Travel in Taiwan (No.65, 2014 9/10)

No. 65, 2014

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TOP TEN TOURIST TOURS Lion’s Head Mountain

BACKPACK BUS TOURS

Tainan-Anping Tourist Shuttle Route

FOOD JOURNEY

Grape Farming in Central Taiwan

Island Trip

Kinmen

Jiaming Lake Street Dancing Tatami Mat Making Indigenous Lacquerware

Welcome to Taiwan!

Dear Traveler, Welcome to autumn in Taiwan! In this, our annual fall issue, we have a little bit of everything for you.

In our Feature we travel far f rom Taiwan’s main island to explore picturesque Kinmen island, which lies so close to the China mainland that the ever-expanding wall of highrises across the water is clearly visible. The inhabitants of Kinmen proudly refer to their home as a “garden built on a granite fortress.” Awaiting the tourist is an interesting mix of attractions – rich local military history, traditional southern Fujianese architecture, bicycle and motor scooter excursions, plus birdwatching and eco-touring. We also specially introduce the island’s pleasant heritage-residence B&Bs, unique souvenir purchases such as Kinmen knives and “tribute candy,” as well as locals’ favorite eateries.

Back on mainland Taiwan, we ride the Lion’s Head Mountain Route of the tourist-f riendly Taiwan Tourist Shuttle service to explore a remarkable scenic area in f riendly, laid-back, and hilly Hsinchu County, much admired for its pristine nature, old temples, and a quiet old town of fering the best of Hakka cuisine. We then ride the 88 Anping Route in a discovery tour of small, sunny Tainan, one of Taiwan’s most interesting and history-rich cities. Taiwan's capital in imperial days, this is a place where history is preserved down narrow, winding alleys, and the island's international past comes to light.

Between Hsinchu County and Tainan are the central plains, and we spend time there in three dif ferent articles, delving into the worlds of Taiwan hand-craf ted tatami, lacquer art, and grape cultivation. You’ll meet Huang Zhi-quan, a seasoned craf tsman who started making tatami under his father’s tutelage at 8 years old and who today creates items that are works of art as well as f unctional f urnishings, we visit the studio of Doriq Nisak, Taiwan’s f irst indigenous lacquer artist, and we go to the orchard of proud farmer Wu Shu-chun, in what is the island’s prime grape-cultivation country.

No Taiwan visit is complete without an excursion up into our rugged, magnif icent central mountains, so we also set out as your guide on a two-day hike to beautif ul, isolated Jiaming Lake in the south, formed long, long ago by glacial movement.

With our autumn temperatures now arriving, enjoy your visit to another wonder-f illed land of islands, Cool Taiwan.

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

CONTENTS September ~ October 2014

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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 Publishing Organization E-MAIL: editor@v-media.com.tw Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Ministry of General Manager Frank K. Yen Transportation and Communications Editor in Chief Johannes Twellmann CONTACT English Editor Rick Charette International Division, Taiwan Tourism Bureau DIRECTOR OF PLANNING & EDITING DEPT Joe Lee Add: 9F, 290 Zhongxiao E. Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei, MANAGING EDITOR Gemma Cheng 10694, Taiwan EDITORS Ming-Jing Yin, Chloe Chu, Nickey Liu Tel: 886-2-2717-3737 Fax: 886-2-2771-7036 CONTRIBUTORS Rick Charette, Joe Henley, Stuart Dawson, E-mail: tbroc@tbroc.gov.tw Cheryl Robbins, Nick Kembel, Dallas Waldie Website: http://taiwan.net.tw PHOTOGRAPHERS Jen Guo-Chen, Rich Matheson, Maggie Song, Fred Cheng, Karen Pan 台 灣 觀 光 雙 月 刊 ART DIRECTOR Sting Chen Travel in Taiwan DESIGNERS Fred Cheng, Maggie Song, Eve Chiang, Karen Pan The Official Bimonthly English ui-chun Tsai, Nai-jen Liu, Xiou Mieng Jiang Administrative Dept H Magazine of the Taiwan Tourism

Bureau (Advertisement) September/October, 2014 Tourism Bureau, MOTC First published Jan./Feb., 2004 ISSN: 18177964 GPN: 2009305475 Price: NT$200 www.tit.com.tw/vision/index.htm

Copyright @ 2014 Tourism Bureau. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form without written permission is prohibited.

