwan Folk Arts Museum stages exhibits on earl y Taiwan li f e and culture The museum stages exhibits on early Taiwan life and culture, with a Beitou focus. Beitou was once a key area in Taiwan’s ceramics production, the mineral-rich local earth much appreciated, and many exquisite high-end works are displayed, with historical background provided. I, avid history buff, particularly savor another exhibit, presenting black and white photos f rom the area’s Japanese colonialperiod heyday, when the developed valley looked nothing like it does today.

The

two other ma jor local museums are far below, at the valley’s mouth. The Ketagalan Culture Center (www.ketagalan.taipei.gov.tw) is focused on Taiwan’s

Your best Beitou memento-item location is the colorf ul cabin-corner gif t shop at Taiwan Folk Arts Museum, with quality selections of artistic value, including hand-painted oil-paper umbrellas (NT$960), fans (NT$1,880), and stonependant necklaces (NT$600), mounted glove-puppet costumes (NT$1,980), and craf t necklaces (NT$250). Shann Garden restaurant/teahouse next door has a clutch of cutesy knickknack items that is being steadily built up; the Ketagalan Culture Center’s shop offers arts and craf ts with indigenous themes.

TAIWAN FOLK ARTS MUSEUM (北投文物館 )

Add: 32 Youya Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City ( 台北市北投區幽雅路 32 號 ) Tel: ( 02 ) 2891 - 2318 Website: www.folkartsm.org.tw (free shuttle bus to/from Beitou/Xinbeitou MRT stations)

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Travel in Taiwan

FEATURE

Soaking around the Island

Five Excellent Choices for Hot-Spring Fun in Taiwan

My wife and her family, good Taiwanese folk, are passionate hot-spring soakers. New and/or untried resort destinations are often the focus of extended-family trips of up to 20 people and three generations. In my 20-plus Taiwan years I’ve sweated away many hours in this land’s steamy waters and I here present you with

By Rick Charette my choice of Taiwan’s very best hot-spring destinations.

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Travel in Taiwan

HOT SPRINGS

Wulai

is one hour by car south of Taipei, its hot-spring area at the mouth of a deep and picturesque gorge. This is the northernmost settlement of the Atayal Tribe, one of Taiwan’s largest indigenous groups, and tribal cuisine can be enjoyed here, as can traditional song-and-dance performances and good museum facilities. The mineral waters are a sulfur-carbonate composition, odorless, colorless, and transparent. There’s a cluster of hot-spring hotels, in all price ranges, but my favorite attraction is the three Wulai Outdoor Hot Spring pools, right by the river’s side – public, 24 hours, and free.

Ruisui

Hot Spring is 77 km south of Hualien City in eastern Taiwan, in a rif t valley at the foot of the Coastal Mountain Range. Its waters have a metallic quality – this is one of Taiwan’s few chloride-carbonate hotspring spots – low-alkaline and with a murky yellowish look f rom the abundant iron. Locals believe these are notably good for the spawning of baby boys. The resort, opened in 1919, has a Japanese-style hotel, public bathing area, and openair pool. Facilities include wooden tubs, family-use porcelain tubs, and group pools.

The area has numerous tea plantations with retail outlets, but the big draw for me is that Ruisui is also launch-point for Taiwan’s best white-water raf ting on the Xiuguluan River, creating a wonderf ully convenient destination for soaking-raf ting outings.

Zhaori

Hot Springs, on Green Island off the southeast coast, are one of the globe’s rare seawater-fed springs. Three large pools give you three temperature options, the pool f urthest f rom the beach receiving the least “coolant.” A separate spa pool has also been developed. The facility sits right at sea’s edge on a beach of exposed coral-rock; “Zhaori” means “facing the sun,” and the pools indeed face the morning sun over the sea. Enhancing this unique experience are scenery-rich trips around the island’s coastal loop road, by rented scooter, bicycle, or taxi. (There’s also a tourist shuttle-bus service.)

Guguan

is in the central mountains not far f rom Taichung City.

Developed as a hot-spring resort by the Japanese during the 1895-1945 colonial era, it achieved particular fame when Emperor Mei ji, it is said, was granted a son following a soak here, bringing the “male child springs” moniker still heard today. The bicarbonate waters, clear, odorless, and slightly acidic, are also suitable for drinking. Numerous hotels and inns offer private bathing, water provided through in-room taps. The resort area straddles the boulder-strewn upper Da jia River, in a lovely, rugged valley setting of superb views at 800 meters.

Tai’an

Hot Springs in Miaoli County is one of Taiwan’s lesser-developed hot-spring resorts, home to just a cluster of hotels simple and straightforward in character, surrounded by mountain and pristine forest. The clear, odorless waters are mildly carbonic-acidic. Beyond the superb natural scenery, the great attraction here is Tai’an Village’s unique concentration of Han-Chinese Hakka and indigenous Atayal-tribe residents, creating a compelling cultural mix.

泰雅族 海岸山脈 大甲溪 綠島 谷關 客家人

Ruisui Hot Springs Tai ' an Hot Springs Wulai Wulai Hot Springs Xiuguluan River Zhaori Hot Springs

瑞穗溫泉 泰安溫泉 烏來 烏來溫泉 秀姑巒溪 朝日溫泉

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Travel in Taiwan

Photos/ Vision Int'l

ENGLISH & CHINESE

Atayal Tribe Coastal Mountain Range Dajia River Green Island Guguan Hakka

ON STAGE／OFF STAGE

About

Being and Transformation

The old cliché has it that art imitates life, and vice versa. If that holds true, to get a good idea of what this ever-changing, always fluid, nonlinear thing called “life” is all about, one need only spend a few moments appreciating the works of versatile Taiwanese artist Jun T. Lai.

By Joe Henley

The

creations of many of history's greatest artists can be categorized according to distinct periods of creative impulse and stylistic shif ts. Picasso had his Blue and Rose periods, Renoir had his Impressionist and Pearly periods – among others – and on and on the list goes. For Lai, her inspiration bounds back and forth across a wide array of mediums and muses, f rom painting to sculpture to public installation pieces and back again. Her chosen materials ref lect her state of mind and are used to convey her beautif ul, joyous, transformative view of the world around her.

Lai's Taipei studio-cum-gallery, named “Jun’ Space,” is located down a nondescript, quiet alley in a mixed

residential and business district of Jun T. Lai the bustling city. The sign out f ront, with her f irst name cut skillf ully into steel in cursive, simply reads “Jun Art Studio,” with the branches of a tree bearing bright-pink f lowers hanging unobtrusively overhead. Walking through the glass f ront door, one is greeted by scores of multicolored plexiglass hearts mounted on the wall, the colors contained within each one bleeding into another. Plexiglass, as it turns out, is just one of many materials that has called out to Lai during her many years as an artist, its clear, shimmering, ref lective properties reminding her of the

Location: Dapinglin Station, MRT Xindian Line Dimensions: 15 x 12.7 x 14.6 m Medium: Stainless steel, LED lighting equipment Year: 2006 Taking natural scenery as the main concept, this work transforms a ventilation shaf t into a brighter free object, symbolizing a breathing channel for the MRT and the connecting of the subway with the open air. Visually and conceptually speaking, this work outlines a natural setting that allows people to breathe freely.

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Travel in Taiwan

Photos/ Jun' Space

Breathing

MODERN ART waters which surround her native land. But it was not until she lef t Taipei, the city of her birth, to explore the rest of Taiwan's wonders that she gained such an appreciation for the lush, bountif ul natural side of the island. To get the f ull story of her artistic transformation, we have to go back to the very beginning.

are kept in storage to, as she says, “give them a suntan,” displaying an easy sense of humor that goes perfectly with her spunky short-cropped hairdo and sharp, f iery eyes.

Lai's

f irst big break as an artist came in 1982, af ter she returned to Taiwan f rom a teaching and studying sojourn in New York City. Prior to that year, in 1953, her f irst artistic aspirations as a young according to the artist, there weren't many stages for Taiwanese artists to display their work, and thus there girl did not focus on the palette and brush, or wasn't much of a contemporary arts scene. But upon her the hammer and chisel. Instead, she set her sights on learning return, she found that the American Cultural Center was to play the piano, a form of expression she no longer dabbles staging exhibitions and she seized the opportunity to put her in but nevertheless does not rule out the possibility of work in the public eye. At this time she also met painter and returning to. “I was very interested in music because I think sculptor Richard Lin, whose abstract it’s the purest in terms of harmony and works would become a huge inf luence the most joyous, beautif ul thing,” she “I don’t typically work with just on Lai's own work. says. As anyone who has spent even a one material. It depends on what short amount of time with this artist I want or what I have” Then, in 1985, Lai, who was now of indomitable spirit soon realizes, she noticing galleries and museums popping is a passionate, determined woman who up all over Taiwan, took f irst prize in a contemporarycould never in good conscience rule out any form of personal sculpture competition at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum exploration even remotely within the realm of possibility.

(TFAM) with a piece that was part of her f irst Being and Trans f ormation Sculpture Series. This also marked the f irst Later, she attended Taiwan's Chinese Culture University, time she worked with plexiglass, and upon ref lection she studying in the Department of Fine Arts, before receiving her recollects that she wanted to make the colors of the material master's degree f rom Tama University in Japan. She began as appear as though musical tones, perhaps in tribute to her a painter, but quickly found that other art forms and a more early organic approach appealed to her. musical aspirations, “I don’t typically work with just one material. It depends “f ree and independent” on what I want or what I have,” she iterates in her elegant in her words, f rozen in time. and relaxed manner as she gives a tour of her Taipei studio.

She was drawn to the evocative “For example, this one,” she continues, walking toward an and alluring nature of the strong, oblong, smooth, tapered wooden sculpture mounted on the f lexible material, and was intrigued by wall, pointed at one end not unlike a surf board, which was the unique part of her Rising Horizon Sculpture Series I I I f rom the early way it played with nineties. “The reason why I sometimes use wood is I want shadows. to touch more with my hands and also wake up my sense of intuition.”

Born

The studio is f illed with pieces that clearly convey the depth and breadth of her artistic spirit, ranging f rom a bust she made during her college days to contemporary pieces.

Every once in a while, she'll switch pieces for ones that

Embracing the Future Location: Entrance of National Nanke International Experimental High School Dimensions: 882 x 565 x 643 cm Medium: Solid steel Year: 2011 This work is based on the forward-looking planning that underpins the establishment of all schools. The piece is entitled “Embracing the Future” and is shaped to resemble a person standing at the corner of intersecting roads. It could be a student, arms outstretched to welcome whatever the future has to of fer, a ship about to set sail or a gesture welcoming new visitors to the school.

The green circle at the top of the work represents the vital growth of seedlings, alluding to the expectations and aspirations of students for the future.

