Travel in Taiwan (No.55, 2013 1/2)

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No. 55, 2013

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Kending Eco Tour

Discovering the Natural Attractions of Taiwan’s Far South TOP TEN TOURIST TOWNS

Jiufen, Jinguashi, and Shuinandong Jazz and Saxophones

BACKPACK BUS TOURS

From Chiayi City To Alishan

Sun Moon Lake Cycling

Climbing Mt. Jade

The Official Bimonthly English Magazine of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau.

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Welcome to Taiwan!

Dear Traveler, In this issue of Travel in Taiwan we have a strong eco theme, and you’ll be spending much more time in the hills, in the countryside, and by the sea than in the city. In our Feature we spend three sunny days in Kenting National Park, at Taiwan’s southern tip, enjoying bicycle jaunts, a tidal-zone exploration, a day hike in the coral-terrain hills, a night-time guided forest hike, scuba diving, and other eco-adventures. As always, we also give you ideas on where/what to eat, the best souvenir purchases, and where to stay. Ever stayed in a “bike hotel” before, or one of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s former villas?

We head to pretty Sun Moon Lake in the central mountains for Come! Bikeday, one of the many cycling-theme events held around the island during the annual Taiwan Cycling Festival.

The round-lake loop here has been called one of the world’s 10 best bike routes by CNNGo. We stay in the soaring central mountains to visit popular Alishan National Scenic Area, going hiking and taking a scenic alpine-railway ride, along the way telling you about the ultraconvenient Taipei Tourist Shuttle Bus service, a coach service that lets you inexpensively zip around the island to major tourist sites. In a separate article we explore a number of touristwelcoming villages inhabited by the Tsou, an indigenous people for whom Alishan is home. It’s then over to majestic Yushan National Park where we hike up Yushan, northeast Asia’s highest peak.

Back down on the f latlands, Da jia calls. Da jia is a rural area w ithin central Taiwan’s Taichung City that, among other things, is renowned for taro and sweet potato cultivation. We tell you all you need to know about these delicious edibles. We also head to downtown Taichung to soak up the sometimes dulcet, sometimes staccato, always enjoyable notes of the annual Taichung Jazz Festival.

Mountain, countryside, and sea are all prime attractions on a visit to Jiufen, Jinguashi, and Shuinandong, a village triumvirate by the northeast coast collectively chosen as one of Taiwan’s Top 10 Tourist Towns in public polling. Spend a day exploring old mining facilities, quaint heritage teahouses, colonial-era Japanese architecture, and the vestiges of an infamous WW II POW camp.

I wish you a Happy New Year!

David W. J. Hsieh Director General Tourism Bureau, MOTC, R.O.C.

CONTENTS January~February 2013

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,

PUBLISHER David W. J. Hsieh Editing Consultant

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

Wayne Hsi-Lin Liu

TEL: 886-2-2711-5403 Fax: 886-2-2721-2790 E-MAIL: editor@v-media.com.tw endy L. C. Yen General Manager W rank K. Yen Deputy General Manager F Editor in Chief Johannes Twellmann English Editors Rick Charette, Richard Saunders DIRECTOR OF PLANNING & EDITING DEPT Joe Lee MANAGING EDITOR Sunny Su EDITORS Ming-Jing Yin, Gemma Cheng, Jayne Chang, Catherine Chang, Chloe Chu CONTRIBUTORS Rick Charette, Steven Crook, Richard Saunders, Joe Henley, Owain Mckimm, Stuart Dawson PHOTOGRAPHERS Jen Guo-Chen, Sunny Su, Maggie Song, Ivy Chen, Sting Chen, Rich Matheson ART DIRECTOR Sting Chen DESIGNERS Ivy Chen, Maggie Song, Eve Chiang, Kirk Cheng ui-chun Tsai, Nai-jen Liu, Xiou Mieng Jiang Administrative Dept H

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Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications CONTACT

International Division, Taiwan Tourism Bureau Add: 9F, 290 Zhongxiao E. Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei, 10694, 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 January/February, 2013 Tourism Bureau, MOTC First published in Jan./Feb., 2004 ISSN: 18177964 GPN: 2009305475 Price: NT$200 www.tit.com.tw/vision/index.htm Copyright @ 2013 Tourism Bureau. All rights reserved.

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FEATURE 12

Kending Eco Tour

— Main Kending? Ken Do! – Surf and Turf Eco-Fun in Taiwan’s Deep Tropical South — Stay Soaking Up the Sun – Recommended Eco-Theme Hotels — Eat/Buy Kending Specialties – Eating and Buying Well by the Tropical Seaside

1 Publisher’s Note 4 Taiwan Tourism Events 7 Meeting Tourists 8 News & Events around Taiwan

38

10 C oncerts, Exhibitions, and Happenings

32 Fun with Chinese 54 Daily Life

ACTIVE FUN 22

Come! Bikeday — Scenic

Cycling at Sun Moon Lake

HIKING 26

Mt. Jade — A Must-Hike for Any Mountaineer Visiting Taiwan

SPLENDID FESTIVALS 28

Prayers and Flames — The Burning of the King Boat at Donggang

TOP TEN TOURIST TOWNS 34

Water, Gold, Nine — Exploring

the History and Scenery of Three Attractive Tourist Towns in Northeast Taiwan

MUSIC TOURS 38

Jazzing Up Taichung — Taiwan’s

Third Largest City Is a Center of Saxophone Production and Host of a Great Annual Jazz Festival

22

42

INDIGENOUS VILLAGES 42

Natural Beauty and Indigenous Culture — Visiting

Villages of the Tsou Tribe in Alishan

BACKPACK BUS TRIP 46

Alishan, Here We Come!

— Taking

the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle from Chiayi City to the High Mountains

FOOD JOURNEY 50

TARO TOWN

— Visiting

the Dajia Region’s Taro and Sweet Potato Farms

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Travel in Taiwan

TAIWAN TOURISM EVENTS

A Feast of Celebrations for the International Traveler

Jan

• New Year's Eve Celebration (mid-Dec. to Jan.)

May

• 2013 Fulong Sand Sculpture Art Festival (May and June)

feb

• Taiwan Lantern Festival • Taiwan Lantern Festival – Yanshui Beehive Rockets Festival • Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival

Jun • Tern–Watching Tour, Matsu • Xiuguluan River Rafting Activity • Summer Solstice at 23.5 North Latitude • Lukang Dragon Boat Festival • Taiwan Balloon Festival (June to Aug.)

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Travel in Taiwan

Each

year the Taiwan tourism calendar brims with international-caliber events that would each make a fine feather in the cap for you, the globe-trotting adventurer. Recently the Taiwan Tourism Bureau staged an online vote to discover which annual events the public enjoys most. Here’s a selection of the winners for you, matched in pairs according to themes that we figure will most interest the traveler from afar.

Interested in old-time religious celebrations? The Keelung Ghost Festival features colorful processions, water lanterns, and various rites to appease “hungry ghosts” released from hell during Ghost Month; the Taichung City Mazu International Festival is centered around one of the world’s great religious pilgrimages, with hundreds of thousands escorting Mazu, Goddess of the Sea, to temples around the central plains.

Old-time folk customs? During the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival thousands of glowing sky lanterns fill the night skies, carrying blessings; the Yanshui Beehive Rockets Festival features a town alive with fireworks blasted laterally through the streets, used in days of old to dispel evil spirits bringing pestilence.

Mar

• Taichung City Mazu International Festival • Song-Jiang Battle Array in Neimen, Kaohsiung (Mar. and Apr.)

Jul

• 2013 Taoyuan International ACG Carnival (July and Aug.) • Yilan International Children's Folklore & Folkgames Festival (July and Aug.) • Toucheng Cianggu Grappling with the Ghosts pole-climbing competition (July and Aug.) • Hohaiyan Rock Festival in Gongliao

Apr

• 2013 Dapeng Bay International Regatta (Apr. and May) • Taiwan Wedding and Honeymoon Photography Activity (Apr. to Oct.) • 2013 Daxueshan International Bird Watching Competition • Spring Wave Music & Art Festival • Penghu Ocean Fireworks Festival (Apr. to June)

Aug

• Taiwan Culinary Exhibition • 2013 Keelung Ghost Festival • National Yimin Festival • Kinmen Mid-Autumn Moon-cake Gambling Game Festival

TAIWAN TOURISM EVENTS

The Hohaiyan Rock Festival in Gongliao is a multi-day seaside jam showcasing local and top-flight international acts, with folk, pop, reggae, and punk thrown in for good measure.

Hakka culture? The Miaoli Hakka Food Festival supplies an endless table of the proud Hakka people’s distinctive cuisine, and the Hakka Yimin Festival, held in various locales, has colorful processions and rituals honoring Hakka braves who gave their lives defending their communities in imperial times.

Sep

An honorable mention must be given to the massive New Year’s Eve Celebration, which overlaps with some pairings above with its popmusic extravaganza, traditional Taiwanese snack foods, and tremendous midnight Taipei 101 Fireworks Show.

There are of course many other travel themes you can use when choosing, and below we provide a full list of the most popular events for you.

• Sun Moon Lake International Swimming Carnival • Sanyi International Woodcarving Art Festival

Nov • Kunshen Wangye's Salt for Peace Festival • 2013 Taroko Gorge Marathon • 2013 Taiwan International Festival of Arts • Miaoli Hakka Food Festival • Taiwan Cycling Festival

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Travel in Taiwan

Oct

• Taiwan Hot Spring & Fine-Cuisine Carnival • Huashan Living Arts Festival • 2013 Love in Alishan – Wedding under Sacred Tree • 2013 LPGA Taiwan Championship • International Flower Drum Art Festival (Oct.to Nov.) • Yunlin International Puppet Arts Festival • 2013 Taiwan Open of Surfing

DeC

• Purple Butterfly Watching Activities (Dec. to Mar.) • Taipei Marathon • New Year's Eve Celebration (mid Dec.to Jan.1) • Chiayi City International Band Festival

MEETING TOURISTS Travel in Taiwan: Could you please tell us more about your Taiwan trip? day tou r and in Taiwa n. We are on a 17Dirk: Th is is our first time Taipei. e. So far we have only see n this is just our third day her

Travel in Taiwan: Where do you plan to go next in Taiwan? det ail. a, but not hing is pla nned in Anja: We have a rough ide western the ow on Lake, and the n foll We wil l be goi ng to Sun Mo d fixe no coa st back up nor th, wit h coa st south and the eastern already in like that. We have done it itinera ry. We always travel lot. Once a as wel l. We rea lly travel a ma ny other Asian cou ntr ies . go on a tou r somewhere yea r we absolutely have to

Travel in Taiwan: What are your initial impressions of Taiwan?

People are ver y frie ndly Dirk: It’s bee n great so far. d of frie ndly shy. Ver y and helpfu l, a bit shy, but kin pleasa nt.

Dirk & An ja from Frankfurt, Germany

’ s r e m i T n Firsta w i a T f o s n o i s s e r First Imp Photos: Iv y

Chen

At the Taipei 101 Observatory, one of Taipei’s biggest tourist attractions, Travel in Taiwan asked tourists from Europe about their Taiwan travel experience.

Travel in Taiwan: Could you please tell us more about your Taiwan trip? nghai, and we’ll t arr ived in Taiwa n from Sha Eija: My husband and I jus are on hol iday. our first trip to Taiwa n. We be here for a few days. It’s

Travel in Taiwan: What are your initial impressions of Taiwan?

Ei ja

ple are Eija: It’s clea n and the peo n bee frie ndly. The weathe r has cold. per fec t, not too hot, not too

from Helsinki, Finland

Travel in Taiwan: What do you plan to do while here? the whole time, Eija: We wil l stay in Taipei to check out doi ng sightseeing. We pla n the cable and ) the hot spr ing s (in Beitou 101 is ver y pei car (Maokong Gondola). Tai whole city. We impressive. You can see the re of Taiwa n, and wish we had time to see mo hope to come back aga in.

Travel in Taiwan

7

WHAT'S UP

News & Events around Taiwan

TV

Fun Taiwan Challenge 2 Books

Snakes of Taiwan

Cuisine

Taiwan is a paradise for hikers and nature lovers, and going for a hike in the island’s forests and mountains is a real treat. There you can explore unique f lora and fauna, coming across birds, butterf lies, and SNAKES! It’s not likely that you’ll step on one during the daytime while ambling along a wide hiking trail, but they are often not far away, even in the lowlands close to urban areas.

If you want to know more about these fascinating reptiles, learn which species can be found in which parts of Taiwan, and find out which are poisonous and which harmless, a new book by Hans Breuer, a German who is a long-time resident of Taiwan and a serpent expert, is highly recommended. It gives you a comprehensive overview of the local snake community, helping you to appreciate them and teaching you how to protect them. The 246page book is available at online bookstores such as Amazon, and at major bookstores in Taiwan.

In the second season of Fun Taiwan Challenge, an adventuretravel show on Travel & Living Channel , a group of daring young foreigners are again traveling around Taiwan, facing elimination-style challenges in each episode. Participants in the show – the first episode aired in Taiwan at the end of December – have to find their way through the urban jungle, demonstrate their skills in an indigenous sports meet, try their hand at calligraphy, and survive on a beautiful deserted island, among many other challenges. Those finishing first will be treated to fine dining, luxury accommodation, and soothing hot-spring resort baths, while each episode may see losers sent home. The show is hosted by popular Americanborn Janet Hsieh, who has risen to local celebrity status over the past few years as host of the widely watched Fun Taiwan travel show, introducing the best Taiwan has to offer as a travel destination. For more info, visit www.tlc-tw.com/tvshows/funtaiwanchallenge.