MAGAZINE IS SOLD AT:

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

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

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

ONLINE

Read the online version of Travel in Taiwan at www.tit.com.tw or download the iPad app from http://appstore.com/ travelintaiwan.

Wind lion statue on Kinmen (photo by Jen Guo-Chen)

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

This magazine was printed with soy ink.

Soybean is said to be more environmentally friendly than petroleum-based ink and to make it easier to recycle paper.

FEATURE 10 Kinmen — Kinmen – Garden Built on a Granite Fortress — The Kinmen Experience – Great Value for the Tourist Dollar

1 4 6 8

Publisher’s Note Taiwan Tourism Events News & Events around Taiwan Concerts, Exhibitions, and Happenings

23 Fun with Chinese 31 Hospitality 47 Nostalgia

SPLENDID FESTIVALS

24 Taiwan Fun on the Tropic of Cancer

43

— Festivities and Activities during the Summer Months

HIKING

26 Jiaming Lake

— A Hike to a Beautiful High-Mountain Lake

TOP TEN TAIWAN TOURS 28 Lion’s Head Mountain and Beipu

— Exploring Hsinchu County’s Enchanting Countryside

INDIGENOUS ARTISTS 34 Lacquerware

— An Ancient Chinese Art Form Inspires the Preservation of Taiwan's Indigenous Culture

OLD STYLE/NEW IDEAS

40

37 The Tatami of Dongshi

— Visiting a Straw Mat Maker in Central Taiwan

FOOD JOURNEY

40 Through the Grapevine — Grape Farming in Central Taiwan’s Changhua County

BACKPACK BUS TRIP 43 The Old Capital

— Exploring Tainan on the 88 Anping Tourist Shuttle Route

ACTIVE FUN

48 B-Girls and B-Boys Get Ready!

— Street Dancing, One of Taiwan’s Hottest Trends

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Travel in Taiwan

TAIWAN TOURISM EVENTS

Events in Autumn Celebrations of Art, Religion, Recreation, and Sport

Sanyi International Woodcarving Art Festival ( 三義國際木雕藝術節 )

Throughout the year, festivals and events around Taiwan highlight local arts and culture. This fall, festivals not to be missed include a woodcarving-art festival in Sanyi and a salt festival in Tainan, great events for gaining a deeper understanding of local artistic accomplishments and deep-rooted beliefs and customs. If outdoor action is more to your liking, read about the exciting cycling and surfing events coming up soon.

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Location: Sanyi Wood Sculpture Museum (88, Guangsheng Shincheng, Sanyi Township, Miaoli County) ( 三義木雕博物 ; 苗栗縣三義鄉廣盛村廣聲新城 88 號 ) Tel: (037) 876-009 Website: http://wood.mlc.gov.tw Sanyi is a small town south of the city of Miaoli in northwestern Taiwan. Surrounded by lush countryside, with rolling hills and scenic roads perfect for bicycling, the town is known as the woodcarving center of Taiwan. Its main road is lined with shops selling attractive wood sculptures. There is also a master sculptor’s village where you can see artists in their studios working at their masterpieces, and a museum dedicated to wood sculpture where the finest examples of the art are on display. Once a year, the museum serves as venue for this woodcarving festival, highlighting outstanding works of wood sculpture by local and foreign artists. There will also be live demonstrations, DIY classes, and a rich cultural program to entertain visitors.

OCT.

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Yunlin International Puppets Arts Festival ( 雲林國際偶戲節 )

Kungshen Wangye's Salt for Peace Festival ( 鯤鯓王平安鹽祭 )

Location: Yunlin Hand Puppet Museum (498, Sec. 1, Linsen Rd., Huwei Township, Yunlin County) ( 雲林布袋戲館 ; 雲林縣虎尾鎮林森路一段 498 號 ) Tel: (05) 631-3080

Location: Nankunshen Temple (976, Kunjiang Borough, Beimen District, Tainan City) ( 南鯤鯓代天府 ; 臺南市北門區鯤江里 976 號 ) Tel: (06) 786-1017 Website: www.swcoast-nsa.gov.tw

Since 1999, this annual festival has brought joy to puppettheater lovers, old and young. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Taiwan’s traditional hand-puppet theater, with many master puppeteers giving vivid performances.