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Travel in Taiwan

ON STAGE／OFF STAGE

Graceful Look

Location: Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Station, MRT Wenhu Line Dimensions: 98 x 1200 x 260 cm Medium: Plexiglas, Neon Light Year: 2008 The MRT system is the major means of transportation in Taipei. It connects people, as rivers did in the times past, which carried people’s memories and hopes. As with the transit system today, the flickers of the flowing water reflected by the River in the Sk y signifies the dreams and hopes of modern lives.

“When light is involved, the shadow is not a complete shadow; the shadow becomes like another space, like another world,” she says assuredly, yet with a hint of mysticism behind her words.

“Being” and “transformation” are themes that have cropped up time and again during the course of Lai's life in the art world – concepts for which she offers her own interpretation, gained through a lifetime of wonder and inquisitive exploration. “‘Being’ is the harmony, the light, or joy. But recently I feel I have found a new way to explain this. ‘Being’ is more spiritual, and ‘transformation’ is life.”

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Travel in Taiwan

Buoyed by her success at the TFAM competition, Lai then traveled to Basel, Switzerland to take part in an artist-residency program, one of many she has participated in since the 1980s. It was there that she f irst started working with wood, and moved into installation pieces and sculpture, despite the fact that she had never formally trained as a sculptor. At this time her passion awakened for large, ambitious pieces of public art, of which there are now many examples scattered throughout Taiwan. Whenever she is commissioned to create a new piece of public art, she takes her audience into account f irst and foremost. She always begins with the same question: “What can I give them through my work?” The answer she always returns to is: “I want to give them a chance to think.”

Photos/ Jun' Space

River in the Sky

Location: Lef t side of the main entrance of New Taipei City Hall Dimensions: (W) 600 x (H) 700 cm Medium: Ceramic, Plexiglas, Stainless Steel Year: 2003 “Graceful Look” is installed at the lef t side of the main entrance of the New Taipei City Hall, symbolizing the elegant landscape and human kindness of New Taipei City. “Graceful Look” incorporates the rivers, sandbanks, the ocean, mountains, the tree of the city (camphor), and the flower of the city (azalea), to create a poetic image with rich colors and texture, creating a wall painting with Asian aesthetics.

MODERN ART

Checking

out two of Lai's most recent contributions to the artistic aesthetic of Taipei City and the surrounding New Taipei City is as easy as hopping on the MRT. At Dapingling Station on the Xindian Line, she transformed an ordinary ventilation shaf t into a towering white abstract representation of the f ree-f lowing nature of her hometown, simply and appropriately entitled “Breathing.”

At Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Station, the terminal station of the Wenhu Line, Lai unveiled “River in the Sky,” a blue-and-green plexiglass and neon-light formation on the station's ceiling, the of ten-unencumbered space she prefers to work with for her public pieces. Each piece of public art that she makes represents a time commitment of no less than one to three years f rom start to f inish.

Taipei and its environs, however, are not the only places to view Lai's many creations. Over the years she has traveled and lived all over Taiwan, spreading her concept of pure mirth and beauty as she has moved about, and she now plans to split her time between the capital city and the southeastern seaside county of Taitung, where she f irst gained her appreciation for the ocean and its captivating qualities, which drew her into her ongoing plexiglass period. In Taitung, near Mt. Dulan, said to resemble a beautif ul woman, she plans to open a second studio by the end of this year. Like many who have embraced a life of travel, Lai has taken her experiences on the literal and metaphorical road and absorbed many a lesson f rom them. “[Travel] has helped me know my land, my place, my country. Before that I was a city girl because I grew up in Taipei. But through travel I have come to understand more and appreciate more about Taiwan and all its many different cultures. I feel I have been very lucky to have this opportunity to learn.”

Jun. T. Lai putting the final touches on one of her art objects before a museum exhibition

She always begins with the same question: “What can I give them through my work?” The answer she always returns to is: “I want to give them a chance to think.”

ENGLISH & CHINESE

Chinese Culture University 中國文化大學 純 ' 空間 Jun'Space 賴純純 Jun T. Lai 都蘭山 Mt. Dulan 林壽宇 Richard Lin

JUN' SPACE (純’空間 )

Add: 5 , Lane 87 , Yitong St., Taipei City ( 台北市伊通街 87 巷 5 號 ) Tel: ( 02 ) 2507 - 5128 Hours: Thur~Sat 2 ~ 7 pm Website: www.juntlai.com

HISTORY

Jinguashi and Shifen Two Excellent Places for History Tours, Featuring Museums with Myriad Treasures to Explore

Posing at Shifen’s Coal Mine Museum

Most of us are constantly at the beck and call of bleeping cellphones and crashing laptops. Taiwan, in particular, is synonymous with high-tech gadgets and rapid economic development, yet we seldom pause to think about how quickly things have changed. Our recent trip to a couple of mining museums, where we saw firsthand how miners lived just a generation ago, put the past century of the island’s history into better perspective.

By Catherine T homas/ Alice Davis to the Gold Ecological Park in Jinguashi, easily accessible by direct bus or train/ bus f rom Taipei City, and 21st-century life will fast be far behind you. Snuggled into a hillside on Taiwan’s blustery north coast, the town of Jinguashi is eminently charming, memorable not least for the world’s largest statue of Guan Gong, the God of War, a god known to help in the making of money. A little f urther up the valley, the Gold Ecological Park awaits.

The park’s landscaped grounds are beautif ul, even in the driving rain. We’re met by our guide for the visit, Verna, who explains that the purpose of the park, which opened in 2004, is to preserve the gold-mining heritage and natural surroundings of the area, with community involvement with the park actively encouraged. Excellent translations around the site make this a particularly tourist-f riendly destination.

Verna tells us that gold was discovered in the area in

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1889, causing a prospecting rush. Six years later Japan took control of Taiwan, and its gold. The Japanese built mines, and Jinguashi became a booming mining town.

The f irst thing we do is get a feel for how the Japanese who managed the mines lived. Four elegant Japanese residences not far f rom the park’s entrance area have been dismantled and then rebuilt to the original specif ications.

Inside the f irst house, there’s a short subtitled documentary on how this work was carried out. The other houses are authentically f urnished to ref lect different periods f rom the time of the original Japanese occupants to when Taiwanese lived there in the 1970s.

The smell of tatami mats, the period newspapers, the eight-track player, and the pre-war glass “grenade-style” f ire extinguisher bring history to life. Perfectly preserved details like this around the park set it apart f rom many other museums.

Photos/ Bobby Wu

Head

MINING TOWNS

At

the same time, the park has no fear of today’s more advanced technology and has made excellent use of it as an educational medium; yet it is delicately, not obtrusively, incorporated into your experience. Inside the Gold Refining Building, an animated f ilm is projected 180 degrees around the audience, evoking the atmosphere of the heady days of gold prospecting.

“Mr. Ref iner’s Story” features a nostalgic ghost who describes what it was like to live and work there in days gone by. The animation is alternately beautiful and terrif ying, an amusing, romantic, sad, fascinating presentation on the highs and lows of mining life.

The Environmental Education Building also occupies an original building from the Japanese period. Videos, models, and interactive multimedia teach visitors about the local topography, geology, and ecology. It’s a perfect introduction to the scenic hiking trails nearby.

Next, a tunnel gives us insight into what it might have been like below ground. On entering we’re given a hard hat to put on, and pass a sign forbidding women, whistling, and mentioning snakes. As we walk through the damp, atmospheric interior, audio tracks enliven the life-size models of miners at work.

Down

in Jinguashi town, Mr. Zhang A-hui, a sprightly 85-year-old retiree, is kind enough to tell us about his many years working at the mines. His home is a museum exhibit in itself, with pictures of the area dating back to the 1940s. Zhang began working in the mines when he lef t school, aged 15, in Japanese colonial times. He enjoyed his work repairing and maintaining the modern machinery with which the Japanese had equipped the mines, and rapidly rose to the position of supervisor.

Seeing Zhang’s photographs and hearing him speak passionately and vividly of the past, city life seems a million miles away. He speaks fondly of the learning culture fostered by the Japanese, with bilingual textbooks freely available to employees (with the notable exception of those books which detailed how to actually ref ine the raw materials into gold!) and a good wage and rice ration. As a young man, he saw the undernourished POWs who were made to work in the most dangerous mines. Many decades later he met some of these same men when they returned to Taiwan, and has photos of them all at the nearby POW memorial that was erected in their honor in 1997.B

The smell of tatami mats, the period newspapers, the eight-track player, and the pre-war glass “grenadest yle” fire extinguisher bring histor y to li fe

The Gold Building houses an informative exhibit which nicely rounds off our visit, summarizing the history of the local mines and the cultural importance of gold. Miners’ possessions are on display – working permits, tools – and there’s information about the WW II Allied prisoners of war who toiled under the Japanese, forced to work with meager rations in the cruelest conditions.

You can’t put a more climactic end on a stroll around a gold museum than this: to touch, no, to caress, the world’s largest gold ingot. Weighing in at 220.3 kilograms, it’s a huge hunk of solid gold. Weigh yourself and see what proportion of the gold bar is equivalent to your own body mass! Even the least materialistic will be impressed, and inspired to try the hands-on gold-panning experience next door.

GOLD ECOLOGICAL PARK ( 黃金博物館區 )

Add: 8 Jinguang Rd., Jinguashi, Ruifang District, New Taipei City ( 新北市瑞芳區金瓜石金光路 8 號 ) Tel: ( 02 ) 2496 - 2800 Website: www.gep.tpc.gov.tw

Touching the world’s largest gold ingot

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Travel in Taiwan

HISTORY

In

the year that gathering took place in Jinguashi, coal miners in Shifen (about 15 km southwest of Jinguashi) faced the closure of their pits. The Coal Mine Museum, which is within walking distance of Shifen Railway Station, pays tribute to their labor.

In the 1960s, there were 500 active mining companies in Taiwan. Thousands made their living in the sweltering, cramped tunnels. They worked seven-hour days in the dark, wet, and dusty mines, their labor powering Taiwan’s power stations. By the turn of the century, the local mining industry had collapsed af ter cheap imports f looded the market. Were it not for the dedication of mining enthusiasts, this world would have been entirely swept away.

Coal mining in Taiwan was a hard business, with coal seams just 40-60 centimeters thick – as opposed to Australia’s seams of around 30 meters – meaning miners had to stoop to mine the coal. On our tour we experience how cramped the conditions were in the recreated tunnel.

Hunched over, we clamber through only with diff iculty. The tunnel is very slippery, so wear sensible shoes!

The Sky Lantern Room contains maps of Taiwan’s coal belt, and black-and-white photographs of miners, but it should be noted that there’s little in the way of English translation. We don coal miners’ clothes and smear coal dust on our faces for a memorable snap.