The Best Restaurants In a recent online voting event organized by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, the best restaurants for group dining around Taiwan were selected by the public. Candidates were grouped in three categories, according to price range (under NT$2,500, NT$2,501~4,000, and NT$4,001~10,000). The winner in the first category, receiving 16,652 votes, was seafood restaurant Hai Pa Wang (www.hpw.com.tw ), based in Taipei. Two restaurants were judged to share top spot in the second category, Jin Di Wang (10,184 votes) and Kizhen (10,147; www.kizhen.com.tw ), and the last category was topped by vegetarian restaurant Lin Chi Ge (10,879; www.lck888.com ). These restaurants, and the other 26 restaurants listed on the event’s Chinese-language website (tfood.taiwan.net.tw ), are all excellent choices for tourist groups from abroad.

They are able to cater to large numbers of guests, and give diners the chance to experience the widest range of the amazing local cuisine.

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Travel in Taiwan

Guba Leisure Resort

Tourism

More than 7 Million Visitors in 2012 The number of visitor arrivals to Taiwan has been climbing steadily over the past number of years. While last year the 6-million mark was reached for the first time, this year the 7-millionth visitor was greeted before year’s end. For Malaysian Lin Swee-chin, 71 years of age and accompanied by four daughters and three grandsons, her Taiwan trip began with a surprise when on December 18 officials at Taiwan Taoyuan Int’l Airport approached her and presented her with 70 special gifts for being the 7-millionth visitor of the year. Gifts included round-trip plane tickets to Taiwan, three free nights at a Howard Hotel, a tablet computer, a five-day pass for the nation’s two railway systems, an EasyCard for the Taipei Metro with NT$10,000 on it, as well as other souvenirs. With Taiwan’s popularity as a travel destination rising, government officials are hopeful that the number of annual visitors to Taiwan will reach the 10-million mark in 2016 or before.

Accommodation

Alishan House Reopened after Renovation Despite the cold weather in winter, the high-mountain Alishan area is a popular travel destination during this time of year. Many visitors come especially to gaze at the beautiful blossoms of the many cherry trees in the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area. If you opt to stay at Alishan House, you might see blossoms right outside your window. The hotel, located in the area, has recently been renovated, and now offers more guestrooms (141) and facilities than before. It is one of the best choices for travelers planning to stay in Alishan. For more info, visit www.alishanhouse.com.tw.

Travel in Taiwan

E-Magazine App Starting with this issue (January/February), Travel in Taiwan is also available as an e-magazine edition in the Apple Newsstand. iPad and iPhone users can now enjoy more content, and a convenient interactive reading experience. The e-magazine contains more images than the print version, some of which can be shown in full-screen mode, and also has multimedia content such as audio and video clips. The user-friendly interface allows for convenient navigation through the magazine. Download the magazine free of cost from the app store, and read it on you mobile device wherever you go!

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 v-media. com.tw/survey/travelintaiwan.html . Senders of the first 10 completed questionnaires for each issue will receive three free issues of Travel in Taiwan. Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Travel in Taiwan

9

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.

February 15 ~ March 31 tifa.ntch.edu.tw

Taiwan International Festival of Arts 台灣國際藝術節 This year, the Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA) will be held for the fifth time. Under the theme “Newly Launched Masterpieces Sail on Accolades Overseas,” eighteen outstanding productions by artists from Taiwan and overseas will be presented. In total, there will be 49 stage performances, including the following three:

February 28, March 2~3 National Theater

Volksbühne am RosaLuxemburg-Platz: Der Spieler 德國柏林人民劇院：賭徒 The German troupe Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz will present Der Spieler (“The Gambler”), created by prestigious German theater director Frank Castorf. The play is based on a short novel by famous Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821~1881), who was forced to write the novel in less than a month to pay off gambling debts. In the story, the main character is drawn to and becomes obsessed with both gambling and a woman, much in the same way the author himself was obsessed with playing roulette and a young woman named Polina.

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Travel in Taiwan

February 21 ~ 23 National Theater

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan & Ensemble Rustavi of Georgia: Songs of the Wanderers 雲門舞集與喬治亞魯斯塔維合唱團：流浪者之歌 Song of the Wanderers premiered in November 1994, and has since become a classic in the repertoire of the internationally acclaimed Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. It was inspired

by Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha , a 1922 novel on a Buddhist theme, and depicts the journey of pilgrim wanderers fervently in search of inner peace. Creator Lin Hwai-min has called the performance “a dance of gold,” referring to the renowned scene created with 3.5 tons of golden rice, some raining down on the dancers. The music is provided by the Ensemble Rustavi of Georgia, singing Georgian folk songs.

February 23 National Concert Hall

Salamandrum Percussion Duo & NSO: Voyages 變色龍擊樂二重奏與NSO Voyages is the first production of Salamandrum, a percussion duo founded in 2011 by two Israeli percussionists, Tomer Yariv and Gilad Dobrecki. The music is a blend of folk tunes from Morocco, Iran, and Israel with elements of classical, jazz, and funk music. Both musicians are well-known internationally. Yariv enjoyed great success as a member of the duo PercaDu, which attended the 2011 Taiwan International Percussion Convention. Dobrecki has been called one of the greatest contemporary jazz percussionists.

His works are a dynamic mixture of musical elements from the Middle East, Africa, and Brazil with classical music and jazz, capturing the attention of audiences around the world.

December 1, 2012 ~ October 30, 2013 National Palace Museum

A Special Exhibition of Porcelain with Painted Enamels of Yongzheng Period in the Qing Dynasty 金成旭映—清雍正琺瑯彩瓷特展 This exhibition presents a collection of porcelain works with painted enamels (falangcai ) from the reign of the Qing Emperor Yongzheng (1678~1735).

Falangcai porcelain is decorated with enamel pigments, and combines Chinese and Western painting techniques. It was manufactured in the Qing court’s Imperial Workshops. Because of their extremely fine and delicate decoration, pieces have been highly prized by connoisseurs. During the Qing Dynasty, both Emperor Yongzheng and his predecessor, Kangxi, were impressed by the Western technique of using gold as colorant to make gold-red enamel, and they demanded that their artisans do the same. After a period of continuous experimentation they were successful, creating 18 other new enamel colors along the way.

Taipei Taipei Zhongshan Hall （台北中山堂）

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

Tel: (02) 2381-3137 www.csh.taipei.gov.tw Nearest MRT Station: Ximen

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

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

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

外星人探索特展

The Science of Aliens is a touring exhibition that had its premiere at the London Science Museum in October 2005, and has been shown in science museums around the world since. It gives visitors the chance to learn more about what creatures from outer space might be like, and “get in touch” with them. Via a touch-sensitive installation about two meters wide and about seven meters long, visitors can not only watch aliens but also inf luence the creatures’ behaviour and actions. This exhibition is the largest of its kind ever staged.

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

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

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

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

Tel: (02) 6610-1234 www.ntsec.gov.tw Nearest MRT Station: Shilin

( 台北市中山南 路 21 號 )

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

( 台北市士商路 189 號 )

TWTC Nangang Exhibiton Hall （台北世貿中心南港展覽館）

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

Add: 1, Jingmao 2nd Rd., Taipei City

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

Tel: (02) 2725-5200 Nearest MRT Station: Nangang Exhibition Hall

( 台北市中山南 路 21-1 號 )

Add: 49 Nanhai Rd., Taipei City

November 10 ~ March 3 National Taiwan Science Education Center

( 台北市中山北 路 3 段 181 號 )

Add: 21 Zhongshan S. Rd., Taipei City

National Museum of History

Music, dance, and a touching love story are the ingredients of a good musical à la Broadway, and this is exactly what Dancing Diva promises. This Taiwan-produced musical is the biggest of its kind ever to be staged on the island, the preparation taking 18 months and the production costing NT$80 million. It tells the story of a young woman who starts off as a pole dancer and gradually climbs the ladder of success before she is betrayed by her manager. Misfortune leads to romance when she meets a one-legged heartthrob who becomes her dance partner. The musical will be staged at EDA Royal Theater, in Kaohsiung’s E-DA Theme Park.

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

Add: 189 Shishang Rd., Taipei City

（國立歷史博物館）

Dancing Diva 台灣舞孃

Taipei Fine Arts Museum （台北市立美術館）

National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall（國立中正紀念堂）

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

February 9 ~ April 28 EDA Royal Theater

The Science of Aliens

Venues

( 台北市 南 海路 4 9 號 )

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

National Palace Museum （國立故宮博物院）

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

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

National Taiwan Museum （國立臺灣博物館）

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

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

Novel Hall（新舞臺） Add: 3 Songshou Rd., Taipei City ( 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）

( 台北市經貿二路 1 號 )

Lin liu-hsin Puppet Theatre Museum（林柳新紀念偶戲博物館） Add: 79 Xining N. Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市西寧北路 79 號 ) Tel: (02) 2556-8909 www.taipeipuppet.com

Taichung 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

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

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

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

Kaohsiung 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: 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/en Nearest MRT Station: Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

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

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

Add: 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

EDA Royal Theater （義大皇家劇院） Add: 10, Sec. 1, Xuecheng Rd., Dashu District, Kaohsiung City ( 高雄市大樹區學城路一段 10 號 ) Tel: 0800-588-887 Website: www.edaroyaltheater.com.tw

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FEATURE

? g n i Kend ! o D Ken

Surf and Turf Eco-Fun in Taiwan’s Deep Tropical South Text: Rick Charette

Photos: Jen Guo-Chen

When the cool of late autumn/early winter settles in around Taipei and the seasonal rains come, and I find my skin looking ever more pasty-white, Kenting National Park (“Kending”) beckons. It takes up much of the southern tip of the island, is in the tropics – the rest of Taiwan island is subtropical – and always seems to be drenched in sunshine.

Shadao Beach

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KENDING

Wanlitong YOHO Beach Reaort (YOHO Kids Hotel/ YOHO Bike Hotel)

More

to Kaohsiung

Hengchun

Kenting National Park

Longluan Lake Mt. Dajian South Bay Houbihu Guanshan

Kenting National Forest Recreation Area

Gloria Manor

Kenting National Park Kending Headquarters and Visitor Center

Pacific Ocean

Sheding Nature Park Fengchuisha Little Bay

Chuanfan Rock Maobitou Longpan Shadao

Bashi Channel

Eluanbi Park

Longkeng Ecological Protection Area Southernmost Tip of Taiwan

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FEATURE

Day 1

Longkeng Ecological Protec tion Area

It’s also easy to get to, so on a recent moody day of drizzling rain and high humidity in north Taiwan I hopped aboard a High Speed Rail (HSR) train with a few friends for a 3-day DIY Kending eco-tour. The trip from Taipei to Kaohsiung took just 90 minutes, and as usual once we popped out from the north’s hills/mountains onto the central plains near Taichung the sun also obligingly came out to play. Right outside HSR Kaohsiung (Zuoying) Station we boarded a waiting Taiwan Tourist Shuttle bus, and two hours later our green-theme frolic on tropical land and sea began.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – never visit this park without first visiting the main visitor’s center, just west of Kending village by the main highway, Provincial Highway No. 26.

Kending was the first national park in Taiwan, officially opened in 1984, and it’s big, taking up about 20,000 hectares of land and about 16,000 of ocean. You can choose from myriad activities, and park staff can help you set things up. Here’s a sampling; i.e., everything we tackled in our three days: daytime Sheding Nature Park hike, Longkeng Ecological Protection Area hike, Shadao eco-preserve beach visit, guided tidalzone tour, bike-ride on park’s west side, Longluan Lake birdwatching, snorkeling off Maobitou peninsula, guided Sheding Nature Park night tour, and Kenting National Forest Recreation Area visit.

I once wrote elsewhere that Kending is a “giant organic health and fitness center.” By the way, most every place you choose to go will be very close to Highway 26, a wide thoroughfare

with gentle curves, cool breezes, and appealing scenery that makes it very popular with bicyclists. Also, note that the park administration provides Englishspeaking guides for tour groups; advance notice required.

Our first adventure was in Sheding Nature Park, in the hills behind Kending village, which – drifting off topic – is the park’s main settlement, the main recreational and accommodation center, and the main nightlife attraction, with many restaurants, bars, night-market stalls, and other entertainments along its main road, the local section of Highway 26.

Getting back on topic, Sheding Nature Park receives fewer visitors than neighboring Kenting National Forest Recreation Area, primarily because the latter is less rugged, with paved walkways. We found our “Sheding Nature Park Self-Guidance” brochure, picked up at the visitor’s center, invaluable. The terrain is raised coral rock. Pathways slice through crevices and small gorges, and there are a number of limestone caves. You’ll see stalactites, stalagmites, stone columns, and other natural structures; it takes five to 160 years for the first two to grow a single centimeter.

You’ll pass by the pit of an old lime kiln; there were many here in imperial days, the exposed coral an excellent source of masonry material. We were also lucky enough to spot some members of the local monkey community, darting about among the wind-stunted trees on high coral outcroppings.

Kenting National Park Visitor’s Center I always enjoy the scale model of the park here, which gives you an indelible impression of the terrain. There’s also a video on the park’s scenery and natural resources, photos/specimens/models/videos on the flora and fauna, many useful information brochures, and quality park-theme souvenirs.

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Travel in Taiwan

KENDING Next up was Longkeng Ecological Protection Area, at Taiwan’s southernmost point, on finger-like Eluanbi peninsula. Most people believe this is in nearby Eluanbi Park, where the iconic gleaming-white Eluanbi Lighthouse stands, but ’tis not so. Only 200 people can visit Longkeng each day; sign up at the main visitor’s center or on the national park’s website (www.ktnp.gov.tw ). Wearing your identifying wristband (after visiting the small info center), you walk a shady path through 20 minutes of tough, wind-defying cacti-like plants higher than your head, then emerge quite suddenly amidst a bizarre moon-like world of raised coral traversed by shoe-friendly boardwalk. From a highpoint lookout I saw Taiwan’s Qixing (Seven Stars) Islands for the first time, small bodies of raised coral about 10km south of Eluanbi that are, some say, Kending’s best dive site and, say I, the bane of sailors in the days of sail, and a major reason why Great Britain built and manned Eluanbi Lighthouse in the 1880s, the world’s only fortified and armed lighthouse.