Each year the organizers also invite puppet troupes from abroad, who showcase a wide range of different puppets and performing styles, and there are also classes and workshops in which interested visitors can learn how to perform puppet theater and how puppets are made.

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Travel in Taiwan

For hundreds of years, salt was produced on the shores of Taiwan’s southwest (Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan counties) by letting seawater evaporate under the sun in shallow salt pans.

This traditional industry was abandoned in 2002, and now mountains of salt can only be seen in a few locations, kept there for nostalgic and educational reasons. The annual Salt for Peace Festival reflects the importance salt has had in this part of Taiwan, not only as a source of income but also as a symbol of luck and peace. The festival’s venue is the grand Nankunshen Temple, one of the most important centers of worship in southern Taiwan and a must-see for anyone who is interested in local religious culture and traditions. During the festival, the temple will come alive with religious ceremonies, martial-arts performances, and a rich stage program.

SEPTEMBER~NOVEMBER

Taiwan Cycling Festival ( 臺灣自行車節 )

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Locations: Various locations around Taiwan Tel: (02) 2349-1500 ext. 8331 Website: http://taiwanbike.tw

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Taiwan has long been one of the world’s major manufacturers of high-quality bicycles, but it is only over the last 15 years or so that companies like Giant and Merida have started to sell large numbers of bikes to local customers as well. Bicycling has become a favorite pastime of the people of Taiwan, young and old, and there are now many bicycle races and bicycle-related events throughout the year.

The Taiwan Cycling Festival is a celebration of this trend, combining a few major and many more minor cycling events, including a round-the-island race, the Formosa 900 , in which different groups of cyclers go on a 10-day trip circling Taiwan; the Taiwan KOM Challenge , in which professional riders from Taiwan and abroad engage in a grueling race from the eastern coast up into Taiwan’s high mountains; and the Sun Moon Lake Come! Bikeday, a leisurely ride around Taiwan’s most famous lake.

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Taiwan Open of Surfing ( 臺灣國際衝浪公開賽暨東浪嘉年華 )

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Location: Jinzun Fishery Port (Donghe Township, Taitung County) ( 金樽漁港 ; 臺東縣東河鄉 ) Tel: (089) 324-902 Website: www.taiwanopenofsurfing.com In recent years, the coast of Taitung has been discovered by an increasing number of pro surfers from around the world, who are often surprised at the beauty of the scenery and the excellent surfing conditions. Giving Taitung a more official “thumbs up” as a surfing destination has been its recognition by the Asian Surfing Championship (ASC) as an international surfing competition venue, meaning that it now has a place alongside such other renowned surfing locations in Asia as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. The Taiwan Open of Surfing this fall will, as in previous years, feature world-class surfers from around the globe tackling the waves at Jinzun Beach south of Donghe.

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Taiwan Hot Spring & Fine-Cuisine Carnival ( 臺灣好湯 - 溫泉美食嘉年華 ) Locations: Hot-spring resort areas around Taiwan Tel: (02) 2349-1500 ext. 8327 Website: www.2014hotspring.com.tw Hot-spring bathing is one of the great things to do while in Taiwan. When the temperatures cool down in the fall after the hot Taiwan summer, hot-spring resorts around the island get ready for the hot-spring season. This carnival brings hotels and restaurants in hot-spring areas together to jointly present visitors premium offers and services. On the official website you will find info on all hot-spring areas, including special offers and packages by hot-spring businesses, and suggestions for where else to go and what to do while visiting each area.

Travel in Taiwan

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WHAT'S UP

News & Events around Taiwan

Cruise Ship Travel

Cruise Ship Pier to Be Built in Penghu Cruise-ship travel in Asia is on the rise, and Taiwan is increasingly seen by international cruise-line operators as an important regional destination. Recently, Royal Caribbean International, the world's largest cruise company, agreed to build a pier in Penghu, an archipelago located in the Taiwan Strait west of mainland Taiwan, to accommodate its vessels, including the Oasis of the Seas , the world’s biggest cruise ship.

The new facility is scheduled to start operations in April 2016, opening up the beautiful islands of Penghu to international cruise-ship travelers.