1 1. Entrance to the old mine adjacent to the Gold Museum in Jinguashi 2. Reconstructed mine shaf t at the Coal Mine Museum in Shifen

Another tunnel offers the opportunity to see how the mine shaf ts were built, and appreciate the sheer mass of the one-ton carts that just two or three workers pushed along the shaf ts. The adjoining display room houses some period equipment and a few models.

The original bathhouse somewhat resembles a hot spring with its two large, sunken stone tubs. The water was heated using coal from the mine. The f irst tub was used to rinse off the sweat and grime, and the second offered a soothing bath to ease the muscles af ter an arduous shif t.

We experience how cramped the conditions were in the recreated tunnel. Hunched over, we clamber through only with difficulty

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Travel in Taiwan

Photos/ Bobby Wu

2

MINING TOWNS

The

highlight of the museum is the tram ride. The tram jostles past a cornucopia of foliage and veggie patches, following the original tracks to where the coal was tipped and sorted. The ride is highly enjoyable in the winter drizzle, but must be quite spectacular when the tung trees blossom heavily along the route each May. Visitors f lock to the museum for the April f iref ly season to enjoy a guided tour, ride the train in the evening when f iref lies can be seen, complete a Do-It-Yourself craf t project, and eat a simple lunchbox for the bargain price of NT$350.

During this season the museum stays open until 10 pm. A visit here can be nicely followed with a trip to the Gold Ecological Park in Jinguashi, or can be combined with a trip to the nearby valley town of Pingxi, or with mountain hiking and a stop at scenic Shifen Waterfall.

Back at the museum af ter our tram outing, we paint a sky lantern – one of the selection of craf t activities that visitors can take part in – and let it f loat off into the night sky, dark as coal and studded with golden stars. As we drive back to Taipei along the snaking mountain roads, mile by mile “returning” to modern civilization, our phones spring back into life, bleeping us back into the here and now.

COAL MINE MUSEUM (台灣煤礦博物館 )

Add: 5 Dingliao Zi, Xinliao Village, Pingxi District, New Taipei City ( 新北市平溪區新竂里頂竂子 5 號 ) Tel: ( 02 ) 2495 - 8680 Website: www.coalmine.com.tw (Chinese)

1

2

3

4 1. Tram ride 2,3. Exhibit at Coal Mine Museum 4. Preparing to send a sk y lantern up into the night sk y at Shifen

ENGLISH & CHINESE

Environmental Education Building Gold Building Gold Refining Building Guan Gong Jinguashi

環境館 黃金館 煉金樓 關公 金瓜石

Pingxi Shifen Shifen Waterfall Sky Lantern Room Zhang A-hui

平溪 十分 十分瀑布 天燈室 張阿煇

MY PHOTO TOUR

VISTAS BIG AND WIDE Capt ur ing A mazing Scenes in Grand Panorama Pict ures Photos by Maggie Song

PANORAMA

With

today’s modern technology, creating wonderf ul panoramic photos is a snap! All you have to do is f ind a great spot with a 180-degree panorama – or even wider – and take pictures in succession f rom one end of the panorama to the other. Using a tripod is helpf ul, but not essential, for maintaining the same height for all captures, and you don’t even have to be very accurate with the overlapping of the separate images. With the help of special panorama sof tware (many programs can be downloaded f ree of cost f rom the Internet), your computer can quickly recognize the same spots in pictures, and stitches the images together accordingly; the process is of ten almost completely automatic. You can also stitch separate images together manually for some added creative effects.

Taiwan is a great place for panorama photography; you’ll f ind myriad spots where panoramic images are the perfect solution for capturing amazing, sweeping vistas in their entirety. The photos on these two pages were shot at the coastal town of Danshui (Tamsui) in northern Taiwan, a great place to shoot because of the conjunction of river, mountain, and ocean scenery, especially in the late evening when there is a high chance for dramatic sunsets.

LET’S GO OUT TONIGHT

Follow us!

Let 's have some fun!

The wonderful thing about Taipei is the plethora of sporting options available after the work day has ended. Whether you are looking for a strenuous workout or just a relaxing night out with friends, it’s just a matter of finding the right venue. Here are a few possibilities for anyone looking for a fun and healthy activity to engage in, available even into the late evening hours. By Amanda Hsiao

For

Head up to the second f loor; IDEA is directly to the lef t as you enter. With its towering climbing wall rising f rom the middle of the gym, it’s hard to miss.

It’s advisable to make a reservation by telephone, although drop-ins are allowed (though you run the risk of having to wait an hour or so for a group class to end). With a reservation, all you have to do is check in with the staff, take off your shoes, put on your climbing gear, and be ready to climb. Just be sure to reserve a starting time before 9 pm, since the rock-climbing gym closes at 10 pm.

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Travel in Taiwan

Photos/ Maggie Song

an activity that offers a challenge as well as a great way to work out, look no f urther than the rock-climbing gym at IDEA (Institute on Developing Enhanced Adventures) at the Taipei City Beitou Sports Center in Beitou District. It’s a 10-to-15-minute walk f rom the MRT Shipai Station on the Danshui Line to the center, located on Lane 39 of Sec. 1, Shipai Road.

LET’S GO OUT TONIGHT

If

you’re looking for f un that is more laid-back and less strenuous, bowling might be the way to go. A good place to go is the Chung Cheng Bowling and Billiards Center, located on Zhongzheng Road, next to Xinguang Hospital, a short walk away f rom the MRT Shilin Station and Shilin Night Market. It makes a great stop af ter a trip through the night market, being conveniently open 24 hours.

The bowling facility has a large clientele of high-school and university students, so no bumpers for the younger set, but children are still welcome. And there’s no need to worry about whether the center could get crowded; with over 50 lanes, there is more than enough room for everyone.

You don't think you can beat me at bowling , do you?

Pricing is staggered, different on weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays/holidays, and also changing according to time period. For evening games on a weekday, the price is NT$70 a game from 6 pm to midnight and NT$45 a game f rom midnight to 7 am. The weekend and holiday prices are only slightly higher at these same times, with special pricing if you buy a session of 10 games.

There’s more to do at Chung Cheng than just bowling. The billiards facility boasts 23 tables, 18 imported from overseas. The pricing is reasonable; to play on a regular table for three hours, the price is NT$290, while imported Brunswick tables are NT$370 for three hours.

You don't think you can beat me at bowling , do you?

This facility is also spacious and clean, with staff willing to help explain the basics of pool to newcomers. Comfortable seating is available for players waiting for their turn with the cue stick. And if you are craving an evening snack, food and drinks are also available in both the billiards and bowling facility, with snacks and traditional Taiwan foods both sold.

CHUNG CHENG BOWLING AND BILLIARDS CENTER (中正保齡球撞球俱樂部 )

Add: 392 Zhongzheng Rd., Shilin District, Taipei City ( 台北市士林區中正路 392 號 ) Tel: ( 02 ) 2836 - 0101 Website: www.ccbowling.com.tw

And just in case someone gets the urge to go local and do a little karaoke, there are a few small rooms you can rent with f riends, where you can belt out some classic English tunes for NT$20 a song.

Ha ha , never seen someone so scared.

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Travel in Taiwan

Photos/ Maggie Song

So embarrassing...

SPORTS

The

main thought on everyone’s mind during a hot Taipei summer is: Where can I go to stay cool? So if the sun sets and there is still no relief from the sweltering heat and humidity, grab a jacket, a friend and/or your signif icant other, and head to Taipei Arena.

and teachers to choose from, and sometimes teachers set up impromptu classes for large groups of beginners. Regardless of whether you are whizzing around other skaters, or clinging onto the boards, Ice Land is a great place to stay cool, exercise, and have f un.

Located a short walk down Nanjing East Road from MRT Nanjing East Road Station, it’s hard to miss the large eggshaped arena (the name in Mandarin actually does mean “little giant egg”). Although best-known for amazing pop concerts and sports-competition events, Taipei Arena is f illed with a variety of shops and restaurants and – key for our needs here – a large permanent ice-skating rink on the second f loor.

Taipei Arena is very foreigner-friendly; most signs are posted in English as well as Chinese.

Af ter closing time for public skating, the rink is most every night used for icehockey league games or practices, with one and all welcome to watch, at no charge. So, if you’re not yet ready to head back out into the heat, or are just missing the excitement of watching a puck f ly around the ice to the sound of crunching skates and yelling players, feel free to stick around; the players always appreciate it.

Ice Land, the name of the skating rink, is open on weekdays from 10 am to 9 pm, on Saturdays and public holidays from 9 am to 9 pm, and on Sundays from 9 am to 6 pm. Tickets are sold for a time block of two hours for NT$190 (plus NT$10 for medical insurance), with every additional 30 minutes costing NT$45. However, if you are just bringing the kids for some f un on the ice and are content just to watch, a spectator ticket can be bought cheaply, only NT$30 for four hours.

Safety is very important at Ice Land, and all skaters are required to wear gloves and a helmet, unless they are willing to sign a safety release form. The equipment rental is inexpensive – skates can be rented for NT$80 and a f ull set of protective equipment (including helmet, knee pads, palm pads, and elbow pads) for just NT$50.

And for those who worry about spending more time falling and sitting on the ice than skating on it, there is a small sectioned-off area for beginners to practice before hitting the main skating circle. There is also the option of classes

TAIPEI ARENA (台北小巨蛋 )

Tel: ( 02 ) 2181 - 2345 Add: 2 , Sec. 4 , Nanjing E. Rd., Songshan District, Taipei City ( 台北市松山區南京東路 4 段 2 號 ) Website: www.taipeiarena.com.tw

FOOD JOURNEY

Photo/ Bobby Wu

Farmer Lin Dong-hai in his spring onion field in Sanxing

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Travel in Taiwan

SPRING ONIONS

Spring Onion Country

Yilan’s Sanxing Township Of fers Ideal Conditions for Cultivating Scallions We are eating Taiwanese-style spring-onion pancakes. Usually, in other parts of Taiwan, the spring onion is rolled in the dough which is then flattened, says Song Yi-xuan of the local farmers’ association, but here, in the township of Sanxing in Yilan County, they take two pieces of dough and put the pancake together like a sandwich. Crisp and delicious! Trust the people of Sanxing when it comes to spring onions, because this town in northeast Taiwan is one the prime producers of this vegetable in Taiwan.

By Owain Mckimm

The

terrain around the town of Sanxing, like the pancakes on our plates, is astonishingly f lat. Passing f ield af ter f ield of blue-leaf spring onions (or scallions), rice, and willow bushes, the road stretches out as though searching through a maze without walls, the land disorientates because of the few landmarks and minimal variation, and a long crescent of hazy mountains occupies the skyline, with only a bare stretch of open space to the east, signif ying the presence of the ocean, as an indicator of direction.

Photos/ Karen Pan

The reason for this f latness is that Sanxing lies on the far west side of the Lanyang Plain. A delta plain formed over millions of years as the Lanyang River carved its way between the Snow Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range, f lowing down f rom a height of a thousand meters to the Pacif ic Ocean – with the help of some tectonic uplif ting – this alluvial f latland stretches over an area of 300 square kilometers. The plain has a distinct triangular shape; Sanxing is located at the westernmost and highest point.