We ended our day’s eco-theme adventuring with a visit to Shadao, site of a magnificent stretch of beach almost 300m-long that actually shines. This is said to be Taiwan’s purest shell sand, with 98% crushed seashell, coral, and foraminifera.

The coast here makes a dramatic 90-degree turn, meaning the materials are washed in but not easily washed back out. Above the beach, now off-limits, the Shell Beach Exhibition Hall answered all our questions, first and foremost being: “What the heck is foraminifera?”

Night tour encounters in Sheding Nature Park

Kenting Forest Recreation Area

Longkeng

Kenting National Park Sheding Nature Park

This precious ecological and recreational resource is known for its exposed coral reefs (uplifted through tectonic activity), oceanic natural resources, and coastal tropical rainforest.

Ecosystems range from grassland to monsoon rainforest.

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FEATURE

Day 2 After a leisurely breakfast at YOHO Beach Resort, on the west coast, we joined the daily 9:30am guided tidal-zone tour.

I’ll never visit a tidal zone again without looking down every step to avoid crushing another living being’s house. There was life everywhere. Among my many unique thrills was my first face-to-face encounter with a live sea cucumber, that Chinese banquet-table favorite, thick skin rough to the touch, which hides just out of sight under coral-rock shelves in tidal zones to escape hunting birds’ notice.

We then almost immediately jumped on a bike (me) and e-scooters (my gang) for a Longluan Lake jaunt. Our machines were rented from a Giant shop right inside the resort. My bike ride took just 25 leisurely minutes on easy-grade, two-lane, mostly treelined backroads with shady, dedicated bike paths along most of the length.

We stayed on the road much of the time, for this was a Thursday, most of Taiwan was at work or school, and motor vehicles were scarce.

Taiwan lies along a major migratory route stretching from Siberia to Southeast Asia, and Longluan Lake (entry fee) is a premier spot to ogle both endemic and migratory waterfowl. This protected water-body is surrounded by lush wetlands. A fine nature center overlooks the thriving mini-ecoenvironment, telescopes allow close-up observation, and there’s ample on-site reference information (with English).

The “Kenting National Park Birdwatching Guide” brochure, picked up on our first day, was also a great help.

We identified white-breasted water hens, cinnamon bitterns, great white egrets, gray herons, and many other types – even, we believe, the magisterial and elusive gray-faced buzzard. Viewing prime-time is October~May.

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Travel in Taiwan

Snorkeling of f Maobitou Peninsula

Snorkeling Most local outfitters will pick you up from elsewhere in the park. Ask the main visitor’s center which operators can handle English-speaking visitors. Can’t swim? No worry. Experienced guides pull you along on a rope. Your life jacket – literally – won’t let you down.

In the afternoon we went snorkeling off Maobitou peninsula, our boat launching from Houbihu Harbor. I had a grand time. The variety of marine life in terms of both color and shape was far beyond what I’d anticipated.

More systematic, coordinated habitatprotection efforts over the past six years have resulted, our guides said, in the return of many species. Over 40 species of stony coral (reef-building) have been recorded off Kending, along with over 40 of soft coral, and 1,105 types of reef fish.

What I know I saw was clown fish, angel fish, parrot fish, surgeon fish, knife fish – and, yes, seahorses. What I don’t know but saw, was much, much more.

Our day’s eco-exploration itinerary was ended with another extra-special treat, a guided Sheding Nature Park night tour (fee). The national park administration has now transferred many trained-guide service responsibilities to

the local population, and our extremely friendly guides were from the especially active village of Sheding (www.shirding. org.tw ), which offers numerous different theme tours, and handles English tours with advance notice. My night’s highlights were repeated encounters with the rare Formosan sika deer, and an encounter with a fist-sized land crab which insisted I give way and advanced in slugging form, claws swinging. I survived. Certified local guides are also given access to normally off-limits paths, and ours brought us to an old charcoal kiln, among other bonuses.

KENDING

Day 3 We scheduled just one major adventure for our final day, a foray into Kenting National Forest Recreation Area, in the hills above Kending village (entry fee). The area’s core is a botanical garden and herbarium opened as a research station by the Japanese in 1906 when they controlled Taiwan, in which they gathered specimens from around the globe looking to enrich their empire. Many of the trees are now giants, and truly magnificent.

When you explore yourself, you’ll find the two greatest, the wondrous breadfruit tree and looking-glass tree, the latter over 400 years old.

Before heading back to Kaohsiung via the same Taiwan Tourist Shuttle bus service we used coming in, we rambled this way and that along and off Highway 26 on bicycles rented in Kending village. Having been careful to use sun-block my three days away, I came home to Taipei with skin tinted healthy-brown rather than the usual lobster-red. I type these final words in a confident, still-somewhat-bronze state, weeks later. It’s raining outside.

Kending – Michelin-Approved Kending does very well in Michelin’s 3-star rating system. In its Taiwan tour guide the park itself gets three stars, and many spots mentioned in this article get two: Sheding Nature Park, Longkeng, Eluanbi Park, Shadao, and Kenting National Forest Recreation Area.

Elsewhere, Nanrenshan Ecological Protection Area gets three, and Dawan (Big Bay) two.

Eco -tour organized by YOHO

INFO A one-way High Speed Rail ticket between Taipei and Kaohsiung is NT$1,490. Buy a Taiwan Tourist Shuttle - Kending Express (www.taiwantrip.com.tw ) bus ticket for NT$356 at the Kending Express kiosk by Exit No. 2 at Kaohsiung's HSR station; save 15% by using your EasyCard. The same company, Pingtung Bus Lines (www.ptbus.com.tw ), also operates crisscrossing Kending Shuttle Bus routes to points inside and just outside the park; a one-day ticket (NT$150) brings unlimited rides. There are also high-value HSR/Kending Express/Kending Shuttle Bus combo tickets.

Bike/Scooter Rentals There is a variety of bike- and e-scooter rental locations in the park (bikes about NT$200 an hour, scooters about NT$500 a day). The main visitor’s center is your best source for guidance.

Feilaishi Rock

Chuanfan Rock

English and Chinese Dawan 大灣 Eluanbi Lighthouse 鵝鑾鼻燈塔 Eluanbi Park 鵝鑾鼻公園 Houbihu Harbor 後壁湖港 Kenting National Forest Recreation Area 墾丁國家森林遊樂區 Kenting National Park 墾丁國家公園 Longkeng Ecological Protection Area 龍坑生態保護區 Longluan Lake 龍鑾潭 Maobitou 貓鼻頭 Nanrenshan Ecological Protection Area 南仁山生態保護區 Pingtung Bus Lines 屏東汽車客運 Shadao 砂島 Sheding Nature Park 社頂自然公園 Shell Beach Exhibition Hall 貝殼沙展示館

Travel in Taiwan

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FEATURE

p U g n i k a o S the Sun in Kending

YOHO Beach Resor t

Recommended Eco-Theme Hotels Text: Rick Charette

Photos: Jen Guo-Chen

Kending offers you quality places to stay in all budget categories, accommodating whatever you’ve chosen as your trip theme – eco-touring, beach and water fun, sun-tanning, and loafing.

Gloria Manor

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Travel in Taiwan

STAY

Though

other facilities existed, for the longest time if you told a Taiwan local you’d been to Kending they’d almost automatically assume you’d stayed at the iconic beachfront Caesar Park Hotel – Kenting (https://www.ezhotel.com. tw/caesar) , a fine family-oriented resort that’s still there and still first-rate. But in the past decade or so an explosion of new options have come into being, and on my most recent Kending foray, covered in our main Feature article, I tried out two new spots. My trip theme was eco-touring, and both facilities have a strong eco-friendly focus. The YOHO Beach Resort is a mid-range, familytargeted option; the Gloria Manor is decidedly upscale, placing you amidst trappings fit for a king – or, as you’ll see, a Generalissimo.

The YOHO Beach Resort is located near the coast on the quiet west side of Hengchun Peninsula. It is a multiplebuilding complex, featuring the main lobby/admin building, YOHO Kids Hotel, YOHO Bike Hotel, and restaurant/spa facility. You can check in at the main lobby or at the counters in each hotel. As we checked in at the main lobby a Filipino band serenaded guests in the plaza before a waterfall pool area, with golden oldies by the Eagles, Carpenters, and other groups; we watched part of their gig later that night at the Rendezvous Bar in the YOHO Star Plaza, a recreation complex on the Nanwan (South Bay) beach. The resort runs regular shuttles to Nanwan and Kending Town.

Gloria Manor Eco-Outings Management has mapped out a number of local eco-tours, and helps guests with all arrangements.

Arrangements are free; the tours themselves involve fees.

At the YOHO Bike Hotel, opened in 2009 – the only bike-theme hotel I’ve ever

YOHO Green Explorations Among the YOHO’s many eco-oriented activities (there are many other theme activities as well) are bike-training classes, kids’ snorkeling, stargazing outings, west coast bike tours, and guided littoral explorations (the last is free).

heard of – the small check-in counter area doubles as a Giant Bicycles rental center and boutique shop. You can also rent electric scooters here. Giant, dedicated to Taiwan bicycling promotion, runs rental and repair shops all around the country.

You can walk your bike right into your room, and there are special collapsible wall-mounted frames to hang them on, up and out of the way. There’s even a nifty ground-floor Bike Spa where you can shower off the dirt of the day. (Prices start at NT$7,300; breakfast included. ) The Gloria Manor’s eco-harmony mission begins with its very existence. It’s located in the hills high up behind coastal Kending Village, right in the Kenting National Forest Recreation Area, mighty Mt. Dajian right beside. The elegant, quiet, and sophisticated facility was built with one of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s former villas at its core, thoroughly refurbished and now looking chic and ultra-modern. Earth tones predominate and local materials have been emphasized, notably wood and stone, limiting transport-related carbon emissions. Over 50% of the hardware used is green-certified. The chefs also emphasize locally sourced farm and marine produce for the same reason (see our accompanying Eat/Buy article).

Extensive use has been made of traditional Taiwanese elements, notably wickerwork, lanterns, and hexagonal brickwork symbolizing long life. Rooms are bright and airy, with light woods prominent, and are green-designed to let in maximum sunlight and fresh air. From each room you have a picture-frame view of sea and Maobitou Peninsula. There is a large, inviting open-air pool and expansive lawn on a tier just below the hotel, and from room balconies and the

dining area you gaze out over pool/lawn and past a sweeping expanse of treetops to the coast below and before and imposing Mt. Dajian beside and above, the mood of the majestic, pointed barerock face constantly changing. (Rooms start at NT$6,800; breakfast and dinner included.)

Near YOHO Beach Resor t INFO YOHO Beach Resort (墾丁悠活麗緻渡假村) Add: 27-8 Wanli Rd., Hengchun Town, Pingtung County (屏東縣恆春鎮萬里路27-8號) Tel: (08) 886-9999 Website: www.yoho.com.tw Gloria Manor (華泰瑞苑墾丁賓館) Add: 101 Gongyuan Rd., Hengchun Town, Pingtung County (屏東縣恆春鎮公園路101號) Tel: (08) 886-3666 Website: www.gloriamanor.com

Homestays There are over 20 officially recognized homestays in Kenting National Park, but there are many unlicensed facilities as well. The national park administration suggests you contact it first for guidance.

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FEATURE

Kending Specialties Text: Rick Charette

Eating and Buying Well by the Tropical Seaside

Photos: Jen Guo-Chen

After all your hard work during outdoor sessions on the trails and on/ under the sea, Kending rewards you with tasty food to replenish yourself – presented in attractive restaurants and in gift-package form at specialty retail outlets.

At Table

Regular expat visitors will tell you that you have not had the full Kending experience until you’ve hung out beachbum-style at Warung DiDi restaurant/ bar. Opened way back in the ’90s by the warm, outgoing DiDi, who does much of the cooking, it’s located off the main drag in Kending Village, down an alley toward the beach. On a huge open deck, there’s a cozy open-faced indoor dining area toward the rear and a bartender station in a shack-like structure on one side. Choose the alfresco seating along the sides so you can enjoy the sun and/or stars.

The food is predominantly Thai and Malaysian Chinese. I can never take a

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Mu Restaurant

Travel in Taiwan

pass on the Thai boneless chicken with basil sauce, and a relatively new addition, Indonesian beef rendang, is also both hearty and delicious. There is a NT$200 per person minimum, met by ordering a single dish. I also suggest you try the special NT$100 appetizer cocktail made with passion fruit, kiwi, and strawberry – yummy fresh.

For a nice change of pace, enter an oasis of tranquility and elegance at the Mu Restaurant/Lounge in the Gloria Manor hotel. In keeping with the management’s eco-focused mission, earth tones are emphasized and dark wood is visually dominant. The lounge section has a line of picture-frame windows that give a sweeping view of

Houbihu Harbor Another location offering superb value is the tourist center at Houbihu Harbor, with numerous simple seafood eateries inside. Almost everything is fresh off the boats, with many Kending specialties. How can you beat sashimi at just NT$100 a plate?

Bar of Yoho Star Plaz a

EAT/BUY the sea and Maobitou Peninsula before, majestic Mt. Dajian right beside. The emphasis of the eco-friendly menu is on locally sourced, in-season produce. At dinner, among the many delicious localtheme dishes dreamed up by the head chef, those that most tickled my palate were the short rib and shrimp with deep-fried rain mushroom, dried oilfish roe, seared lobster with honey mustard sauce, seasonal fish sashimi, and pan-roasted duck with Chinese cabbage stew

Tumi House A special mention must also be given to Tumi House in Kending Village, where David, hailing from Peru, sells stylishly dynamic hand-made jewelry and accessories with eclectic Peruvian and other indigenous themes.

Tumi House

At breakfast, taken outdoors on the sunken terrace directly before the loungearea windows, among the many treats of the filling set menu are the eggs Benedict, the rich sauce approaching pudding consistency, and the various Europeanstyle breads delivered hot from the ovens.