Note: As reported in the last issue of Travel in Taiwan, earlier this year the regulations concerning immigration procedures for cruise-ship passengers were changed to simplify the landing process. A cruise liner can now submit its list of passengers to the National Immigration Agency for prior approval; passengers will be issued a temporary landing permit (instead of a visa) that is valid during their scheduled stay in Taiwan.

New Scenic Sight

Sky Lantern Police Station Sending sky lanterns to the heavens has become a popular activity at towns along the Pingxi Branch Railway Line in New Taipei City. The area now sports a police station with a 9-meterhigh glass structure in the shape of a sky lantern. The station is in Jingtong, the terminus of the railway line, best known for its old street and mining relics.

Airport Ranking

Taiwan Taoyuan Int’l Airport in Asia’s Top 10 Taiwan’s main gateway to the world, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, was ranked No. 10 in Asia and No. 18 in the world in the recently announced Skytrax World Airport Awards 2014. For more information, visit www.worldairportawards.com.

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Travel in Taiwan

Sports Event

Fubon 2014 LPGA Taiwan Championship Women’s golf has been on the rise in Taiwan in recent years, thanks in great part to Yani Tseng, who had an amazingly successful run on the LPGA tour from 2008 to 2011, winning 15 tournaments in total, including five majors. Though her last victory was more than two years ago, she will still be the local star everyone wants to see in the upcoming Fubon 2014 LPGA Taiwan Championship (Oct. 30 ~ Nov. 2), being held at the Miramar Golf and Country Club in Linkou, New Taipei City. Among the players competing for a share of the US$2 million in prize money will be top foreign players on the LPGA tour as well as 20 players from Taiwan. Now in its fourth year, the tournament is the only official LPGA-sanctioned event in Taiwan. For more info, visit www.lpgataiwan.com .

Overseas Visitors

More Tourists from the UK and the US According to the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, there was a significant increase in UK travelers visiting Taiwan in the first five months of 2014 (24,485 visits, compared to 16,560 in 2013). Reasons given for the increase were targeted marketing efforts in the UK as well as new flight routes and hotel openings. The bureau also registered an increase in visitors from the US in the first four months of this year (up 12% compared to 2013). United Airlines now offers nonstop services between San Francisco and Taipei, and EVA Airways is planning to increase its number of flights between Taiwan and the US later this year, making Taiwan travel even more convenient. With visitor numbers in the first half of the year on the rise, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau has reason to be confident about reaching its ambitious target of receiving 9 million visitors in 2014.

Travel in Taiwan

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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.

Since August 1 National Palace Museum

A Garland of Treasures: Masterpieces of Precious Crafts in the Museum Collection 集瓊藻—院藏珍玩精華展 Curio boxes and other small but precious artifacts are among the most popular treasures in the vast collection of the National Palace Museum. Other items in the “Garland of Treasures” are enamels, clothing and accessories, studio objects, lacquerware, Buddhist ritual implements, and carvings. This exhibition has two themes, “Precious” and “Crafts.” “Precious” refers to treasured items and their exceptional workmanship, while “Crafts” refers to the consummate skill that went into the design and production of classical forms. Museum visitors especially admire objects often seen in daily life at the imperial court.

Some were used for ceremonial purposes, others formed part of the dress and makeup for those living in the ladies’ quarters, and others were displayed in palace halls as curios to be appreciated at leisure.

More info at: www.npm.gov.tw.

September 13 ~ January 1 Taipei Fine Arts Museum

Taipei Biennial 2014

October 2 ~ November 30 National Theater & Concert Hall

International Theatre Festival 國際劇場藝術節 This year’s International Theatre Festival will feature a great mix of stage performances by troupes from Taiwan and abroad. First up will be London’s Shakespeare’s Globe, performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream , a comedy Shakespeare wrote in the 1590s. Next up will be the puppet play Blue Jeans , performed by artist Yeung Fai in partnership with Switzerland’s Theatre Vidy-Lausanne, followed

by Body Phase Studio’s Le journal de la terreur , a Taiwan-France co-production. Taiwan’s Tainaner Ensemble will then stage Q&A Episode II , in which the protagonist tries to recover his lost memory, and Korea’s Sadari Movement Laboratory will perform Jean Genet’s The Maids , about two maids engaging in secret rituals of revenge in the absence of their mistress. The Dutch group Toneelgroep Amsterdam will then present its interpretation of Shakespeare’s Othello , and Taiwan’s Riverbed Theatre will conclude the festival with the play One Thousand Circles for Space Travel , about obsession, hallucinations, and disappearance. More info at: ift.npac-ntch.org/2014/.