What

makes Sanxing’s spring onions special, explains Lin Dong-hai, a former chef who took over the family farm from his father, which now specializes in organic cultivation, is a long white stem f illed with a juicy and sugary glycogen, tender f ibers that give a pleasing crunch, and a sweet and fragrant f lavor that is not too spicy yet possesses a mild peppery quality. Lin says the ideal length of the white stem is between 18 and 21cm; any longer and the scallion will be too lank, while shorter stems fetch a lower price.

There are two main types of spring onion, the “f ine onion” and the “rough onion.” In Sanxing, 250 hectares of land are used to cultivate the “f ine” variety, though, as Lin explains, the term is a little too general as there are over a hundred breeds of “f ine” onion, due to farmers experimenting with cross-breeding.

What makes Sanxing's spring onions special is a long white stem filled with a juic y and sugar y gl ycogen, tender fibers, and a sweet f lavor

Sanxing is in a prime position for farming, as a f reef lowing supply of f resh mountain water, protection f rom harsher sunshine by f requent cloudy weather, a cooling westerly wind, and a geological structure that naturally irrigates the soil give the produce grown here a distinctive f lavor which has brought renown to Sanxing’s “four treasures”: garlic, silver willow, admiral pear and, most famous, spring onions.

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Travel in Taiwan

FOOD JOURNEY Lin has a whole f ield dedicated to testing different fertilizers, natural pesticides, and nutritional supplements. However, he explains, the spring onion is an especially diff icult plant to cultivate organically. “There are about 20 diseases that regularly attack spring onions,” he says. “Most vegetables take less than a month to grow and harvest, but the spring onion takes about 3 months, so the risks are greater.”

1

The simplest way to protect the spring onions is to coat the ridges of earth where the vegetable is planted with dried rice grass. “This keeps the soil cool in summer, and conserves heat in the winter. It also prevents many types of weed. We call it a ‘spring-onion duvet,’” Lin says.

The spring onion can be planted year round, and this makes it a stable source of income for most farmers; they sign yearly contracts with the local farmers’ association, which promises to buy a set amount of the farmers’ produce per season, guaranteeing sales where otherwise they might struggle at local markets or lose out to competitors.

2

3

Lin says that he can take in up to three harvests a year, one crop every three months with a month’s interval in between to prepare the f ield for replanting. When the time comes to plant a new f ield, Sanxing’s method differs from that of farms in the south, as farmers don’t plant from seed but rather transfer a portion of young, already cultivated scallions to new soil. Lin f irst dips the roots of these shoots in a natural bacterial inoculant, then plants them in rows of six. Af ter three months each shoot has branched out into a bunch of eight and is ready to be sent to the sales/delivery center run by the local farmers’ association, from whence the spring onions will be sold to supermarkets and wholesalers or dried and ground into the powder used to f lavor the mysterious local spring-onion ice cream.

The spring onion is a symbol of prosperit y, good luck, and intelligence in local culture

Visitors

4 1. Spring onions are protected with a layer of dried rice grass 2. Tool to plant spring onions 3. Spring onions are harvested every three months 4. Testing the crop

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Travel in Taiwan

Exhibitions range from the farming process to the various dishes in which the scallion is a major ingredient, and nestled among these are examples of local artwork in which the four treasures are used as building material or inspiration. Chinese-language tours can be arranged, and though there is no posted/printed English information at the moment, Song says there are plans to add English translations in the future.

Photos/ Karen Pan

to Sanxing can probe the history and methodology of spring onion farming in the Spring Onion Culture Museum, housed in a facility used as a rice-storage building during the Japanese colonial era (the old rafters where the rice was stored give the place a pleasant nostalgic feel). The museum was opened in 2005 as a celebration of all things spring onion. It’s a beautiful little facility, consisting of a small exhibition hall and a shop at the back selling the aforementioned “four treasures” in their various culinary incarnations.

SPRING ONIONS For those who want a more hands-on experience, there are many guesthouses in the area which offer a DIY spring-onion pancake experience. Constellation Homestay and Cong Zai Liao Country Guesthouse form a guesthouse pair owned by two brothers. Located next to the family’s spring-onion f ields, and backed by the emerald-colored slopes of the Snow Mountain Range, these guesthouses offer day-tours of the f ields during which guests can pick their own scallions and then use them in cooking pancakes under the tutelage of Li Jian-hong, the younger brother of the two, who performs his teaching duties as if he were taking part in one of Taiwan’s TV variety shows.

1

Rooms are spacious, clean, and tastef ully decorated, with gorgeous views, and prices range from NT$1,500 for a double room on a weekday to NT$4,500 for a 4-person family room on the weekend.

The

spring onion is a symbol for prosperity, good luck, and intelligence in local culture.

The Taiwanese word for “spring onion” is pronounced cang, the same sound as that for “prosperity,” while the Mandarin Chinese for “scallion,” cong, is the same as that for “intelligence.” Such linguistic curiosities have given rise to a host of expressions, such as “Steal onions at night, marry Mr. Right,” and such customs as the offering of spring onions to the deities as a prayer for good results in exams.

2

Like the Lanyang River, which spreads out in rivulets and streams across this area, so the spring onion has quietly permeated Taiwanese cooking and tradition, appearing in hundreds of dishes and snacks and in myriad stories and sayings. However, it takes a visit to the peacef ul plains of Sanxing to see the verdant scallion, perennial and abundant, in all its glory.

1. Washing freshly harvested spring onion at Cong Zailiao Country Guesthouse 2. The guesthouse of fers courses in spring onion pancake making

ENGLISH & CHINESE

SPRING ONION CULTURE MUSEUM ( 青蔥文化館 )

Add: 31 Zhongshan Rd., Yide Village, Sanxing Township, Yilan County ( 宜蘭縣三星鄉義德村中山路 31 號 ) Hours: 8 : 30 am ~ 5 pm (Mon-Fri), 9 am ~ 6 pm (Sat-Sun) CONSTELLATION HOMESTAY AND CONG ZAI LIAO COUNTRY GUESTHOUSE (星宿渡假別墅，蔥仔寮田園民宿 )

Add: 13 - 2 and 13 - 5 Dongxing Rd., Tianfu Village, Sanxing Township, Yilan County ( 宜蘭縣三星鄉天福村東興路 13 之 2 ， 13 之 5 號 ) Website: cons.ilanbnb.tw; 0937995104 .travel-web.com.tw GETTING THERE: From Taipei drive to Luodong town on National Freeway No. 5 , and then on to Sanxing via Provincial Highway No. 7 C, or take public transport to Luodong and transfer to a Kuo Kuang Motor Transport Co. bus near the railway station, which will take you into Sanxing proper. Scooters can be rented in Luodong for NT$ 350 500 per day, though some rental businesses seem reluctant to rent to foreigners, even if an International Driving Permit is presented.

cang (prosperity) cong (intelligence) cong (spring onion) ¨ fine onion ¨ Kuo Kuang Motor Transport Co. Lanyang Plain Lanyang River Li Jian-hong Lin Dong-hai Luodong Central Mountain Range ¨ rough onion ¨ Sanxing Snow Mountain Range Song Yi-xuan spring-onion duvet spring-onion pancake ¨ Steal onions at night, marry Mr. Right ¨

昌 聰 蔥 細蔥 國光客運 蘭陽平原 蘭陽溪 李建鴻 林東海 羅東 中央山脈 粗蔥 三星 雪山山脈 宋怡萱 蔥的棉被 蔥油餅 偷採蔥，嫁好老公

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Travel in Taiwan

LET’S EAT!

“Eggplant Bites Onion” Sampling Dishes Made with Spring Onion

By Owain Mckimm

In

2001, Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture set up a scheme that would allow women living in the island’s farming communities to open restaurants specializing in local delicacies, promoting ingredients unique to the surrounding area. Since then these restaurants, called T ian Mama (meaning “Mother Field”; http://tianmama.coa.gov.tw), have sprung up all over the countryside, attracting visitors with expertly made traditional dishes.

The restaurant itself is a simple affair, painted in browns and whites and with tablecloths the color of spring-onion shoots. Customers can order a set meal for four, which includes a main dish and f ive smaller dishes, for NT$800, or order a selection of individual entrées with prices ranging f rom NT$150 to NT$400 each. A selection of the latter was prepared for myself and my group of f riends by chef Liao Jia-zhen.

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Travel in Taiwan

Photos/ Karen Pan

In 2006, the Tian Mama Onion and Garlic Restaurant was opened next to the Spring Onion Culture Museum in the town of Sanxing (see previous article), and true to its name it has provided top-quality food rooted in the area’s most famous staple – the spring onion or scallion – cooked with that distinctive rustic quality found in the best kind of home cooking.

SPRING ONIONS

The

most popular dish, according to Liao, is the qie yao cong or “eggplant bites onion,” an intriguing dish in which f resh eggplant is stuffed with spring onion and pork, deep-f ried, and served on a bed of tomatoes.

A particular triumph, however, is the spring-onion root soup, where the bases of several scallions, complete with the root hair, are boiled together with chicken and Chinese wolf berries for an hour before being served piping-hot in what looks like a porcelain casserole dish. The roots have an earthy, f ibrous texture, akin to bamboo, which is heightened by the distinctive tartness of the wolf berry, an ingredient strongly associated with traditional Chinese medicine. Liao explained that the dish is known for its health benef its, especially for the lungs and kidneys. If you try anything while you’re here, try this soup.

Among my other favorites is the red-yeast meat and onion bun, which is served together with the restaurant’s especially crispy spring-onion pancakes, and the onion and garlic tenderloin stew, which is cooked for an hour and contains 10 different spices. Sanxing’s famous scallions are sprinkled on top just before serving.

Eating at the T ian Mama restaurant is an incredible foray into the variety of dishes that can be made with spring onion, and whereas the scallion is usually treated more as a seasoning than as a ma jor ingredient, the point of Sanxing’s Tian Mama is to make the spring onion the star of the show, a task which it manages with great skill.

Eating at Sanxing’s Tian Mama restaurant is an incredible foray into the variety of dishes that can be made with spring onion

Af ter

lunch, we popped next door to the Spring Onion Culture Museum to browse the banquet of spring onion-related goods on offer in the gif t shop. More a supermarket than the traditional type of shop where souvenirs are picked up, the place is f illed to the brim with every conceivable incarnation of the spring onion in packaged form.

There are egg rolls, seaweed crackers, and pies, all inf used with dried spring onion, onion-root tea – a cousin of the delicious soup we’d just eaten – creamed onion to spread on toast, onion oil, black pepper and scallion sauce to use with meat, and yes, the holy grail itself – spring-onion ice cream!