On Display Racks

During your Kending stay you’ll see fishing boats out at sea, bright-painted sides reflecting the sun by day, lights

twinkling at night. So it’s no surprise that seafood treats are the main local specialty-item gift purchases. At Master Tom, in Kending Town, buy delicious mochi in which Kendingsourced seaweed is the flavoring for the gummy skin. At the Houbihu Harbor gift shop you’ll find – this is just a sampling – abalone paste, flying fish crisps, and dried charcoal-baked octopus and squid.

INFO Mu Restaurant/Lounge (Gloria Manor) (沐餐廳) Add: 101 Gongyuan Rd., Hengchun Town, Pingtung County (屏東縣恆春鎮公園路101號) Tel: (08) 886-3666 Website: www.gloriamanor.com Tumi House Add: 178 Kending Rd., Hengchun Town, Pingtung County (屏東縣恆春鎮恆春鎮墾丁路178號) Tel: 0927-575-717 Website: tumihouse.myweb.hinet.net (Chinese) Master Tom (唐師傅) Add: 151 Kending Rd., Hengchun Town, Pingtung County (屏東縣恆春鎮墾丁路151號) Tel: (08) 886-3845 Website: master-tom.inks.com.tw (Chinese)

錫安_自_1-3W_E_20130107.pdf 1 2013/1/7 下午 05:27:38Warung

DiDi

Seafood at Houbihu fish market

Warung DiDi (迪迪小吃) Add: 26 Wenhua Lane, Kending Rd., Hengchun Town, Pingtung County (屏東縣恆春鎮墾丁路文化巷26號) Tel: (08) 886-1835

i B ! e m o C

ACTIVE FUN

L

Scenic Cycling at Sun Moon Lake Text: Rick Charette Photos: Maggie Song

vi ew isi to r Ce nt er Xi an gs ha n V

Interested in cycling along what has been called one of the world’s 10 finest bike routes – with 2,000 friends? Come! Bikeday was tailor-made for you.

Up with the Dawn - Meeting All My New Buddies

“Life

is pretty good,” I thought to myself as I looked out over the rippling waters of the stillsleeping lake at my feet and up at the brightening mountain peaks all around me, just waking up. It was 6:50 a.m. on November 11, 2012, a Sunday. In my childhood I dreamed and day-dreamed constantly of adventuring in faraway places, and here I was, 10,000 kilometers from eastern Canada and home, up in Taiwan’s central mountains, a part of the loveliest of settings. The air was cool and crisp and perfect for bike-riding.

I was here to play a part in the first Come! Bikeday at Sun Moon Lake, one of the many cycling-theme events being

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held all around the island during the annual Taiwan Cycling Festival, which is staged each November. With air horns blasting and a thumping “Everybody go!” in Chinese from the event’s on-stage emcee, I headed out from the grounds of the aesthetically dynamic Xiangshan Visitor Center along with 500 new friends on a 9-kilometer family-fun ride up and down the west side of the lake, one of Taiwan’s most famous and popular tourist destinations. At this hour there were no other tourists out and about save for us bike-riders, and after the air horns died down the quiet whir of a thousand turning wheels filled me with a pleasant, peaceful feeling. “Great to be out of the city, out of doors, and up in the hills,” I thought.

There were two Come! Bikeday rides.

The 1,500 entrants for the 30-kilometer round-lake jaunt on the pretty highway loop had left 20 minutes earlier, at 6:30.

They took part in the Challenge Ride, for more serious bikers, with two hilly and twisting sections on the route. A chip attached to their helmets would keep track of their times. I was heading out on the family-oriented Joy Ride, featuring easy grades throughout. Part of the excursion would be on the highway, with one lane closed off much of the way and with very little vehicle traffic at this time of day, and part would be on the attractive boardwalk that runs along the lake’s western side, sometimes beside it and sometimes – bringing a pleasant sensation of floating in the air – right above it.

y a d ike 1

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Foreign Encounters - Other Riders from Faraway Lands

Leading

our giant, slow-moving pack was the director-general of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, David W. J. Hsieh, and three celebrated professional racers, Anthony Chartreau and Jérémy Roy of France and Francisco Mancebo of Spain. They had competed the day before in the Taiwan KOM Challenge, which one racer has blogged is “up there with the world’s most epic climbs, for sure.”

This demanding race is from sea level on Taiwan’s east coast, up through the famed, awe-inducing Taroko Gorge, and up, up, up to Taiwan’s highest highway point at Wuling, not far from Sun Moon Lake by vehicle, where the eye-level view of mountain peaks running off into the distance is stunning.

Chartreau mentioned, during a short Joy Ride stop where I had the chance to chat with him, how enjoyable the short ride was because he could take his time to look around and soak in what

he called Taiwan’s inspiring and unique mountain/lake/river combination.

Talking with Roy after wading through a thick crowd of admiring riders waiting to have their pictures taken with him, the racer commented on how friendly and welcoming the people of Taiwan are – something I’ve heard countless times from first-time visitors during my two decades here.

After riding over it, many riders stopped at the lookout beside the Shuishe Dam to take in the wide-open views of the lake and backdrop mountains.

I talked with Julie, who was riding with a group of middle-aged travelers from eastern Canada. Looking across the water at a mountainous peninsula directly before us, which would have tour boats docking at its foot in great number starting in a few hours, she said “It’s really lovely how Lalu Island, the two temples (Xuanguang and Xuanzang), and Ci’en Pagoda on the peak all line up.

SUN MOON LAKE

3

1. At the star t line 2. Foreign riders 3. Family fun 4. Sun protec tion

4

We were told they line up exactly with the Hanbi Peninsula, where Chiang Kaishek had one of his favorite villas (now the location of the The Lalu hotel), and that the perfect line-up brings powerful fengshui . Our guide also told us you get a year’s good luck if you climb the pagoda and bang the giant gong.”

Just north of the dam we came across Englishman Bill Barrie staring down into a huge round water-intake hole just offshore. When the lake’s waters reach a certain level, excess automatically drains into the hole. “I’m an engineer,” said Bill, “and after reading how CNNGo described Sun Moon Lake as one of the world’s 10 best bike routes I began reading more, and found the lake is also the centerpiece of Taiwan’s first great hydroelectric project.

The Japanese dammed and flooded the basin in the 1930s, creating Lalu Island, the top of what was an exposed high hill.”

This hill/island was/is sacred to the local indigenous tribe, the Thao, whose main settlement was moved twice, the second time to the site of today’s Ita Thao village, a prime tourist draw on the lake’s south side.

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ACTIVE FUN

This Joy Ride Over The Lake, However, Always “Open”

1

1. At the south end of Sun Moon L ake 2.Stopping for a rest 3.Cer tificate and medal for completing the lake loop

2

Back at Xiangshan Visitor Center after the ride, Challenge Riders, who had finished circling the lake, confirmed their times and received their official certificates of completion. There was a grand prize draw for all registered riders (with top-end Merida bikes as the big prizes), stage performances, and an autograph/photo session with the aforementioned celebrity pro riders, which generated great excitement.

Sadly, I won no prizes in the draw, but I still had my free blue Come! Bikeday jersey, a set of commemorative stamps, a box of oranges, and a breakfast snack (in my tummy) – plus a new set of fine memories.

Thereafter, all day long I saw Come! Bikeday riders rambling around the lake’s highway and bikeways, along with many other later-arriving tourists. You’ll find bike-rental outlets along the highway in both major settlements, Ita Thao and Shuishe, and diagonally across from Xiangshan Visitor Center.

For more information on Come! Bikeday and the lake’s other draws, visit the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area website (www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw ).

There’s also a Taiwan Cycling Festival site (taiwanbike.tw ). Note that the ninth edition of the annual “Merida Cycling Day” will be held in late April this year (2013), with the Xiangshan Visitor Center as the start and end point. In addition to runs just like Come! Bikeday’s Challenge Ride and Joy Ride, there’s a scenic 60-km run through the nearby towns of Checheng and Shuili, with 18 km of climbing (sport.promos.com.tw/merida ; Chinese).

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Crossing Wedding Photo Bridge

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Travel in Taiwan

SUN MOON LAKE

INFO Getting There: Visit the Taiwan Tour Bus website (www.taiwantourbus.com. tw ) for information on English-language Sun Moon Lake outings provided by local tour agencies, launching from Taipei and central Taiwan. Alternatively, take a High Speed Rail train to Taichung Station, then catch a bus direct to Sun Moon Lake from the ground-level bus station. The ticket counter is right by the door, and the destination is marked in English on the bus.

Getting Around: The bus stops at the Visitor Information Center in Shuishe Village. From there, comfortable local buses round the lake, stopping at/near major attractions and a number of trailheads. Service is 9 to 6; a one-day unlimited ticket is just NT$80, and you can get on and off as you please.

Before Wenwu Temple English and Chinese Ci'en Pagoda 慈恩塔 Checheng 車城 David W. J. Hsieh 謝謂君 Hanbi Peninsula 涵碧半島 Ita Thao 伊達邵 Lalu Island 拉魯島 Merida Cycling Day 美利達單車好行 Shuili 水里

Shuishe Dam 水社壩 Shuishe 水社 Sun Moon Lake 日月潭 Thao Tribe 邵族 Toushe Basin 頭社盆地 Xiangshan Visitor Center 向山遊客服務中心 Xuanguang Temple 玄光寺 Xuanzang Temple 玄奘寺

Where to Stay: Sun Moon Lake accommodations run the gamut. At the extreme upper end are The Lalu (www.thelalu.com.tw ) and The Wen Wan Resort (www.thewenwan.com ), on the Hanbi Peninsula. In the mid-range is the Sun Moon Lake Hotel (www.smlh.com.tw ). A cozier mid-range option is the Sun Moon Lake Full House Resort (www.fhsml.idv.tw ), a log-theme chalet in the Rockies style. In the inexpensive range is the Assam Dream (www.assam-dream. com ), a wood-theme homestay amidst a betelnut-tree plantation just a few minutes north of the lake, and at the lowest end campsites (contact the National Scenic Area Administration).

HIKING

Mt. Jade

A Must-Hike for Any Mountaineer Visiting Taiwan Text & Photos: Stuart Dawson

The single-day ascent is a challenging 12hour hike, but it does have some advantages, one of which is not having to carry a heavy backpack

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MT. JADE

At

3,952 meters, Yushan (Mt. Jade) is not only Taiwan’s tallest peak; it is also the tallest mountain in Northeast Asia, and one of the most prominent peaks in the world. On a clear day the views offered are quite exceptional. The star of the Yushan Mountain Range, Yushan is located in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi County, close to the well-known Alishan National Scenic Area (www.ali-nsa.net ).

Typically, Yushan is climbed in two days, with hikers spending one night in the Paiyun Lodge (8.5km from the trail entrance), getting up in the very early morning next day, making the ascent to Mt. Jade Main Peak (2.4km from the lodge) to see the sunrise, and then hiking all the way back to the trail entrance. The lodge, however, has been closed for some time now and is currently (early 2013) still under renovation, which means for the time being the best way to bag the peak is to do the single-day ascent.

For most people, the Yushan hiking adventure will entail a stay at the Dongpu Hostel – and that’s just what I did when I took on the one-day climb with friends in the summer of 2012. The name of the hostel can be misleading, as people often assume it’s in the hot-spring village of Dongpu, a two-hour drive away. It is in fact located at Tataka, a hamlet close to the Yushan trailhead. It’s a very basic hostel, with a grubby kitchen and showers, but at an altitude of around 2,500m it’s the perfect place to get some sleep and acclimate before beginning the hike.

The

Yushan National Park (www.ysnp.gov.tw ) authorities stipulate that hikers need to reach the Paiyun Lodge before 10 a.m. when doing the single-day ascent, and so we hit the trail before sunrise at 4 a.m. It was chilly compared to the heat of Taipei, but we soon warmed up as we headed up the road to the trailhead proper. Along the way we spotted an unusual-looking worm, which turned out to be the predatory hammerhead worm – a first for me!

By the time we reached the trailhead, the sun was already on its way up, revealing a cloudless sky. We stopped for a moment, gratefully soaking up its rays before heading along the trail.

At the top

turns sharply to the right and climbs even more steeply to the peak. Exhausted, some six hours after we began the hike, we arrived at the top and were treated to stunning views.

On the trail Hik ing up Mt. Jade

Tak ing in the scener y

Stuart Dawson is one of the partners at Taiwan Adventures ( www.taiwan-adventures.com), an outdoor adventure and hiking company dedicated to helping the adventurous explore Taiwan’s beautiful natural areas.

The single-day ascent is a challenging 12-hour hike, but it does have some advantages, one of which is not having to carry a heavy backpack.

Without the weight, we made great progress. We reached the Paiyun Lodge in no time, and stopped for a quick rest.

The real hiking began after the lodge.

There are steep, seemingly never-ending switchbacks, and the solid rock of the trail gives way to loose scree. We all began to feel the altitude, and our pace slowed considerably as we gasped for air. However, not far up the mountain the tree line awaited us, and the promise of even more spectacular views pushed us onwards.

Along the way we passed a point named Fengkou (“Wind Gap”). Many a hiker has been turned back at this point by strong winds, but fortunately on this day the air was still. From here the trail

We could have easily spent hours at the top admiring the world below us, but the looming clouds began to close in and we knew that we had to get off the peak before an afternoon thunderstorm might begin. We arrived back at the trailhead as the heavens opened, completely soaking us, but even that couldn’t dampen our spirits after our successful single-day Mt. Jade ascent.

English and Chinese Alishan National Forest Recreation Area 阿里山國家森林遊樂區 Dongpu 東埔 Dongpu Hostel 東埔山莊 Fengkou 風口 Paiyun Lodge 排雲山莊 Tataka 塔塔加 Yushan (Mt. Jade) 玉山 Yushan Mountain Range 玉山山脈 Yushan National Park 玉山國家公園

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SPLENDID FESTIVALS

The Burning of the King Boat at Donggang Text: Steven Crook

Photos: Rich Matheson

Taiwan wasn’t always the safe, healthy place it is today. Until the early 20th century, malaria was a constant threat and cholera epidemics were frequent. Lacking medical knowledge and influenced by traditions they had brought from mainland China’s Fujian and Guangdong provinces, Taiwanese of Han descent lived in fear of plague-spreading demons.