Made with spring-onion powder, this creamy delight has a potent f ragrance, but retains all the sweetness that makes Sanxing’s spring onions famous. The staff at the store told us that some visitors even put it on onion pancakes. We didn’t quite go that far, but it certainly was both a strange and a delicious experience.

There is a Chinese saying that “without onions, cooking is pointless.” Our visit to Sanxing showed us that spring onions are not just an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cooking – they’re also f ull of surprises.

Sanxing’s T ian Mama restaurant of fers a wide range of dishes made with spring onion and the Spring Onion Culture Museum sells products such as spring-onion crackers and spring-onion oil

TIAN MAMA ONION AND GARLIC RESTAURANT ( 田媽媽三星蔥蒜美食館 )

Add: 31 Zhongshan Rd., Yide Village, Sanxing Township, Yilan County ( 宜蘭縣三星鄉義德村中山 路 31 號 ) Hours: 11 : 00 - 14 : 00 , 17 : 00 - 21 : 00 (Mon-Fri), 11 : 00 - 17 : 00 (Sat-Sun) Tel: ( 03 ) 989 - 5179 ENGLISH & CHINESE

¨ eggplant bites onion ¨

Liao Jia-zhen onion and garlic tenderloin stew onion-root soup red-yeast meat and onion bun Tian Mama ¨without onions, cooking is pointless ¨

茄咬蔥 廖家甄 蔥蒜牛腩 蔥根湯 紅麴蔥肉包 田媽媽 無蔥不炒菜

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Travel in Taiwan

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Pineapple Pastry Learning How to Make Taipei’s No. Gift Choice at Kuo Yuan Ye Museum of Cake and Pastry By Kurt Weidner

Pineapple

Photos/ Sunny Su

pastries, or pineapple cakes, are almost always named as one of the top must-buy souvenir or gif t items when locals are asked what to take home f rom a visit to Taipei. There are numerous producers of these little brick-shaped, sweet, and slightly sour treats, and pineapple cakes in fancy gif t boxes are found in most bakeries around town. They might all look alike, but pineapple cakes f rom different bakeries are far f rom identical. There can be signif icant differences in size, consistency, and the amount of pineapple included in the f illing. With the Taipei City Government each year organizing a special pineapple cake contest, competition is strong between the bakeries and recipes are usually well-kept secrets. There is, however, a place where you can enjoy a hands-on experience at pineapple pastrymaking, the Kuo Yuan Ye Museum of Cake and Pastry in Taipei’s Shilin District. Travel in Taiwan recently signed up for a 3-hour class, seeking to learn all there is to know about the craf t and, best of all, take home a box of selfmade treats.

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Travel in Taiwan

PINEAPPLE PASTRIES At the beginning of the class, all the ingredients you need for the shells of the cakes are prepared in the exact amount needed to create 10 of the standard smallsized pineapple cakes: a mix of f lour and milk powder, sugar, butter, and egg yolk.

Fl at ten the dough and roll it in th e sh ape of a br at w ur st, then cu t it into 10 pi ec es and roll those into li tt le ba ll s.

Add the sugar to the sof t butter and quickly stir for a few minutes, until the butter ’s color has turned f rom yellow to almost white.

Add half of the egg yolk.

Af ter thorough stirring, add the rest of the egg yolk and continue stirring until you get a creamy white paste.

1

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e . W hen th of the f lour d M ix in ha lf sorbed, ad ab ly ul f been f lour ha s inue w it h ha lf. Cont the second ge t a moi st u g unti l yo of a the m ix in t the si ze ugh al mos chun k of do ba se ba ll.

2

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5

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4

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8

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9

3

Make a ring w ith your thumb and index f inger, place a dough ball on top, take a piece of pineapple paste and press it w ith the thumb of your other hand into the dough. Turn the dough during this process until it closes at the top.

The staf f brings simple square-shaped metal molds (10 for each person) and the alreadyprepared pineapple paste for the f illing; it is time to put the paste into the dough and the dough/ paste combinations into the molds.

Insert the dough balls containing the pineapple paste into the molds. If you want to be creative and personalize you pastries, you now have the chance to car ve patterns into the sof t dough. Make a face or write a name, for example.

can es about 20 min.), you Dur ing the bak ing (tak m and lear n seu mu the h oug thr r go on a guided tou Yua n Ye and the cakes about the his tor y of Kuo ese ly eaten dur ing Tai wan nal itio trad s trie pas and s. tion bra cele ily fam fest iva ls and

During the week, Kuo Yuan Ye offers DIY classes only to schools. On the weekend, classes are available for large groups (at least 20 persons for the pineapplepastry classes we attended), which you may join if space is available. The fee depends on the type of pastry or cake you are learning to make. For the traditional pineapple-pastry class the fee is NT$300 per person, and includes a box containing your nine selfmade pineapple cakes, a guided tour of the museum displays, and some tea and snacks. Whether you want to join a class or just visit the museum (which is in fact just a large display room), f irst make a reservation and inquire about the conditions that apply.

Once the pineapple cak es are read y, you can sav or one of the 10 cakes you ’ve made bef ore wra ppi ng the other 9 in paper and put ting them into a box tha t can be sea led, mak ing a great gif t for f riends and fam ilies. Yum my pineapple pas tries mad e all by you rsel f!

KUO YUAN YE MUSEUM OF CAKE AND PASTRY ( 郭元益糕餅博物館 )

How to get there: Take the MRT Danshui Line to Shilin Station; leave the station by Exit 1; cross Zhongzheng Rd. and follow the path under the elevated MRT line to Qian St.; turn left and walk to Wenlin Rd.; turn right and you will see Kuo Yuan Ye.

Add: 4 F, 546 Wenlin Rd., Shilin District, Taipei City ( 台北市士林區文林路 546 號 4 F) Tel: ( 02 ) 2838 - 2700 ext. 457 Website: www.kuos.com/foundation/cake/index.html (Chinese) ENGLISH & CHINESE

Qian St. Wenlin Rd. Zhongzheng Rd.

前街 文林路 中正路

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Travel in Taiwan

THE BEST ROUTES

Sandy Beaches, Rocky Coastline, Quiet Country A Whirlwind Tour Round Hengchun Peninsula Isolated, sparsely populated, and with large portions undeveloped, the Hengchun Peninsula in the far south of Taiwan is a world apart from the rest of the island. Best known for the white-sand beaches in and nearby the town of Kending, it’s also home to an incredible range of other scenic attractions that includes barren coastal grasslands, towering sand dunes, and small farming villages. The peninsula’s eastern coast is particularly beautiful.

Photo/ Bobby Wu

By Andrew Crosthwaite

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Travel in Taiwan

HENGCHUN PENINSULA

Until

recently I didn’t know much about Hengchun’s scenic attractions, my spirit of adventure and curiosity not yet taking me to the island’s far south. All this changed when I found myself in the southern city of Kaohsiung with some spare time on my hands, and I f ixed on the idea of doing a quick trip by scooter. I decided to start at the town of Checheng, on a looping route that would take me around the peninsula, following Prov. Highway No. 26 to the southernmost tip of Taiwan and then moving north along the eastern coast before heading inland and returning to Checheng on narrower county roads.

The f irst, and probably most important, thing to say about this ride is that it’s not short, and there are a lot of places along the way worth stopping at. You can def initely do it in a single day, but if that is your goal then try and plan out your trip in detail before you set off. Since you won’t have time to visit all places of interest along the way, you’d best select a few beforehand and leave the rest for another time.

Beautiful coastline at Jialeshui northeast of Kending

Photo/ Sunny Su

Af ter grabbing a bite to eat in Checheng, I hit Highway No. 26 and headed south. It wasn’t long before I passed signs for the National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium (www.nmmba.gov.tw). I’d def initely like to check out this modern museum one day, but on this excursion I wanted to spend more time exploring the peninsula’s nature-craf ted attractions, so on I went. The f irst sizable town you pass south of Checheng is Hengchun. It’s an old settlement, and there are signs in both English and Chinese leading you through the town to its old gates and other historic sites.

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Travel in Taiwan

THE BEST ROUTES

Retracing

my way back to Highway No. 26, I continued on south to Nanwan, which some call the peninsula’s mecca for such water activities as jet-skiing and riding banana boats. This is great fun if you’re with friends or family on a summer vacation, but if you’re on your own, like I was that day, riding a banana boat would just be a bit lonely. Nanwan’s also a great place to stop if you’re feeling hungry, as there are a string of inexpensive restaurants.

There are more restaurants a couple of kilometers further

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Travel in Taiwan

down the road in Kending, and I stopped there for lunch at Smokey Joe’s Café. You’ll pay NT$400-500 for a meal and a drink, so it’s a bit more expensive than other places in town, but it’s got a nice atmosphere and good service, and the Tex-Mex food they serve is delicious. You’ll find it at the far end of town next to the Howard Beach Resort Kenting.

Kending comes alive at night. If you’re around after the sun goes down you’ll find the main street filled with people, and a lively night market takes shape. During the day, though, it’s fairly quiet, so after eating I headed for Kenting Forest Recreation Area and Sheding Nature Park, both located inland, north of Kending on Township Road No. 165. If you enjoy nature you’ll f ind both destinations great places to explore. Which one you choose might depend on how much time you have, as the former is far larger than the latter. I chose Sheding, and had an hour-long walk through narrow caves and open grasslands. You might also get a sight of some rare wildlife in the area – I was lucky enough, and quite amazed, to see a beautiful golden-brown deer run across the road about 10 meters in front of my scooter.

The route to Sheding has limited signposting, but is found with minimal difficulty by driving a few kilometers past the

Photos/ Andrew Crosthwaite, Sunny Su, Joe Lee

South of Hengchun, rolling hills on the inland side make for a picturesque drive, and it’s easy to make good time along the wide, well-maintained highway. It was tempting to plough on all the way to the beach at Nanwan (South Bay), close to Kending town (also of ten spelled “Kenting”), but I decided instead to turn onto County Road No. 153 and head southwest to Maobitou (lit. “Tip of a Cat’s Nose”), a promontory forming Taiwan’s second most southerly point. Although not very large, Maobitou Park has some gorgeous coastal scenery. The cliffs here are made of dark, craggy rock and jagged exposed-coral formations, and they’re topped by dense outgrowths of coarse plants and thickets.