Naturally, they sought divine protection from these malevolent spirits, whom they called Wang Ye, or “royal lords.”

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DONGGANG

The

moment the King Boat left Donglong Temple, the exodus began. The vessel wouldn’t be set afire for at least three hours, but Taiwan’s most famous conflagration happens only once every three years, so we wanted to snag a good spot. Judging by the crowd that swept us through Donggang’s narrow streets, everyone else had the same idea.

Getting to the burn site was more like a mass escape than a religious parade.

Because the crowd was so dense, I found myself taking short, shuffling steps.

Every few minutes we were jostled aside so a deity-bearing palanquin, or a team carrying one of the ship’s masts, could pass. But when we reached the beach we got clear views as the sails were unfurled and the anchors raised. A king’s ransom in “spirit money” (yellow paper rectangles especially made for burning during folk-religion ceremonies) was then piled around the hull. Finally, volunteers laid long strings of firecrackers across this mountain of combustible material.

Around 5:30 am, it was announced that “all are aboard.” The signal meant that every spirit on the passenger list was in place and the firecrackers could be lit.

Within 60 seconds, flames were licking the boat on all sides. Flying embers soon burned holes through the sails. The large doll-sized figurines on the main deck were shedding limbs. As the sky lightened, the hull blackened. Gaping holes appeared fore and aft. Confident that misfortune had been dispelled and prosperity was assured for another three years, most of the locals in the crowd set out for home.

In terms of visual impact, one of the few equivalents in the Western world to the Donggang boat sacrifice is the annual Burning Man event in Nevada.

But there’s nothing countercultural about the Donggang King Boat Festival. The event is rooted in ancient beliefs about the powers of Wang Ye – a category that includes not only supernatural fiends but also certain much-admired but longdead humans. The festival’s Chinese title literally means “welcoming the kings with peace offerings.”

Within 60 seconds, flames were licking the boat on all sides. Flying embers soon burned holes through the sails.

The large doll-sized figurines on the main deck were shedding limbs

T he burning of the K ing Boat b egins

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SPLENDID FESTIVALS “It's by far my favorite of Taiwan's festivals,” said Chris Nelson, an American who has attended the 2006, 2009, and 2012 events. “It's big, colorful, energetic, and steeped in tradition. It's both an all-night party and a glimpse into the coolest aspects of Taiwanese culture: mysterious Daoist rituals, spirit mediums in trances, decked-out temples, fireworks, and a mile-long procession to the beach.

All in a quaint little fishing town in Taiwan's deep south!”

Nelson also likes the palanquins in which deities are carried from the town's less-well-known shrines to Donglong Temple and the beach. Unlike traditional palanquins, which are made of wood and hoisted on devotees' shoulders, the ones used in the King Boat Festival are wheeled contraptions covered with flashing LEDs and equipped with loudspeakers through which liturgical music is blasted.

The festival is big, colorful, energetic, and steeped in tradition

Donglong

Temple in Donggang, a port town in Taiwan’s far southwest, is among the liveliest of Taiwan’s more than 600 Wang Ye shrines. The temple’s principal deity is Marshal Wen, commonly called Wen, Lord of a Thousand Years. He’s a good-guy Wang Ye, a scholar born in 609 A.D. who is said to have saved his emperor’s life.

For at least a century, Donglong Temple has been hosting a spectacular festival featuring Marshal Wen (who doesn’t board the King Boat) and an array of other Wang Ye (who do). In some ways, the event is similar to other large-scale expressions of Taiwanese folk religion. The pious, who believe participation staves off bad luck and brings blessings, stand shoulder-to-shoulder with agnostic gawkers. Visitors can expect to see zhentou (pronounced “din tao ” in Taiwanese) troupes perform lion dances, stiltwalking stunts, and other forms of visual artistry to a soundtrack of gongs, drums, and trumpets.

What distinguishes the eight-day-long King Boat Festival from other da bai bai (“big worship ceremonies”) is that the center of attention isn’t a deity or a temple, but a stunningly decorated wooden junk which costs as much as a Lamborghini sports car.

The 2012 vessel was 13.82m long; all dimensions are decided by means of divination.

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“Best of all, this festival is real.

There’s nothing contrived about it,” Nelson added. “Plenty of tourists come to see it, but it's not put on for tourists.”

Unlike the Burning Man in Nevada, no one has to buy a ticket to see the King Boat go up in flames. Other boat burnings in Taiwan are also free.

The

custom of burning specially-built boats as a way of expelling plague and other evils is perhaps 1,000 years old, and some scholars think it may have been inspired by the discovery that fire is effective at destroying pathogens.

Member of a jiaotou (religious association)

DONGGANG Communities along mainland China’s southeast coast would build boats, load them with religious icons, and push them out to sea. Some of these vessels were set alight, but others were allowed to drift wherever the currents took them. The boats would carry off evil and pestilence with them. Many reached Taiwan’s southwestern coast, where they were received with a mixture of awe and fear by Han Chinese settlers.

Wang Ye icons that were found on such boats are today revered in various houses of worship, most notably Nankunshen Daitian Temple in Tainan City’s Beimen District.

Each King Boat is a work of art, and worth seeing even if you can’t make it to the festival. Completed months in advance, the Donggang boat is put on display in a storage facility at Donglong Temple so pilgrims can pay their respects and at the same time appreciate the delicate paintings of dragons, elephants, and sages that decorate its hull.

The first and final days of the weeklong festival are especially interesting; the inferno happens on the latter. At the start, during elaborate rituals – including a procession to the shore – a group of Wang Ye are invited to the town, and one is identified as the chief. In 2012, the leader was Lord Geng; his name was painted on the prow of the King Boat and onto a lantern dangling from the vessel’s main mast.

Before dusk on the final day, volunteers push the vessel through Donggang’s streets. The small ship is believed to act like a supernatural magnet, drawing disease and malevolence on board. When it is returned to Donglong Temple, offerings and supplies English and Chinese Beimen District 北門區 da bai bai 大拜拜 Dingtou Jiao 頂頭角 Dingzhong Street Jiao 頂中街角 Donglong Temple 東隆宮

are loaded on to placate the supernatural entities that have been hoodwinked into boarding. Among the items placed on board are dice for gambling, pipes for smoking, calligraphy brushes and inkstones for writing, and woks, spoons, and condiments for cooking.

The

loading and many other rituals are conducted by members of local religious associations known as the seven jiaotou . Each group (which is overwhelmingly male and includes a good many young people) represents a different part of Donggang Town.

Recruits are primarily from each respective neighborhood, but also come from families that have moved away yet maintained ancestral ties with Donggang

At least one of those foreigners plans to return – Chris Nelson, whose parting words were: “See you in 2015!”

Good news: You needn’t wait that long to witness a boat-burning, as a few other places in the south hold similar if less extravagant rites each year. If you happen to be near Chiayi County’s Dongshi Township at the start of the fourth month of the lunar calendar (usually late April), head to Wengang Village to see the fiery sacrifice of a bamboo-and-paper vessel. To find out about other Wang Ye festivals, contact the Tourism Bureau or ask at one of its visitor information centers.

Distinguishing one crew from another is easy because each wears a differentcolored uniform. The color doesn’t belong to that jiaotou, but rather indicates the group’s duties during the festival. This year, for instance, the members of the Dingtou Jiao(tou) wore yellow, as they had done three years before, because they were responsible for the hull. Dingzhong Street Jiao(tou) members wore white, and carried the anchors. Three years earlier they donned green outfits and took care of the rear mast and sail.

Randall Liu, a Donggang native who attended the final day and night of this year’s festivities along with four co-workers – all outsiders, all firsttimers – said he is neither religious nor particularly traditional, but has been to four editions of the festival. “What I love about the burning of the King Boat is that it has made my hometown famous,” said the 27-year-old. “And not just in Taiwan – there are so many foreigners here!”

Donggang 東港 Donggang King Boat Festival東港迎王平安祭 Dongshi Township 東石鄉 Lord Geng 王耿 Nankunshen Daitian Temple 南鯤鯓代天府

T he b oat is burned in the early morning hours

Randall Liu 劉仁杰 seven jiaotou 七角頭 Wang Ye 王爺 Wen, Lord of a Thousand Years 溫府千歲 Wengang Village 塭港村

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FUN WITH CHINESE

Wood

Trees

Forest

Forest at Alishan

Chinese

characters can look quite intimidating at first glance. Considering, however, that a billion people or so are able to read them, mastering them can’t be that difficult, can it? It's always best to start with the easy ones, and those you are going to encounter most frequently when traveling in Taiwan. Take the character 木 (mu), for example.

Very simple and easy to recognize, it means wood; notice how it looks like a tree. It can appear as a single character, usually used in multiple-character words such as 木馬 muma (wooden horse). It is also an important part, called a “radical,” of many more complicated characters – located on the left side (村; cun; village), at the top (杏; xing, apricot), or at the bottom (果; guo; fruit).

Put two 木 together and you get the character 林 (lin; grove). Add one more and you get 森 (sen; forest). These two characters also appear as one term 森林 (senlin; also meaning forest). Very logical, right?

However, next time you go for a walk with some friends in downtown Taipei and spot a road sign with the characters 林森路 (linsen lu; Linsen Rd.), don't start talking about walking on “Forest Road.” The characters in this order refer to Mr. Lin Sen, who was head of state of the Republic of China from 1931 to 1943.

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TOP TEN TOURIST TOWNS

Water, Go Teahouse in Jiufen Banana farmer Lu Ming in Qishan

Tourists in Jiufen

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Old school in Shuinandong

Eating taro balls

SHUI-JIN-JIU

old, Nine Exploring the History and Scenery of Three Attractive Tourist Towns in Northeast Taiwan Fine food, fascinating traditional Chinese culture, and outstanding natural beauty are three things for which Taiwan is justly renowned among visitors. These are perhaps the three biggest reasons why few places within easy reach of the capital city are quite as popular as the little villages of Jiufen, Jinguashi, and Shuinandong.

Text: Richard Saunders Photos: Vision Int’l

Golden Water fall

Old-st yle cafĂŠ Typical alley

Mt. Keelung seen from the T hir teen Levels mine

Souvenirs

Museum of Gold

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TOP TEN TOURIST TOWNS

These

quaint settlements, seemingly locked in a time warp, are atmospheric open-air museums highlighting one of Taiwan’s most fascinating eras. Factor in an outstanding setting – clinging to the steep slopes of a cluster of extinct volcanoes overlooking a wide sweep of the Pacific Ocean – and marvelous old teahouses and restaurants, and a visit to the area makes for one of the most interesting and scenic days possible exploring north Taiwan.

It’s just a quick zip along the freeway from Taipei to the town of Ruifang, from where County Highway No. 102 winds up into the hills towards the pyramidal bulk of Mt. Keelung and to Jiufen, which spills down a steep hillside opposite the mountain. No vehicle traffic is allowed along the narrow alleyways of the village, so park your car (or leave the bus) at the lower edge of the village, and take the stairs beside the visitor center, which climb up into the heart of this deeply atmospheric place.

Jiufen

owes its existence to gold (which was discovered in the hills behind the village in the late 19th century), and later to copper. The area around Jiufen and neighboring Jinguashi was discovered to hold one of east Asia’s richest sources of precious metals, and there was a huge influx of islanders to work the mines, which gave the area such prosperity that Jiufen became known as “Little Shanghai.” It boasted bars, a movie theater, and even performances of Chinese opera. It’s estimated that the two

Museum of Gold

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villages attracted over 100,000 workers during the 1920s.

Although the last ore was extracted in the 1980s, there’s still plenty to remind the visitor of the area’s mining heyday, including the atmospheric entrance to Number Eight Mine, a popular place for shooting TV or movie scenes, below the main road near the visitor center.

Higher up, off Qingbian Road, one of the main (pedestrian-only) drags through the village, Number Five Mine is today home to a colony of bats. A couple of minutes down the road from the mine entrance is Sky Castle Teahouse, one of Jiufen’s most famous, in one of its finest remaining old red-brick residences.

Jishan Street is contoured to the hillside a couple of minutes up the steps from the visitor center, and affords some fine views over the village section below, the steep coastal slope, and the ocean beyond. The alley-like road is lined with shops and eateries selling an extraordinary selection of edible treats.

Especially famous are Mother Lai’s Taro Balls, at number 143, one of the best of many places that sell this, Jiufen’s signature snack, which is made with powdered taro (a potato-like vegetable).

Perhaps the most famous establishment along the street is at number 142: the famous Jioufen Teahouse, occupying an atmospheric old residence. Sitting down for a pot of Chinese tea and perhaps a light lunch while admiring the magnificent view is an essential part of the Jiufen experience, and there’s no more authentic place to enjoy it than here.

Drink ing tea at Jiufen

Sitting down for a pot of Chinese tea and perhaps a light lunch while admiring the magnificent view is an essential part of the Jiufen experience

War History Kinkaseki POW Camp at Jinguashi was one of 14 built in Taiwan during the Second World War to house POWs captured by the Japanese as they spread through Southeast Asia. The number of POWs at Kinkaseki (many captured in the fall of Singapore in 1942) rose to over 1,100, and many died under appalling conditions, forced to work in the gold- and copper-rich mines. The survivors were liberated in 1945. A small park now stands on the site of the camp, with a monument to the prisoners. The prisoner-of-war camp was long ago razed to the ground; however, next to the stream at the entrance of the park, on the left, a fragment of wall and gatepost from the original compound remains as a somber reminder.

SHUI-JIN-JIU

While

Jiufen, sitting high on a hillside, has perhaps the best setting and the most popular teahouses, Jinguashi, in a valley on the south side of Mt. Keelung is the best place to find out what got the whole gold and copper mining era here started, well over a century ago. The Gold Ecological Park (www.gep.ntpc.gov. tw ), which opened in 2004, has turned Jiufen’s once almost forgotten twin into a hugely popular tourist attraction. The park is centered on Jinguashi village, a place of narrow alleys lined with quaint old houses that are themselves well worth exploring.

There’s lots here to see and do, but if time is short, be sure at least to visit the elegant Crown Prince Chalet, built in 1922 for the visit to Taiwan of Crown Prince Hirohito two years later, though in the end, the crown prince did not stay here. Set in pretty gardens, the interior isn’t open to the public, but some of the beautiful rooms are clearly visible through the glass windows. Look for the beautiful Mount Fuji design above the main entrance. Round the back of the chalet is a concrete mini-golf course and an archery range, intended for use by the royal visitor!

Climb the steps beside the chalet and turn left at the top onto the wooden platform that supported the tracks of a narrow-gauge push-cart railway, once used to transport ore and minerals. A few minutes’ walk along the tracks is the Museum of Gold, which recounts (on two floors, with English translations) the history of gold and gold mining both here T he coast at Shuinandong

in Taiwan and elsewhere around the world. The undisputed highlight of the small museum is the huge 220-kilogram ingot of 99.9% pure gold on the second floor, which visitors can touch.

After visiting the museum, if energy allows, make the short but stiff climb up the wide, stepped path behind the museum to the photogenic ruins of the Jinguashi Shinto Shrine. Two torii (Japanese ceremonial gates), pillars, and stone foundations are all that remain today of the temple, built by the Japan Mining Company in 1933, which is dedicated to the three Kami spirits of metallurgy, but it’s worth clambering up there if only to admire the breathtaking view.

Jinguashi is just a short distance from Jiufen. Regular buses link the two villages and, further down the winding road toward the coast past Jinguashi, the small settlement of Shuinandong. This village is dominated by one of the area’s most impressive industrial relics, the Thirteen Levels building (built in 1933), which was once used for refining copper.

From the massive building hulk high up on the mountain slope you have splendid views of the coast. Close by is also the extraordinary Golden Waterfall, a series of small cascades plunging over a tufa dam built up from minerals dissolved in the water. Some of these minerals have stained the rock a bright sulfur-yellow, hence the name. It’s a favorite spot for photographers and a great place for a break on a tour of the Jiufen/Jinguashi, Shuinandong triumvirate – a truly remarkable group of villages.

How It All Began Considering its isolated position clinging to a steep mountainside facing the Pacific, and exposed to the full force of the elements, it’s hardly surprising that Jiufen was originally settled by just nine families. At that time, almost all daily necessities had to be brought in from outside, the village’s residents requesting nine portions (jiu fen ) each time, hence the name. All this changed dramatically in 1889, when gold was accidentally discovered by a worker washing dishes in the Keelung River near Badu, twelve kilometers west of Jiufen.

When the source of the glittery stuff was eventually traced to the slopes of Mt. Xiaozukeng above Jiufen, gold fever gripped the area. And the rest, as they say, is history.

INFO Jioufen Teahouse (九份茶坊) Add: 142 Jishan St.., Jiufen, Ruifang District, New Taipei City (台北縣瑞芳鎮基山街142號) Tel: (02) 2496-7767 Website: www.jioufen-teahouse.com.tw Artist Teahouse (水心月茶坊) Add: 308 Qingbian Rd., Jiufen, Ruifang District, New Taipei City (新北市瑞芳區九份輕便路308號) Tel: (02) 2496-7767 Museum of Gold (黃金博物館) 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.ntpc.gov.tw English and Chinese Crown Prince Chalet 太子賓館 Gold Ecological Park 黃金博物園區 Golden Waterfall 黃金瀑布 Jinguashi 金瓜石 Jishan Street 基山街 Jiufen 九份 Mother Lai's Taro Balls 賴阿婆芋圓 Mt. Keelung 基隆山 Museum of Gold 黃金博物館 Number Eight Mine 八番坑 Number Five Mine 五番坑 Qingbian Road 輕便路 Ruifang 瑞芳 Shuinandong 水湳洞 Thirteen Levels 十三層

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MUSIC TOURS

Taiwan’s Third Largest City Is a Center of Saxophone Production and Host of a Great Annual Jazz Festival Text: Joe Henley

Photos: Maggie Song

If you've ever seen a jazz band perform or tried your hand at playing a saxophone, there is a good chance that the instrument you've seen in action or handled yourself came straight from the township of Houli, the musical-instrument capital of Taiwan.

Jaz z great Ellis Marsalis per forming in Taichung

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TAICHUNG

Today,

Houli is home to more than 10 factories that collectively churn out several thousand saxophones of all kinds every year, be they alto, tenor, soprano, or baritone. At its peak in the 1970s, the Houli instrument industry was producing 30,000 saxophones per annum in 30 factories, accounting for no less than one-third of the global output.

Taiwan's contribution to music went largely unnoticed, however, as the factories of Houli focused on producing instruments for well-known international brands rather than making a name for themselves with their own. That began to change after 2000, thanks to the decades-long effort of the Lien-Cheng Saxophone Company.

The business would be passed on to his son and then his grandson, Chang Tsungyao, who made his first saxophone when he was just 13 and continues to run the company today. It is an oft-repeated piece of family lore that when Tsung-yao was just a few months old and played his part in the Taiwanese custom of having a child choose between numerous different items placed in front of him to indicate his destined path in life, he chose a saxophone engraved with the detailed image of a dragon. This was a gift from his grandfather. His wife Wang Tsaijui, who helps her husband run the business, teasingly suggests that the saxophone may have in fact been the only option put before him.

This company, the first saxophone manufacturer in Taiwan, was the vision of Chang Lien-cheng, the stylish, modernminded son of Houli farmers who from a young age showed little interest in agriculture. He wanted to pursue a life in the arts and started out as a painter in the early 1940s, beautifully depicting traditional Taiwanese religious scenes. But when a friend managed to procure a saxophone, an expensive and rare commodity at that time available only via import from Japan, Chang turned to music, forming a jazz band aptly named Jazz Band that toured all over Taiwan. Sadly, the group’s success ground to a halt when the saxophone was damaged beyond repair in a fire. Chang managed to disassemble the badly burned instrument and figured out how its 400 separate parts were put together. It was then that he decided to attempt the

It

The design process was fraught with peril for Chang. At one point, a ricocheting piece of metal permanently blinded him in one eye, but still he persevered. It took three years to complete his first saxophone, using such found materials as copper from door hinges, silver from coins, and various metals from discarded World War II munitions.

The design was a success, and he managed to sell the instrument to a musician from the Philippines for a sum handsome enough for him to take on his first apprentices, and start his own business, in 1948.

is Tsung-yao who has overseen the company during its transition from making saxophones for other companies to marketing its own brand overseas, drawing visits from such famed saxophonists as Kenny G and Antonio Hart. Unsurprisingly, he has passed on his family's love of music to his four daughters, who have formed their own saxophone quartet.

Tsung-yao has also opened up the doors of his factory to the public and curates a small museum filled with artifacts from the company's earliest days,

including machinery used in the forming of saxophones, from stamping to testing. In the museum, kids can give key design a try, sandblasting their own designs onto key chains they can take home. On weekends, the attached Chang Lien-Cheng Saxophone Hall features performances beginning at 2 p.m., and a small snack and drink counter offers moderatelypriced beverages and foods. The price of admission, NT$100, includes a NT$50 voucher for a drink or something to eat.

Guided tours begin in the hall and wind through the modest museum, with guests learning all about the saxophone from its invention to the present day, and getting a chance to toot away on a saxophone themselves.

It is also possible to see the factory works in action, but it is recommended that you call ahead to make sure this option is available, as at certain times the facility is closed to the public. It is a rare opportunity to see exactly how one of the world's most beloved musical instruments emerges from a simple tube of perforated metal as a shimmering, curvaceous instrument of precision – an opportunity for which this pioneer family of Taiwan's music industry must be thanked. The factory is just a 30-minute drive from Taichung City proper.

Houli is home to more than 10 factories that collectively churn out several thousand saxophones of all kinds every year Tr ying out saxophones

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MUSIC TOURS

If

you happen to be visiting Taiwan in October this year (2013), don't miss out on another highlight of the Taiwanese music scene, the Taichung Jazz Festival, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. From its humble beginnings a decade ago, the nine-day event has skyrocketed in popularity to the point where the latest edition drew approximately 850,000 spectators. They came to watch the greats of Taiwan jazz rub shoulders with international jazz stars.

According to the director-general of the Taichung Cultural Affairs Bureau, Susan Yeh, a former TV news anchor and herself a classically trained pianist, the festival's reputation has grown year on year to the point where international stars are telling their famous friends that Taichung is a can't-miss stop on their tour itineraries. This is how the Taichung Jazz Festival managed to score a performance from the legendary patriarch of the first family of American jazz, Ellis Marsalis, in 2012, who came on the recommendation of his youngest son Jason, a jazz musician alongside his brothers Wynton, Branford, and Delfeayo.

Ellis Mar s alis Tr i o & Jason Marsalis

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Yeh first attended the festival six years ago on a personal invitation from the mayor of Taichung, and never imagined that one day she would be the official host. The event's success means just as much to her as it does to the city, and the importance of presiding over the tenthanniversary edition wasn't lost on her. In her eyes, jazz is the perfect musical embodiment of all that Taichung stands for, and although the average man on the street may still have a thing or two to learn about jazz, Yeh explains, the citizens of Taichung always have an open mind when presented with something new.

“Jason Marsalis came to Taichung in 2011, and he told his father this is an amazing festival,” says Yeh, “so Ellis, who today seldom performs in public, consented to come to our festival.”

(Jason accompanied his father on stage.)

“It's a milestone for the city and especially for the continuing jazz movement. I think that at the time of the first festival most of our citizens didn't know much about jazz. They just liked the feel – laid back, relaxed. This matches the atmosphere of this city. Taichung is a city of fusion, a city of recreation, and a city of innovation. The spirit of jazz matches our own spirit.”

“Taichung is a city of fusion, a city of recreation, and a city of innovation.

The spirit of jazz matches our own spirit.”

TAICHUNG

In

2012 three stages were spread out over Civic Square, which is a sprawling outdoor park, and the grounds next to both the CMP Block Museum of Art and the Calligraphy Greenway. Visitors lounged in the mild October weather, enjoying drinks and food from over 40 different vendors and jazz music from 10 different countries. The Jazz Festival is actually part of a larger initiative known as Jazz Month, which includes master classes, an instrument carnival in Houli, and an international saxophone competition in which competitors select from instruments made by Taiwan's many acclaimed manufacturers and square off in front of a panel of esteemed judges, which in 2012 included American free jazz virtuoso Greg Osby.

As for the future of jazz in Taichung, Yeh would like to see more companies follow LienCheng Saxophone Company's lead and develop their own brands, and she looks forward to inviting more big-name international acts to the Taichung Jazz Festival. For those venturing in from outside Taichung, there is free shuttle service to the festival grounds from both the Taichung Railway Station and Taiwan High Speed Rail Taichung Station.

Be sure to stick around for at least a few days to soak in the aural ambiance of what is fast becoming one of Taiwan's most artistic and musical cities. Do so and you'll quickly find out why, as Yeh says, “An open mind and open heart is the spirit of jazz – and the spirit of Taichung's citizens.”1 2013/1/7 下午 05:33:42 宏祥旅行社_1-3_E_2013.01.pdf

A ssembling sa xophones

Finished produc ts

INFO Lien-Cheng Saxophone Company (張連昌薩克斯風有限公司) Add: 330-1 Gong'an Rd., Houli District, Taichung City (台中市后里區公安路330-1號) Tel: (04) 2557-8989 English and Chinese Civic Square 市民廣場 Calligraphy Greenway 草悟道 Chang Lien-cheng 張連昌 Chang Tsung-yao 張宗瑤

CMP Block Museum of Arts 勤美術館 Houli 后里 Susan Yeh 葉樹姍 Taichung Jazz Festival 台中爵士音樂節 Wang Tsai-jui 王彩蕊

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.

Travel in Taiwan

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INDIGENOUS VILLAGES

Visiting Villages of the Tsou Tribe in Alishan Text: Cheryl Robbins

Photos: Maggie Song

When visiting Alishan, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Taiwan, it’s worth spending a few days to learn about the indigenous people living in mountain villages scattered around the area, and take in the marvelous scenery.

M em b er of th e tr ad iti on al he Ts ou w ith ad dr es s

In di ge no us ar t

L aiji V illage

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ALISHAN

Several artisans reside in Laiji, including the multi-talented Paicu Tiaki’ana, who is a singer, rattan and bamboo weaver, woodcarver, painter, and leather engraver

The

Alishan National Scenic Area, located in the mountains of Chiayi County in southern Taiwan, was established in 2001. This region has long been drawing tourists with its tea plantations, glorious sunrises, and pristine forests. There is often fog, especially in the afternoon, creating a cloud and mist effect that is romantically depicted in Chinese landscape paintings.

With more than 41,000 hectares, this national scenic area is quite large, but most tourists stay close to the main road, the Alishan Highway (Provincial Highway No. 18), visiting such attractions as the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area. Those who take a detour to visit one of the eight villages inhabited by members of the Tsou tribe, however, will be rewarded with a unique experience of tranquility, natural beauty, and cultural learning.

Visiting one of the eight Tsou villages you will be rewarded with a unique experience of tranquility, natural beauty, and cultural learning

Yangui is a knowledgeable tour guide regarding local attractions and culture.

Dabang Susp ension Bridge

South along County Road No. 169 – Dabang and Tefuye Villages Follow the Alishan Highway to Shizhuo, and then take County Road No. 169 southward to Dabang and Tefuye villages. These are the only Tsou villages to possess a kuba (pronounced “koo ba”), a wooden hut-like structure on stilts covered with a thatch roof. This is a meeting hall where the men will meet to make political decisions and to train the young males in hunting and warring techniques, as well as teach them the history and traditions of the tribe.

Women are prohibited from entering or even touching this structure.