HENGCHUN PENINSULA

Hengchun Peninsula has a lot to of fer, rock y coastline, sandy beaches, historic towns, idyllic countryside, tropical forest, and much more.

this stretch, about 5km, is Jialeshui, a tourist destination that features some incredible rock formations. Afterwards, head back along the same road to the aforementioned intersection, then continue along County Road 200A, heading inland, until you meet County Road 200. If you need gas at this point, turn left and head is about 10km east of Kending. This is west for a few hundred meters to what is the only gas station Taiwan main island’s southernmost point, in this part of the Hengchun Peninsula; I don’t remember seeing and many people come here to walk and take pictures of the another gas station on the way from splendid views and the picturesque lighthouse. After this, Highway No. Riding the open roads that characterize Kending to this point, nor on my way from this point along my loop route 26 turns north, moving along the the Hengchun Peninsula makes for a east coast, and I was mesmerized until I had almost returned to Checheng. fantastic day – or two, or more by the scenery along this stretch of road. Wide, flat expanses of grass and My gas needs met, I headed back east heathland dominate the surroundings, the only breaks coming and then north along County Road 200. After passing the small where the vegetation has been worn down by the elements town of Manzhou, I rode another 20km to my next stop-off point. to reveal the hard, rust-red earth underneath. To enjoy this The lush, gentle hills and beautiful countryside along this stretch landscape to the fullest, stop at Longpan Park or Fengchuisha provided wonderful visual pleasure as I ventured to the town of (“Sands Blown by the Wind”), about 5 and 8km north of Eluanbi, Gangzai, where the next stretch of Highway No. 26 is found. (On respectively. the peninsula’s east side, No. 26 is a long-term work in progress, clearly marked section to Kenting National Forest Recreation Area. If you continue on No. 165 after Sheding, you’ll meet Highway No. 26 again, further to the east on the way to Eluanbi.

Eluanbi

About 20 minutes north of Fengchuisha you come to the intersection of Highway No. 26 and County Road 200A. Turn right, to continue moving north along the coast. At the end of

and on your map you’ll see gaps along the coast where sections of the highway are waiting to be built.) Gangzai is home to some colossal sand dunes, advertised on roadside signs as the Gangzai Big Desert. The largest of the dunes must be at least three or four

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Travel in Taiwan

THE BEST ROUTES to Taitung

to Kaohsiung

Xuhai Grasslands 199 A 26 26

199

Gangzai Big Desert Shimen

Sichongxi 200

Checheng 26

National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium

Hengchun Peninsula Manzhou Hengchun

200 200 A

26 Kenting National Forest Recreation Area

Nanwan

Sheding Nature Park 26

The road hugs the coast and you see promontor y a fter promontor y standing resilient against the Paci fic Ocean

Jialeshui

Fengchuisha Longpan Park

Kending Maobitou Eluanbi

stories high, and there’s nothing quite like it anywhere else in Taiwan. Some of the townspeople have set up businesses offering jeep tours across the dunes and renting out quad bikes that you can drive over the sand, but after spending so long sitting on my scooter, I was happy just to stretch my legs with a long walk.

gas at this point, note there is a gas station at the settlement of Shimen, close to Checheng. Shimen is the site of an old battlefield where Japanese forces and warriors of the indigenous Paiwan Tribe clashed in 1874. Before reaching Checheng you will also pass the hot-spring resort of Sichongxi, offering relaxing hot-spring soaking.

Back

Riding the open roads that characterize the Hengchun Peninsula makes for a fantastic day – or two, or more. There really is nowhere else in Taiwan like this, and I know I’ll be going back.

There are many places I didn’t have time to check out on this trip, which requires a return trip, and others I can’t wait to see again and explore further.

The longest of the walks at these grasslands takes about an hour to finish and will lead you past small herds of thankfully tame, rather long-horned cows. Taking the walk rewards you with a wonderful elevated view of the coastline.

The final stretch of my trip took me further inland along County Road No. 199A to its connection with County Road No. 199, which (turning left and heading west) takes you all the way back to Checheng. This section is about 25km long, and takes you past low hills and rice fields. If you find yourself running low on

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Travel in Taiwan

ENGLISH & CHINESE

車城 Checheng 鵝鑾鼻 Eluanbi 風吹沙 Fengchuisha 港仔大沙漠 Gangzai Big Desert 恆春 Hengchun 恆春半島 Hengchun Peninsula 佳樂水 Jialeshui 墾丁 Kending 墾丁國家森林遊樂區 Kenting National Forest Recreation Area 墾丁國家公園 Kenting National Park 龍磐公園 Longpan Park 滿洲 Manzhou 貓鼻頭 Maobitou 南灣 Nanwan National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium 國立海洋生物博物館 社頂自然公園 Sheding Nature Park 石門 Shimen 四重溪 Sichongxi 旭海大草原 Xuhai Grasslands

Photo/ Andrew Crosthwaite

on Highway No. 26, still heading north, the scenery continued to be breathtaking. The road here hugs the meandering coastline, and you see promontory after promontory standing resilient against the power of the Pacific Ocean. This section of the highway is about 10km long and terminates at the eastern end of County Road No. 199A, which takes you back inland. A few minutes down this road brings you to a place named Xuhai; look for a narrow side road, on your righthand side, leading to the Xuhai Grasslands. There is a sign at the road’s mouth; the road itself is 3km.

By Rich Charette

d hat’s been calle ’ve been in w ey Th it. d te er ar ev st enon is The Japanese s. The phenom si nce the 1970 e od f ree is m ” ip sh d cent an ca re f ul l “c ute wor pu re and in no d an g un sw eetyo r yt hi ng y and ot he st ronger; ev er in k Hello Ki tt Th . er tt has be an e r, and Ta iw younger th fash ion ar bite glor if ied, the n ai m ’s ia As st ing to “re”rs. Japan is Ea younger, seek en ev eyed characte ng ti ac s gi rl gi rl s, even th in k young not-so-young follow ed su it— rl, and th ink gi e tl lit itched e th ar ms of e. Th ink high-p capt ure the ch doing the sam k, ar m r gn, ea -y the icon ic V si e dreaded 30 giggles—and closing in on th g in al ue sq d an lls and an ime ices, sq ueak y ly big-eyed do ib ss coquet tish vo po im e lik ide ff ed up g face, eyes w eeks of ten pu f ingers fram in themselves), ch gn si V e ba byth d e of ten us ump, rounde characters (who ion of cute, pl at ul em it in ed us iwan beca e t always purs common in Ta and lips al mos so e m co be ’s it char m ing and snea k looks. gi rl faces. It ’s etending not to pr e se u yo ys k the bo works— just as

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Travel in Taiwan

Photo/ Jacky Chen

PECULIAR TAIWAN

FESTIVAL

h t g n i h c L aun

a h t i w r a e New Y e

! g n a B Ringing in the New Year in Taiwan at Taipei 101 Times Square, the River Thames, Sydney Harbor Bridge, the Eiffel Tower: These iconic world landmarks are the focus of everyone’s attention come New Year’s Eve, as their renowned annual fireworks displays are unveiled to both the crowds on the streets and to millions around the world watching the events on TV. To this select company was added the brand-new Taipei 101 when the first New Year’s fireworks display was presented there to welcome in the year 2005.

By Richard Saunders

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Travel in Taiwan

NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS

In

Photos/ Taipei 101

tower. The display heralding 2012 will return to the now the years since that f irst display, the spectacle has standard 188-second format, both for f inancial reasons and increased in length from a brief 35 seconds to just over in consideration of audience members on the streets below, three minutes, and recent editions have drawn an estimated obliged to crane their necks for an extended period of time – 800,000 people. The exact length of the show this year is to but once again we’re promised a show to remember. be 188 seconds, a number chosen for its lucky properties; the pronunciation of the number “eight” in Chinese, ba, is similar Preparing for the biggest annual to that for the word f a, meaning “to Taipei 101-related event is a huge launch/issue” and used in multiple The very best place to watch the undertaking, launched each propitious terms meaning such fireworks show is from one of the year in March when a team things as “to become rich” and “to steep little hills southeast of Taipei 101 begins researching the latest develop.” fireworks designs from Taiwan and mainland China (the latter produces about 70 percent of As with other New Year’s Eve events in Taiwan, the the world’s fireworks). New types of fireworks are tested for annual f ireworks display at Taipei 101 has seen much safety and effect, a design is drawn up, and over the summer a development during its existence, not only in terms of soundtrack of orchestral music is developed for the show and a length, but in quality and creativity as well. Last year’s computer simulation of the integrated whole created, tweaked display, designed by famous Chinese artist Cai Guo-qiang (who and finalized, in cooperation with a Taiwanese fireworks-design was also behind the displays at the Bei jing Olympics), lasted company. The aim is to produce an intense but safe show. a record 288 seconds and imitated a dragon spiraling up the

49

Travel in Taiwan

FESTIVAL

The east coast of fers excellent spots to watch the first sun rays of the year

Working

with a budget of around US$1 million, and on a building that’s a landmark of international renown, there’s a lot of pressure to produce a show that’s not just spectacular but creative and original as well. The Taipei 101 f ireworks-show team normally has complete creative control over the design of the show, which incorporates an orchestral soundtrack to complement the 20,000~30,000 individual f ireworks used in each year’s display. The f ireworks are mounted on trusses placed on balconies on eight levels of the building, lowest on the 34th f loor and highest all the way up at the top of the tower’s crowning spire.

With the better part of a million spectators crowding the streets around Taipei 101 on the big night, safety is of paramount importance. Many months before the f irst f ireworks are placed in position, safety tests are carried out at a secret location on all the f ireworks to be used in the year’s display. Only f ireworks w ith a maximum shell diameter of 3 inches (which w ill burn up completely before reaching the ground) are used in the display, and in the lead-up to event day the design team and representatives f rom both the Taipei City Government and Taipei City Fire Department carr y out multiple safety checks on the installed f ireworks and on the trusses which support them.

Finally, four hours before midnight on December 31st, the team begins the nerve-wracking process of connecting the many thousands of f ireworks up to the computer used to control the show, and making sure the lights in ever y one of the building’s thousands of rooms are turned of f.

So what happens if it rains on the big night? The f ireworks used in the display are all waterproofed, and

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Travel in Taiwan

aren’t af fected by poor weather. Furthermore, the cl imate at this time of the year in Taipei tends to be cool but relatively dr y (which makes standing out on the street for hours here on New Year ’s Eve a much more comfortable exper ience than in either London or New York!). However, when picking a spot to watch the show f rom the street below, it’s worth consider ing the prevail ing w ind f rom the northeast that blows across Taipei at this time of the year. The steady breeze blows the smoke generated by the thousands of f ireworks towards the southwest, substantially reducing v isibil ity for those watching f rom that direction. The ver y best place to watch the show, according to the designers, is f rom one of the steep l ittle hills, such as Elephant Mountain or Nine-Five Peak, to the southeast of Taipei 101. These eminences of fer fantastic v iews of the tower ever y day of the year, but come December 30th local T V stations and pr ivate enthusiasts are already taking up pr ime positions on these interl inked “mountains” in preparation for the show, still over a day away.

As

the smoke waf ts through the air at the end of the show, this grand annual celebration might seem at odds with Taipei 101’s position as the world’s tallest green building — it has LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certif ication platinum status. The designers, however, take great care to balance the expectations of a public wanting a grand New Year’s celebration with environmental concerns, and the amount of CO2 released during the display is less than that produced by one Taipei City bus in a day.