T he kuba at Tefuye

The Tsou are one of Taiwan’s 14 officially recognized indigenous tribes, and has a population of around 6,200, most of which is concentrated in the Alishan area

In Dabang visitors can hike the Bird Worship Trail, which leads through the forest surrounding the village.

The name comes from the many Tsou legends and traditions that are associated with birds.

The Keupana Guesthouse in Dabang has four rooms, and a large garden area where it is possible to pitch tents. It is run by Luo Yu-feng, also known by her Tsou name Yangui.

Between Dabang and Tefuye villages, you can enjoy a walk over the brightly colored Dabang Suspension Bridge, the starting point of the Tefuye Trail, which leads to Tefuye village about two kilometers away. In Tefuye, below the kuba, is the head of another trail that takes hikers to a cluster of giant camphor trees.

It is possible to reach Dabang by bus. Chiayi County Bus offers service to Dabang from Chiayi Railway Station; get off at the last stop. This route has a stop at a point where the road forks, the other branch leading to Tefuye, but it is still a few kilometers’ walk from here to reach the village. (Note: If you plan to stay in a guesthouse in the area, call in advance to inquire about pick-ups.)

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INDIGENOUS VILLAGES Traditional Clothing

In Tefuye, the sloping road that leads past the village’s kuba allows for direct views inside this structure. Below the road and next to the kuba is a plaza for holding important ceremonies, such as the Warring Ceremony, called Mayasvi in the Tsou language.

During major ceremonies, the Tsou are dressed in traditional clothing. The men’s headdresses consist of a red headband lined with shells, with the fur of the black bear and eagle feathers for adornment.

This can be placed over a leather cap.

Males also wear a bright red shirt and leather leggings. The Tsou learned leathertanning processes early on, and leather traditionally played an important part in protecting them against the elements. The use of shells points to the tribe’s much larger area of activity in times past, which extended to the coast. The females of the tribe wear brightly colored outfits that include a diamond-shaped chest piece, skirt, leggings, and headdress.

Mayasvi usually takes place in midFebruary, but the timing can change from year to year. It is held either in Dabang or Tefuye. This originally was a ceremony to honor the gods and to welcome the return of warriors, as well as to recognize important achievements such as the construction of a house. However, during their occupation of Taiwan (1895-1945) the Japanese discouraged warring by the indigenous tribes, and any references to it, and this ceremony was transformed into an event held just once a year.

Wooden wild b oars

Next to the kuba is a ficus tree that is considered sacred. To begin the ceremony, a piglet is sacrificed. Tsou males take turns inserting the tip of their spears into the piglet and wiping its blood on the trunk of the sacred tree to attract the attention of the deities. Most of the tree’s branches are then pruned to make a ladder for the gods to descend from Heaven. After this, the men go into the kuba to carry out blessings of newborn boys and coming-ofage rites for older boys. From time to time, warriors run out from the kuba and return with food and drink. This is distributed among the men by the elders. Later, men and women join in a session of singing and dancing outside the kuba. In the evening the singing and dancing starts again and continues to dawn, to provide the deities with a proper send-off.

Tsou family

Indigenous fare at L anho Guesthouse

1

Warring Ceremony (Mayasvi)

To reach Laiji village, head north from Shizhuo along County Road No. 169. Pass the old forestry town of Fenqihu, then turn onto County Road No. 149. Laiji is soon reached. There is no bus service to the village (the closest bus stop is at Fenqihu), but you can arrange for pick-up at Fenqihu if you plan to stay at a guesthouse in Laiji.

The entrance to this village is marked by a painted-stone wild boar. According to legend, this site was discovered during the hunt for a wild boar by hunters from Tefuye village, and this animal has become a village symbol.

Start your tour of Laiji at the visitor center, managed by the Laiji Community Development Association. Here you can find travel information and buy locally made handicrafts, such as hand-carved wild boars and owls.

ay Lin

e

3

North along County Road No. 169 – Laiji Village

Railw

Ruili

Laiji

169

Fenqihu

Chiayi

Shizuo

HS

RL

in

e

Chiayi Interchange

Shizikou

Alishan National Forest Recreation Area Leye

Chukou

169

Lijia

Shanmei 129

Xinmei

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Tefuye Dabang

Chashan

There are several artisans who reside in this village, such as the multi-talented Paicu Tiaki’ana, who runs the Tashan

ALISHAN Gallery. She is a singer, rattan and bamboo weaver, woodcarver, painter, and leather engraver. Her works incorporate themes related to Tsou culture. The village also features an organic farm and a cooperative for growing and roasting coffee beans.

The Lanho Guesthouse provides accommodation and tours of the village. Its entrance is marked by a traditionalstyle watchtower and a one-room museum housing Tsou cultural artifacts.

With advance notice, this guesthouse can prepare a banquet featuring local ingredients called the Tashan Wedding Banquet. Tashan refers to the sacred mountain of the Tsou tribe. Dishes include stone-grilled pork, chicken stewed with plums, Tashan Bride (mashed taro root steamed and kneaded with wild mountain honey and decorated with dates), Tashan Groom (millet, sticky rice, and banana steamed inside leaves), and Tashan Gold (deep-fried pumpkin strips, wild celery, and perilla leaves).

This is washed down with a glass of millet liquor.

A good time to visit Laiji is between March and May, during firefly season. No matter the time of year, however, there is always a rich trove of natural beauty and indigenous culture to explore in Alishan’s Tsou villages.

INFO Lanho Guesthouse (來吉蘭后渡假民宿) Add: 11, Neighborhood 1, Laiji Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣阿里山鄉來吉村一鄰11號) Tel: (05) 266-1172; 0978-208-137 Laiji Community Development Association (來吉社區發展協會) Add: 32-1, Neighborhood 1, Laiji Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣阿里山鄉來吉村一鄰32-1號) Tel: (05) 266-1002; 0921-668-033 Paicu Tiaki'ana/Tashan Gallery (白紫。迪雅奇安娜/塔山藝廊) Add: 54, Neighborhood 2, Laiji Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣阿里山鄉來吉村2鄰54號) Tel: (05) 266-1351 Wooden owl Keupana Guesthouse (給巴娜民宿) Add: 108, Neighborhood 5, Dabang Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣阿里山鄉達邦村5鄰108號) Tel: (05) 251-1688; 0912-752-650

English & Chinese Alishan 阿里山 Bird Worship Trail 鳥占亭步道 Chiayi County Bus 嘉義縣公車 Dabang 達邦 Dabang Suspension Bridge 達邦吊橋 Fenqihu 奮起湖

Laiji 來吉 Luo Yu-feng 羅玉鳳 Shizhuo 石棹 Tashan 塔山 Tefuye 特富野 Tefuye Trail 特富野步道 Tsou tribe 鄒族

BACKPACK BUS TRIP

Hugging trees at Alishan

Of

course, planning such a trip can be a major challenge, but something that is a major help in Taiwan is a bilingual transportation service that aids tourists in seeing the island without much guesswork and hassle. It's called the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle Bus (www. taiwantrip.com.tw ).

Taking the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle from Chiayi City to the High Mountains

A total of 22 bus routes have been established all over Taiwan as part of this service, with buses usually leaving from major railway stations every hour daily (sometimes every half-hour on weekends and holidays). From New Taipei City in the north all the way to Pingtung County in the far south, the trouble of deciding what is worth seeing and how long you should spend at each stop has been greatly eased by this service. You can simply hop on and off a shuttle as you please at the various stops along the way. One hour, two, three – how long you stay in one place is up to you.

Another bus will come along promptly on the hour/half-hour, usually between 8

Text: Joe Henley Photos: Maggie Song

There's nothing quite like throwing a few bare essentials in a backpack and taking off on an adventure to a place you've never been – a place where customs you've not yet experienced, a language you cannot speak, and sights both beautiful and mysterious combine for an unforgettable journey.

TRA Chiayi Station

THRS Chiayi Station

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Ding-liou Elementary School

Wu-feng Temple

Li-ming Elementary School

Longmei

ALISHAN a.m. and 5 p.m., to take you to your next destination. This combines the thrill of backpacker travel with the reliability of knowing you'll never be stuck without transportation.

One of the most stunning Taiwan Tourist Shuttle routes is the one that takes you from Chiayi City to Alishan.

Alishan is not a single mountain, but a range of peaks averaging about 2,500 meters in height located in southern Taiwan’s Chiayi County. Shuttle buses leave from both Taiwan High Speed Rail Chiayi Station (twice a day at 10:10 a.m. and 11:40 a.m.), just outside Chiayi City, and from Chiayi Railway Station downtown (between 6:10 a.m. and 2:10 p.m., each hour with some exceptions; for more info, check the schedule on the official website). Tickets for the service from the THSR station cost NT$255 for a one-way trip along the entire route; tickets from the Chiayi Railway Station are slightly cheaper, at NT$221.

Your bus follows a winding mountain road through a number of small mountain towns and villages all the way up to the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, inside Alishan National Scenic Area. But what would be the fun in just heading from point A to point B and back again? For this particular sojourn I was tasked by Travel in Taiwan with a series of challenges along the

route, testing my travel mettle by having me locate a selection of the many notable attractions along the way without the aid of a guide or translator.

My

first mission was to find two suspension bridges at Chukou, a town known as the gateway to Alishan. Watching out the window as the bus made its way along the mountain switchbacks, rising in elevation with every turn, I kept an eye out for any sign as to where I was supposed to get off.

Thick vegetation whipping by the glass told me that though I was not more than an hour from the modern conveniences of Chiayi City, I was already in a different world altogether – a world dominated by the awesome power of nature. Craning my neck to look out through the broad front windshield, I saw Chukou come into view and got off the bus to have a look around.

Walking a short distance down the road, I found what I was looking for – Dijiu Suspension Bridge. This bridge, along with Tianchang Suspension Bridge just a short distance upstream along the Bazhang River, dates back to 1937 – a time when Chukou was a major regional commercial center. Crossing the river was then a dangerous enterprise, so the Japanese, colonial rulers of Taiwan at the time, built the two bridges. Their names together mean “everlasting” (tianchang dijiu ), and today the bridges are a popular backdrop for couples having wedding photos taken. At one end of Dijiu Bridge, heading away from the town, is Longyin Temple, an ornate place of worship that's well worth a stroll across for a photo opportunity.

n Di jiu Su sp en sio Br idg e

BACKPACK BUS TRIP Alishan

Xiding

Longtou

So, with my first mission accomplished, my confidence was running high, and I boarded the next shuttle that came along, an hour later, bound for Shizi Village. I was to find this village’s old train station, active until Typhoon Morakot took it out of commission in 2009 and trains from Chiayi stopped chugging through. I got off the bus at a rest area and took in the amazing vista below the tiny hamlet, seeing tiered tea farms carved out of the mountainside. Not knowing exactly where to find the train station, I poked my head into a tiny shop across the street, where some elderly locals were in the midst of a lively conversation.

They were only too happy to welcome a foreign friend, and through a series of pantomimes and gestures I was able to make it known exactly what I was trying to find. I was pointed in the right direction.

Walking up a set of steps cut out of the mountain a short distance from the shop, I made my way to the station platform, moving along train tracks being reclaimed by a forest of ferns, bamboo, and pine trees. Above the old station is an observation deck overlooking yet another unspoiled, sprawling valley, and for the first time I felt a refreshing chill in the air. I was reminded that Chiayi County is one of those precious places

Shizhuo

Shizi Village

Youth Activity Center

where in the course of a single day you can experience three different climates – subtropical, temperate, and alpine – as you climb higher and higher into the heart of the verdant mountain range.

Two

for two; not too shabby for a first-time visitor to the area. My final task was to take the short, relaxing Alishan Forest Railway journey through the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area from Alishan Station to Sacred Tree Station, snap a shot of the tree for which the latter is named, and take a walk along a hiking trail, Giant Trees Boardwalk. The trail takes visitors past 20 giant red cypress trees ranging in age from several hundred years to over two millenia. The Sacred Tree, or Divine Tree, is thought to be around 3,000 years old, and although it fell in 1997 its huge remnant trunk section has been left where it toppled. People stand in awe of the natural world's immense and almost indescribable beauty.

At times I had long stretches of boardwalk all to myself as I meandered through the forest, standing below towering trees tens of meters high and several in diameter, their thick trunks humbling me. Later I stopped to get a shot of the Three Generation Tree, which is actually three trees that have

Sacred tree at Alishan

The Giant Trees Boardwalk takes visitors past 20 giant red cypress trees ranging in age from several hundred years to over two millenia grown together to become one over hundreds of years. Just imagine that in the lifespan of one of these giants, as many as 30 generations of people could come and go. It's an amazing place to stand and ponder such thoughts in the midst of this inspiring natural splendor.

Amidst a lk F o re st w

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the collection of shops, restaurants, and hotels at the entrance to the forest recreation area, tired yet elated and calmed by my surroundings, I hopped on a shuttle (note: the last tourist shuttle bus back to Chiayi leaves Alishan at 5:10 p.m.) headed back downhill and got off at the village of Shizhuo, where

ALISHAN Al is ha n Th e fa m ou s ay Fo re st Ra ilw

Yu n Mi n Ju Ho me sta y

a room at the mountainside Yun Min Ju Homestay awaited. It has been run for over 25 years by Mr. Liu Ning-yuan, who was born and raised in the farmhouseturned-guesthouse, along with his wife.

The homestay sits amidst a tea plantation and a bamboo/cypress plantation, started by the proprietor’s great-grandfather over 100 years ago. Today, Mr. Liu has opened up his extensive property, sitting at an elevation of about 2,000 meters, to anyone who wishes to visit, and has

allowed the government to create hiking trails on his land. The affable Mr. Liu, who speaks both English and Japanese, heads out on the trails daily, and is only too happy to educate guests about the area's edible plants and the history of the region, or just engage in some good oldfashioned friendly banter. Join him at the house for a nighttime cup of tea under the stars as the mists that form yearround settle in for the evening, the tea leaves picked fresh from his own farm,

Ambassador Classic Pineapple Cake In Taiwanese the words for “pineapple” sound like the words for “prosperous future.” Pineapples are therefore often used as auspicious symbols. Resembling little gold bars, pineapple cakes make for a delicious gift with symbolic meaning to friends you want to wish well. The Ambassador Hotel Classic Pineapple Cakes, the finest quality, are made with soft & light outer shell and delicious sweet & sour pineapple paste as filling. By sharing these flavorful cakes with you, we hope to wish you and the people close to you good fortune and prosperous times ahead!

NT$270 Pack of 6 NT$450 Pack of 10 NT$880 Pack of 20

INFO Yun Min Ju Homestay (淵明居山庄) Add: 4 Shizhuo, Zhonghe Village, Zhuqi Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣竹崎鄉中和村石棹四號) Tel: 0912-192-948 (05) 256-1066 Website: www.yunmingi.com.tw English and Chinese Alishan 阿里山 Alishan Station 阿里山站 Bazhang River 八掌溪 Chukou 觸口 Dijiu Suspension Bridge 地久吊橋 Giant Trees Boardwalk 巨木群棧道 Liu Ning-yuan 劉寧源 Longyin Temple 龍隱寺 Sacred Tree Station 神木站 Shizi Village 十字村 Shizhuo 石棹 Tianchang Suspension Bridge 天長吊橋 Three Generation Tree 三代目 tianchang dijiu 天長地久

and he'll fill your ear with good-natured advice about how people need to get back to the land and live a healthy lifestyle.

What better way to end a fulfilling day roaming the mountains of Alishan?

Ambassador Hotel Taipei Add：No. 63 Chungshan North Road, Section 2, Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C. TEL：+886 (2) 2551-1111 FAX：+886 (2) 2531-5215 Ambassador Hotel Hsinchu Add：No.188, Sec. 2, Zhonghua Rd., Hsinchu City, Taiwan R.O.C. TEL：+886 (3) 515-1111 FAX：+886 (3) 515-1112 Ambassador Hotel Kaohsiung Add：No.202, Mingsheng 2nd Road, Kaohsiung City,Taiwan R.O.C. TEL：+886 (7) 211-5211 FAX：+886 (7) 201-0348

FOOD JOURNEY

ji Da the

rm Ta a F ro a nd Sweet Potato

s

Visiting a

Re gio n’s

Text: Steven Crook Photos: Sting Chen, Sunny Su

Thanks to Taiwan’s fabulously diverse landscape and climatic variations, the country’s farmers are able to grow almost every kind of fruit and vegetable, including many which aren’t native to the island.

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Taro farmer Zhang Jin-yi

TAROS/SWEET POTATOES

If

you’ve spent your life in cool climes, you’ll be excused for not knowing what taros (yutou ) and sweet potatoes (fanshu ; also known as digua ) look like, or how they taste. Every Taiwanese can tell you in some detail how taros differ from sweet potatoes, however, and not only because they have grown up eating them. The Chinese names of these root vegetables are used as cultural code words: “Sweet potato” is shorthand for a Taiwanese person whose ancestors came to this island from mainland China before 1945, generally from the early 1600s through the mid1800s, while a “taro” is someone who (or whose parents/grandparents) arrived after 1945.

The taro has its origins in Southeast Asia, but these days is grown on a significant scale from Nigeria in the west to Polynesia in the east. No one knows when taros were first cultivated in Taiwan (long before 1945, that’s for sure), but there’s no doubt which part of the island is the Republic of China’s taro capital: Dajia, a bustling town of almost 80,000 people, which is part of a district of Taichung City.

Like many other farmers’ associations around Taiwan, the Dajia cooperative helps farmers by adding value to what comes out of local fields. During the September-toJune taro-harvest season, the association’s processing center handles around 1,500kg of the tubers each day.

and if you attend one you’ll find not only taro delicacies but also other special products from every corner of Taichung.

Dajia’s relationship with the taro is also celebrated inside the town’s railway station, in the form of giant fiberglass taros on which waiting passengers can sit.

Much of the work – scraping off the soil, washing, and dicing – is done by hand. Cleaning reveals the vegetable’s distinctive ridged, pale-brown skins. The white insides are flecked with short strands of purple fiber, the stuff which gives processed taro products their distinctive hue. Then, using machinery too costly for an individual farmer to buy, the center turns the chunks of taro into tasty products sold in supermarkets and via the Internet (www.tachia.org ; Chinese only). Near Zhenlan Temple are shops full of candies, cookies, and other beautifully packaged taro-flavored goodies you can take home for your friends and relatives.

Mr. Zhang is also a rice farmer. He has to be, he explained, because if he were to repeatedly cultivate taros on the same piece of land, the plants would likely suffer from fungus. To avoid this, each time taros are harvested from one of his plots, he plants rice seedlings. Once the rice has been gathered, the land is once again used for taro production.

Among these goods are cans of soft, processed taro – it makes a delicious dessert when served with ice cream – and bags of frozen taro chunks for adding to hotpots.

Mr. Huang told us the latter are deepfried briefly before freezing; otherwise, they would likely break up while being simmered. For tourists without access to a kitchen, the easiest way to sample Dajia’s most famous foodstuff is to buy a bag of taro chips. They’re like potato chips, but slightly chewier and without the salt.

Downtown Dajia, just 6km from the sea, is home to one of Taiwan’s preeminent places of worship, Zhenlan Temple (also spelled Jenn Lann Temple; www.dajiamazu.org.tw ). This shrine is the starting and ending point of an annual nine-day pilgrimage that honors Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea and Empress of Heaven.

No

It was near Zhenlan Temple, at the Dajia Farmers’ Association office, that Travel in Taiwan met up with Huang Ruiyang, who works for the association. Mr. Huang started by giving us a few facts and figures. Dajia produces more taro than any other area in Taiwan, he said, with around 400 of the district’s 2,100 hectares of irrigated farmland devoted to the crop. Dajia’s well-drained, sandy soil is highly suited to taro cultivation, he explained. The weather – neither too warm nor too wet – is ideal.

Dajia has been holding annual tarothemed celebrations for the past 12 years,

At his invitation, I pulled out a taro that was ready to harvest. It came out surprisingly easily, unlike some of the weeds Taiwanese farmers have to deal with. But there was disappointment when we examined the tuber. It had a cavity the size of a coin, which Mr. Huang told me was caused by a pest called the golden apple snail.

Dajia produces more taro than any other area in Taiwan. The well-drained, sandy soil is highly suited to taro cultivation

investigation into Taiwan's taros would be complete without visiting a taro farm and talking with a man who knows a thing or two about growing the vegetable.

Mr. Zhang Jin-yi clearly knows a lot about cultivating the tubers: A former firefighter, he won second prize in the competition section of last year’s Dajia Taro Festival, which was held on September 22, 2012 – no mean achievement when you consider 62 farmers joined the contest.

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FOOD JOURNEY These gastropods, known as fushouluo in Chinese, are not native to Taiwan. They were introduced to the island from Latin America in the early 1980s by farmers who hoped they'd become a lucrative export. Things didn't work out as planned, because the snails are considered far from delicious (which perhaps explains why those Taiwanese who do collect and eat wild snails leave golden apple snails alone).

Discarded snails spread quickly, and now infest a great many fields. Youngsters feed on young rice plants as well as taro shoots; adult snails adore taros that are almost ready to harvest.

Delicious and Healthy: Taro is filling yet low in calories; both taros and sweet potatoes are fibrous and thus good for the digestive tract. Taro is a good source of vitamins A, C, and E. Although sweet potatoes contain five times more sugar than regular potatoes – they wouldn’t be sweet otherwise – they’re also extremely low in fat and fatty acids. They have more vitamin B6 and slightly more calcium than white rice, but just a quarter of the carbohydrates.

Taros are generally harvested between the Mid-Autumn Festival (sometime in September) and Tomb-Sweeping Day (in early April). As Mr. Huang explained, quality is usually best in the first third of the harvest season, when the tubers are at their healthiest, but prices are often higher later on. Some farmers postpone harvesting so they can sell at a higher price, but doing so brings the risk of losing a significant part of the crop to pests or extreme weather.

Also, if too many farmers decide to wait, a glut could drive prices down.

Mr. Zhang sticks to what he knows best: with the help of his wife, cultivating high-quality taros, washing them as soon as they’re out of the ground, and then without delay sending them off to markets as far away as Taipei. Each taro that leaves his farm bears a quality sticker copyrighted by the Dajia Farmers’ Association, plus a code number unique to Mr. Zhang.

Consumers can therefore be certain where the taro they’re buying was grown.

Annie

Lee’s approach to agriculture is altogether less traditional. Eleven years ago she and her parents transformed

Cleaning taro

their land into Annie’s Sunflower Farm. It’s within sight of some of the many wind turbines that dot central Taiwan’s coastline, and conveniently close to Provincial Highway No. 61, an expressway that runs along almost the entire west coast.

Annie’s Sunflower Farm offers tourists more than fresh air and a chance to wander through fields where taros, cabbages, and sunflowers thrive. If they give Annie advance notice, groups can slow-cook a feast in a kongtuyao (NT$2,500 for 10 people; all food and materials included). Roughly translated, this term means “dirt oven,” and it’s a fitting description. A fire is set in an oven made of dried mud, and when it’s hot enough, the flames are extinguished.

Food (typically sweet potatoes and mushrooms wrapped in aluminum foil, plus a chicken placed in a tin canister so it cooks in its own juices) is packed inside and cooked by the heat coming off the oven walls and floor.

If you don’t have time for a kongtuyao, try some of Annie’s excellent home cooking. The menu includes taro rice,

Diced taro Preparing food in kongtuyaos

Sweet p otato farmer Chen Ji- qing

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TAROS/SWEET POTATOES which is a meal in itself – small chunks of steamed taro, minced pork, tiny shrimps, and garlic added to wholesome white rice. The burger-like fish cakes are another must-eat. These savory delights are made according to a traditional recipe.

Annie asks that groups and weekday visitors contact her by e-mail at least two days before visiting; her English is good enough to handle foreign tourists.

Several other leisure farms in the rural northwest of Dajia District offer fun activities and variations on kongtuyao. For more information about these farms, visit the website of the Dajia Farmers’ Association at www.tachia.org.tw/artisan (Chinese).

Dajia

has taros, but for sweet potatoes the place to go is Shalu, less than 20km due south. Shalu’s uplands, near Taichung Metropolitan Park and the city’s airport, are notable for well-drained Mars-like red soils in which sesame and peanuts, as well as sweet potatoes, thrive.

Travel in Taiwan sat down with Mr. Chen Ji-qing, a farmer whose sweet potatoes are widely enjoyed in Taichung’s night markets, usually baked and eaten hot (kao digua ). He told us that each sweetpotato season begins with the planting of various kinds – some are white or purple inside instead of the usual yellow – around the time of the goddess Mazu’s birthday, which falls around mid-April.

Taro dishes at Annie’s Sunf lower Farm

Cleaning reveals the taro’s distinctive ridged, pale-brown skin. The white insides are flecked with short strands of purple fiber, the stuff which gives processed taro products their distinctive hue

If the June and July rains fall as normal, the sweet potatoes are ready for harvesting three or four months after planting. Unlike Dajia’s taro farmers, Mr. Chen doesn’t grow other crops on his land. Rather, during the colder months, his fields are full of yellow-flowered Indian Sesbania. These plants, which are also grown in fallow rice fields, fix nitrogen in the soil and hinder the growth of weeds.

What are fans of sweet potatoes to do when it isn’t the right season? Mr. Chen is well aware that demand doesn’t let up throughout the year, so he cooperates with farmers in other parts of Taiwan to ensure his customers don’t run out. That’s good news, as few things go down better on a chilly January evening than a baked sweet potato!

Getting to Dajia: Dajia is on the coastal railway line, and served by 20 express trains each day, plus dozens of local trains. Only a few local services link Dajia with downtown Taichung, however, so if you’re coming from that direction it makes better sense to take a bus from either Taichung Railway Station, Taichung High Speed Rail Station, or one of the many stops on Taichung Harbor Road; expect the journey to take about an hour. Several buses per day between Hsinchu City and Dajia follow a coastal route which is scenic but not especially quick.

Taro chips INFO Annie's Sunflower Farm (向日葵農場) Add: 1-1, Lane 27, Ruyi Rd., Dajia District, Taichung City (台中市大甲區如意路27巷1-1號) Tel: 0910-599-258, (04) 2681-1196 Email: aannie.lee@msa.hinet.net Website: http://0426811196.tranews.com English and Chinese Annie Lee 李安妮 Chen Ji-qing 陳吉慶 Dajia 大甲 Dajia Farmers' Association 大甲區農會 Dajia Taro Festival 大甲芋頭節 digua 地瓜 fanshu 番薯 fushouluo 福壽螺 Huang Rui-yang 黃瑞洋

Indian Sesbania 田菁 kao digua 烤地瓜 kongtuyao 焢土窯 yutou 芋頭 Mazu 媽祖 Shalu 沙鹿 Taichung Metropolitan Park 台中都會公園 Zhang Jin-yi 張進義 Zhenlan Temple 鎮瀾宮

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DAILY LIFE

Do I have enough change?

Photos: Maggie Song

e n i l n i g n i t i a W You're next!

Have you seen the long lines in front of certain snack-food stalls in Taiwan? This is a sign of something unusually yummy on offer. Many Taiwanese don’t trust empty eateries, so they will seek out the ones where people are already lining up. They don’t even mind standing for quite some time, even in the blazing sun or pouring rain. We recently tested this culinary rule of thumb at a popular milkshake joint in Taipei’s Gongguan area, and after waiting about 20 minutes we were rewarded with a refreshingly cold and sweet shake containing some strange and pleasantly chewy soft starch balls. Now, where’s the next line? We’re hungry for more!

Was the waiting wor th it? YES!!!!

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Travel in Taiwan

There's a system here...

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Longkeng Ecological Protection Area

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