Elsewhere, Taipei 101’s carbon footprint is being f urther reduced through the management’s impressive new “Green On” initiative (www.taipei101greenon.com.tw).

Photos/ Taipei 101, Vision Inl'l

Taipei 101 on New Year’s Eve

NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS If the idea of ringing in the New Year standing among hundreds of thousands of other revelers packing the streets of Taipei City seems a bit too renao (that expression, beloved in Taiwan, basically means “loud and lively”), consider instead catching the f irst sunrise of 2012 up in the mountains in the center of the island at the beautif ul Alishan resort area.

Zhushan, a mountain peak rising above this magnif icent forest recreation area, has long been one of Taiwan’s most renowned sunrise-viewing points, and the experience is made even more memorable on January 1st each year when the rays of the rising sun are accompanied by the Alishan Sunrise Impression Concert, usually launched with the haunting tones of a solo singer. Taking in the view, which includes the summit of nearby Yushan (Mt. Jade, Northeast Asia’s highest mountain), is one of the most inspirational ways imaginable to begin the New Year, but take along a warm jacket, as it’s cold up there!

Alternatively, be among the earliest in Taiwan to see the f irst sunrise of the New Year in the somewhat milder climes of Sandiao Cape, the easternmost point of the Taiwanese mainland. This rugged, unspoilt headland, topped with a historic lighthouse, is less than a 90-minute drive by car f rom the capital, yet this beautif ul, wild spot is the perfect place to ponder the coming of a brand new year – and also, perhaps, to contemplate that important annual consideration: your New Year’s resolutions!

Sunrise at Alishan ENGLISH & CHINESE

Alishan Alishan Sunrise Impression Concert Cai Guo-qiang Elephant Mountain fa Nine-Five Peak renao Sandiao Cape Yushan Zhushan

阿里山 阿里山日出印象音樂會 蔡國強 象山 發 九五峰 熱鬧 三貂角 玉山 祝山

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Travel in Taiwan

UPCOMING Festivals and Events from November to January NOV 5 ~ 6

Taipei International Bird Watching Fair 台北國際賞鳥博覽會 Locations: Guandu Nature Park, Zhishan Cultural and Ecological Garden, Taipei City ( 台北市關渡自然 公園，芝山文化生態綠園 ) Tel: (02) 2325-9190 ext. 22 Website: www.wbst.org.tw

NOV 17 ~ 20

Taipei Beef Noodles Festival 台北國際牛肉麵節 Location: Expo Dome, Taipei Expo Park ( 花博公園爭艷館 ) Tel: 1999 (from outside Taipei, dial 02-2720-8889) ext. 6507 Website: www.tbnf.tw

OCT 8 ~ NOV 19

Sun Moon Lake Music Festival 2011 日月潭國際花火音樂嘉年華 Location: Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area, Nantou County ( 南投縣日月潭國家風景區 ) Tel: (049) 285-5668 Website: http://event.sunmoonlake.gov. tw/2011musicfestival/

Until FEB 29

Guandu Int'l Outdoor Sculpture Festival 關渡國際自然裝置藝術季

Location: Guandu Nature Park, Taipei City ( 台北市關 渡自然公園 ); 55 Guandu Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市關渡 路 55 號） Tel: (02) 2858-7417 ext. 232 Website: www.guandu.org.tw

OCT 15 ~ JAN 15

Taiwan Hot Spring & Fine Cuisine Carnival 台灣溫泉美食嘉年華 Locations: Hot-spring areas around Taiwan Tel: (04) 2331-2688 ext. 110 Website: http://www.taiwanhotspring.net/

NOV 1 ~ 30

Caoling Historic Trail Silver Grass Season 草嶺古道芒花季

Location: Caoling Historic Trail, Gongliao District, New Taipei City ( 新北市貢寮區草嶺古道 ) Tel: (02) 2499-1115 Website: www.necoast-nsa.gov.tw

NOV 5 ~13

2011 Taiwan Cycling Festival 台灣自行車節 Location: Yilan, Hualien, Taitung ( 宜蘭、 花蓮、 台東 ) Tel: (02) 2719-2025 Website: www.taiwancup.com.tw

NOV 11 ~ 14

Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF) 台北國際旅展 Location: Hall 1 & 3, Taipei World Trade Center ( 台北世界貿易中心 1、 3 館 ) Tel: (02) 2597-9691 Website: www.taipeiitf.org.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

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Taipei 台 北

NO. OF ROOMS: 60

NO. OF ROOMS: 25 ROOM RATES:

ROOM RATES: NT$ 7,200+10% NT$ 8,200+10% NT$ 8,800+10% NT$ 9,600+10% NT$ 12,000+10%

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK: Japanese, English, Chinese

RESTAURANTS: Scenic view restaurant SPECIAL FEATURES: 25 hot-spring suites with semi open-air pools, separated bathrooms and pools, 32” flatscreen TV in bedroom, 12” flatscreen TV in bathroom, steam bath, sauna (selected rooms), WiFi Internet access; restaurant seating 32 diners + VIP room for 6 diners; parking lot for 40 cars

Deluxe Room Grand Deluxe Room Premier Room Premier 9 Éclat Suite

112台北市北投區幽雅路11號

Fax: 02.2581.5811, 2568-2924

www.gloriahotel.com

www.leaderhotel.com.tw

台北市民權東路六段123巷3 4 弄1號

Tel: 02.2791.5678 Fa x: 02.2796.2311 E-mail: rsvn@fushin-hotel.com.tw

HOTEL SENSE

Taipei 台北

伸適商旅

NO. OF ROOMS: 79 NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$

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

(All rates are inclusive of 5% VAT and subject to 10% service charge)

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK:

English, Taiwanese, Chinese, Japanese, Cantonese,

RESTAURANTS: Ming Yuen, Éclat Lounge, George Bar

SPECIAL FEATURES: Member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World; strategically located in the most fashionable and prestigious district of Taipei; offers guests great convenience for business and entertainment; Wi-Fi connectivity and in-room business facilities; variety of meeting rooms providing the ideal venue for professional meetings, corporate functions, and social gatherings.

11 Youya Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City, 112, Taiwan Tel: 886.2.2897.3611 Fa x: 886.2.2894.5977 E-mail: fo.beitou@leaderhotel.com

Tel: 02.2581.8111

English, Chinese, Japanese, Cantonese

(MRT Taipei Main Station, Exit 3) 100台北市忠孝西路一段4 3號 (台北捷運總 站3號出口)

＊Hotel list in alphabetical order from Northern Southern Taiwan.

華 泰 王 子大 飯 店

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK:

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

Room rates at the hotels apply.

GLORIA PRINCE HOTEL TAIPEI

Standard Double Room NT$ 6,000 Deluxe Double Room NT$ 6,500~6,700 Superior Twin Room NT$ 6,500~6,700 Deluxe Triple Room NT$ 7,500 Deluxe Family Room NT$ 8,000 Business Suite NT$ 9,000~9,200 Premier Twin Suite NT$ 15,000 ( Prices above including 15% Service Charge )

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

Tel: 02.2784.8888 Fax: 02.2784.7888 Res. Hotline: 02.2784.8118

www.eclathotels.com

ROOM RATES: Superior Room Business Room Deluxe Room Executive Deluxe Room Executive Suite Sense Suite

NT$ 7,500 NT$ 8,500 NT$ 9,500 NT$ 9,000 NT$ 10,000 NT$ 15,000

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK: English, Chinese, Japanese RESTAURANTS: Sen Salon Restaurant 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.

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

Tel: 02.7743.1000 Fax: 02.7743.1100

www.hotelsense.com.tw

53

Travel in Taiwan

Advertisement HOTEL INFORMATION IMPERIAL HOTEL TAIPEI

Taipei 台 北

台北華國大飯店

NO. OF ROOMS: 288 ROOM RATES: Superior Room Premier Room Deluxe Room Club Deluxe Room Suite Imperial Suite

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

8,000 8,500 9,000 10,000 13,000 ~16,000 28,000

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK:

English, Japanese, Chinese

RESTAURANTS:Cantonese, Steakhouse, Bar , 3

2

T (T Cube)Bar & Restaurant, T (T Square ) 1

Toyko In Dining Bar, T (One )Thai Bistro, 24Hour Room Service

SPECIAL FEATURES: Banquet and Convention Facilities ,Business Center ,Fitness Center, Club Floors, MRT Transfer Service ,Parking Lot

MIRAMAR GARDEN TAIPEI

Taipei 台 北

美麗信花園酒店

NO. OF ROOMS: 203 ROOM RATES: Deluxe Room Business Room Executive Deluxe Room Boss Suite Premier Suite

NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$

7,000 8,000 9,000 13,000 18,000

GENERAL MANAGER: Linda Chu

104台北市林森北路 600號

Taipei 台北

太平洋商旅

NO. OF ROOMS: 93 rooms, 28 offices, 4 meeting rooms ROOM RATES: Superior Room NT$ 6,000+10% Executive Room NT$ 6,600+10% Junior Room NT$ 7,800+10% Excellency Room NT$ 8,800+10% Premium Suite NT$ 9,800+10%

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK: English, Japanese, Mandarin, Taiwanese, Cantonese

GENERAL MANAGER: Te Yao

RESTAURANTS: Rain Forest Café, Garden Terrace, Lounge 81

SPECIAL FEATURES: Free wireless access, 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

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK: Chinese, English

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

83 Civic Boulevard, Sec. 3, Taipei City, 104 600 Lin Shen North Rd., Taipei City,104

PACIFIC BUSINESS CENTER HOTEL

104台北市市民大道三段8 3號

11F, 495 Guangfu S. Rd., Xinyi District, Taipei City 11074 1 10 74 台 北 市 信 義 區 光 復 南 路 4 9 5 號 1 1樓

Tel: 02.2596.5111 Fax: 02.2592.7506 E-mail: taipei@imperialhotel.com.tw

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

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

www.imperialhotel.com.tw

www.miramargarden.com.tw

www.businesscenter.com.tw

SAN WANT RESIDENCES TAIPEI

SUNWORLD DYNASTY HOTEL TAIPEI

TAIPEI FULLERTON – FU-XING SOUTH

Taipei 台 北

台北神旺商務酒店

NO. OF ROOMS: 81 ROOM RATES: Studio Room Park View Room Deluxe Suite Park View Suite Penthouse

Taipei 台 北

王朝大酒店

NO. OF ROOMS: 738 ROOM RATES: Deluxe Room NT$ 7,700 NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$

8,000~ 8,800~ 12,600~ 20,000~ 50,000

Premier Room Junior Suite Deluxe Suite Executive Suite

9,000 9,800 13,600 21,000

English, Japanese, Chinese Dinging Lounge (Buffet Breakfast, Free Beverage and Light Snack for Room Guests)

SPECIAL FEATURES: A member of Small

Luxury Hotels of the World, Showcase of contemporary Taiwanese art collections, Personal secretarial assistance, Fitness center, Free wireless internet, Free rental of cell phone, Complimentary shoeshine service, 37” LCD TV, Pants presser& Suit rack, Multi-Functional Printer, Sunken Bathtub

8,200 9,200 11,500 17,500

EXECUTIVE CLUB FLOOR

Deluxe Room Premier Room Deluxe Suite Executive Suite

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK: RESTAURANTS:

NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$

NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$

9,000 9,500 15,000 21,000

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK: Chinese, Japanese, English

RESTAURANTS: Le Parc Café, Magnolia Court,

Taipei 台 北

台北馥敦- 復南館

NO. OF ROOMS: 100 ROOM RATES:

Superior Room Executive Room Deluxe Room Junior Suite Fullerton Room VIP Suite Presidential Suite

Taipei 台 北

金來商旅

NO. OF ROOMS: 48 ROOM RATES: Standard Room NT$ 6,000+10% Deluxe Room NT$ 6,500+10% 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 center, airport limousine service, laundry service, free mechanized parking lot, tour arrangements, currency exchange, close to the MRT system and major commercial and tourist sites.

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

Tel: 02.2397.9399 Fa x: 02.2397.1399 Res. Hotline: 02.2396.9321 E-mail:rsvn@royalbiz.com.tw service@royalbiz.com.tw

www.royalbiz.com.tw

TAIPEI GALA HOTEL 慶 泰大 飯 店

Taipei 台 北

NO. OF ROOMS: 160 NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$

5,500 5,900 6,200 6,800 7,100 8,100 19,000

(above rates not including 10% service charge; for discount offers, please call hotel or visit our website)

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK:

Canton Palace

English, Japanese, Chinese

SPECIAL FEATURES: 738 large-size guest

SPECIAL FEATURES: Close to Taipei 101 com-

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.

ROYAL BIZ TAIPEI

mercial area; 1 minute on foot to MRT Daan Station; free coffee and handmade cookies in lobby; free wireless Internet access; gym; sauna; business center; valet parking; complimentary Chinese/Western buffet breakfast; welcome fruit basket and mineral water.

ROOM RATES:

Single Room Deluxe Single Room Deluxe Twin Room Suite Room

NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$

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

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK:

English, Japanese, Chinese

RESTAURANTS: Golden Ear Restaurant (Western semi buffet); Golden Pot (Chinese Cuisine) SPECIAL FEATURES: Business Center, 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

186 Songjiang Rd., Taipei City,104 128 Nanjing East Rd., Sec. 1, Taipei City, 104 104台北市南京東路一段128號

54

100 Dun Hua North Road, Taipei Taiwan R.O.C. 台北市敦化北路100號

Tel: 02.2511.5185 Fax: 02.2511.1585 E-mail: reservation@swresidences.com

Tel: 02.2719.7199 Fa x: 02.2545.9288 E-mail: bc@sunworlddynasty.com.tw

www.swresidences.com

www.sunworlddynasty.com

Travel in Taiwan

41, Sec. 2, Fuxing S. Rd., Taipei City 106 (near junction with Xinyi Rd.)

104台北市松江路18 6號 Exit 1 of MRT Xingtian Temple Station on the Luzhou Line.

Tel: 02.2703.1234 Fax: 02.2705.6161 E-mail: service2@taipeifullerton.com.tw

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

www.taipeifullerton.com.tw

www.galahotel.com.tw

1 0 6 台 北 市 復 興 南 路 2 段 4 1 號( 信 義 路 口 )

Advertisement HOTEL INFORMATION

TAIPEI GARDEN HOTEL

Taipei 台 北

台北花園大酒店

NO. OF ROOMS: 241 ROOM RATES:

Superior Room Premier Room Deluxe Triple Room Deluxe Room Junior Suite Garden Suite

NT$ 8,000 NT$ 9,000 NT$ 9,500 NT$ 10,000 NT$ 12,000 NT$ 20,000

(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:

Garden SPA, Sky Garden, 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

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

THE GRAND HOTEL 圓山大飯店

Taipei 台北

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

THE REGENT TAIPEI

Taipei 台 北

台北晶華酒店

NO. OF ROOMS: 538 Superior Room Deluxe Room Junior Suite Corner Suite Residence Elite Suite

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

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

SPECIAL FEATURES: Grand Ballroom, conference rooms for 399 people, 10 breakout rooms, business center, fitness center, sauna, Olympic-size swimming pool, tennis courts, billiards

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

Chinese, English, Japanese

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

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

1 Chung shan N. Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei City, 10461 R.O.C

RESTAURANTS:

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK:

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

www.taipeigarden.com.tw

www.grand-hotel.org

www.grandformosa.com.tw

FLEUR DE CHINE HOTEL 雲品酒店

Sun Moon Lake 日 月 潭

NO. OF ROOMS: 211 ROOM RATES: NT$ 11,000 NT$ 12,500 NT$ 14,500 NT$ 15,000 NT$ 16,500 NT$ 18,000 NT$ 21,000 NT$ 100,000 NT$ 150,000

(All rates are subject to 10% service charge)

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.

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)

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.

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

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

Tel: 049.285.6788 Fax: 049.285.6600

www.palaisdechinehotel.com

(Prices above not including 10% Service Charge)

GENERAL MANAGER: Mr. Jen-Shing Chen

Tel: 02.2523.8000 Fax: 02.2523.2828

Superior Room Deluxe Room Family Twin Room Executive Superior Room Executive Deluxe Room Junior Suite Executive Suite La Rose Suite Charles V Suite

NT$ 6,600 NT$ 6,600 NT$ 8,600 NT$ 9,500 NT$ 12,000

English, Japanese, Chinese

Tel: 886.2.2886.8888 Fax: 886.2.2885.2885

NO. OF ROOMS: 286 ROOM RATES:

Scenery Suite Honey Suite Fragrant Suite Superior Suite VIP Suite

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK:

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

Taipei 台 北

ROOM RATES:

RESTAURANTS: Western, Cantonese, Northern China Style Dumplings, tea house, coffee shop

10 4 61台北市中山北 路 四段1號

君品酒店

Chiayi 嘉 義

阿里山賓館

NO. OF ROOMS: 35

ROOM RATES:

10 0 6 5台北市中正 區中 華路二 段 1號

PALAIS DE CHINE HOTEL

ALISHAN HOUSE

www.fleurdechinehotel.com

104台北市中山北路二段41號

CHATEAU DE CHINE HOTEL KAOHSIUNG 翰品酒店高雄

Kaohsiung 高 雄

NEW OPEN IN OCTOBER NO. OF ROOMS: 152 ROOM RATES: Standard Single Room Standard Double Room Standard Triple Room Standard Family Room Standard Suite Executive Single Room Deluxe Single Room Deluxe Double Room Deluxe Family Room Deluxe Suite Chateau de Chine Suite

RESTAURANTS: Chinese, Café, Courtyard SPECIAL FEATURES:

16 Sianglin Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County, 605 605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

E-mail: service@alishanhouse.com.tw

www.alishanhouse.com.tw

CHATEAU DE CHINE HOTEL 翰品酒店花蓮

Hualien 花 蓮

NO. OF ROOMS: 211 ROOM RATES: NT$ 6,000 NT$ 6,700 NT$ 7,500 NT$ 8,000 NT$ 9,000 NT$ 8,000 NT$ 7,000 NT$ 7,200 NT$ 9,000 NT$ 14,000 NT$ 50,000

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK: English, Chinese, Japanese

RESTAURANTS: Japanese, Chinese, Cantonese Dim Sum, Lounge Bar

SPECIAL FEATURES: Multi-functional meeting room, banquet hall, business center, wedding planning center, gym, free use of wired/wireless Internet, silent refrigerator, electronic safe, personal bathrobe/slippers, free cable TV, free use of laundry room, all-new TV-sets 43 Daren Rd., Yancheng District, Kaohsiung City

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

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

8 03高雄市鹽埕區大仁路4 3號

97060花蓮市永興路2號

Tel: 07.521.7388 Fax: 07.521.7068

Tel: 03.823.5388 Fax: 03.822.1185

kaohsiung.chateaudechine.com

hualien.chateaudechine.com

55

Travel in Taiwan

Advertisement HOTEL INFORMATION ZENDA SUITES

Tainan 台南

成大會館

NO. OF ROOMS: 90 ROOM RATES: Business Single Room Deluxe Single Room Deluxe Twin Room Business Suite Deluxe Suite

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

Kaohsiung 高雄

NO. OF ROOMS: 153

ROOM RATES:

ROOM RATES:

Business Single Room Deluxe Single Room Business Twin Room Family Twin Room

NT$ NT$ NT$ NT$

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

( Prices above including 10% Service Charge )

Hualien 花 蓮

Superior Room Classic Room Deluxe Room Theme Room Azure Suite

HUALIEN CITY CLASSIC RESORT HOTEL 花蓮 經 典假日飯 店

Hualien 花 蓮

NO. OF ROOMS: 79 NT$ 3,800 NT$ 4,600 NT$ 6,800 NT$ 6,800 NT$ 12,000

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK:

ROOM RATES: Standard Room Superior Twin Superior Triple Superior Double Twin Superior Suite Classic Suite

NT$ 4,000 NT$ 4,200 NT$ 4,800 NT$ 5,600 NT$ 6,000 NT$ 10,000

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK:

Chinese, English, Japanese

Chinese, English, Japanese

RESTAURANTS:Taiwanese/Hakka cuisine,

Chinese, English, Japanese

RESTAURANTS:Chinese and Western style

brunch, Western cuisine

food, delicious buffet, cold dishes, fruit, and salad bar

SPECIAL FEATURES:Guestrooms with floor-

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

SPECIAL FEATURES:Business center, non-

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

Tel: 06.275.8999 Fax: 06.209.3567

www.zendasuites.com.tw

www.kingstown-hotel.com.tw

台南市大學路2號

花蓮藍天麗池飯店

NO. OF ROOMS: 150

362 Jiuru (Chiu Ju) 2nd Rd., Sanmin District, Kaohsiung City, 80745 (Faces the exit of rear railway station) 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

2, Daxue Rd., Tainan City 701

AZURE HOTEL

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.

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

DESK PERSONNEL SPEAK:

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

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

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.azurehotel.com.tw

www.classichotel.com.tw

ISSN:18177964

GPN:2009305475

200 NTD

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Outdoor hot spring pool of The Mountain Star with the mountains of Yangmingshan as backdrop

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Hot-spring bathing indoors at Shann Garden

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At Beitou Thermal Valley

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At Taiwan Folk Art Museum

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At Taiwan Folk Art Museum

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At The Mountain Star

Guestroom of The Mountain Star