September 30 National Concert Hall

Folk Tunes ~ SPARK 2014 Taiwan Tour Concert 德國 SPARK 樂團 2014 台灣巡迴音樂會 Founded in 2007, Spark is an indie chamber music ensemble from Germany that interprets chamber music in refreshing ways, blending old and new. Moving effortlessly between a diversity of musical styles, the group’s five virtuosos combine the work of old masters with contemporary avant-garde and minimalist music, as well as film scores, presenting new-style chamber music that ignites great passion.

2014 臺北雙年展

Curated this year by French art critic Nicolas Bourriaud, the Taipei Biennial 2014 has “The Great Acceleration” as its sub-title, and “Art and Its New Ecosystem: A Global Set of Relations” as its theme. Staged every two years since 1992 as a showcase of modern and contemporary art, the Taipei Biennial has become a symbol of Taiwan’s contemporary art development and international artistic exchange. This year works by 51 artists and groups from Taiwan and abroad will be shown, and there will also be film screenings, live performances, talks, readings, conferences, and other special events at venues around the city. More info at www.tfam.museum.

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Venues Taipei

ATT Show Box Add: 12, Songshou Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市松壽路 12 號 ) Tel: (02) 7737-8881 www.attshowbox.com.tw Nearest MRT Station: Taipei 101/World Trade Center

Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts （關渡美術館） Add: 1 Xueyuan Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City ( 台北市北投區學園路 1 號 ) Tel: (02) 2896-1000 www.kdmofa.tnua.edu.tw Nearest MRT Station: Guandu

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 )

National Palace Museum （國立故宮博物院）

Add: 221 Zhishan Rd., Sec. 2, Taipei City

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

( 台北市至 善路二 段 2 21 號 )

( 台北市經貿二路 1 號 )

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

Tel: (02) 2725-5200 www.twtcnangang.com.tw Nearest MRT Station: Nangang Exhibition Hall

National Taiwan Museum （國立臺灣博物館）

Add: 2 Xiangyang Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市 襄 陽 路 2 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) 2552-3720 www.mocataipei.org.tw Nearest MRT Station: Zhongshan

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

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

Taipei Arena（台北小巨蛋）

Add: 21 Zhongshan S. Rd., Taipei City

( 台北市 南 京 東 路 四 段 2 號 )

( 台北市中山南 路 21 號 )

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

National Concert Hall（國家音樂聽） National Theater（國家戲劇院） Add: 21-1 Zhongshan S. Rd., Taipei City

Add: 2 Nanjing E. Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei City Tel: (02) 2577-3500 www.taipeiarena.com.tw Nearest MRT Station: Nanjing E. Rd.

Taipei Fine Arts Museum （台北市立美術館）

( 台北市中山北 路三段 181 號 )

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

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

National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

Taipei International Convention Center（台北國際會議中心） Add: 1, Xinyi Rd., Sec.5, Taipei City

Add: 505 Ren-ai Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei City

( 台北市信義 路五段 1 號 )

( 台北市仁愛 路 四 段 5 0 5 號 )

Tel: (02) 2725-5200, ext. 3517, 3518 www.ticc.com.tw Nearest MRT Station: Taipei 101/World Trade Center

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

National Museum of History （國立歷史博物館）

Add: 49 Nanhai Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市 南海路 4 9 號 )

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

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 路三段 332 號 )

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

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

( 台北市中山南 路 21-1 號 )

（國立國父紀念館）

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

Taipei Zhongshan Hall （台北中山堂）

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

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: 272 Zhongzheng 4th Rd., Kaohsiung City

( 台北市延平南 路 9 8 號 )

( 高 雄 市中正四 路 27 2 號 )

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

Tel: (07) 531-2560 http://163.32.121.205 Nearest KMRT Station: City Council

Travel in Taiwan

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FEATURE

i K

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in it a ch atch r on ional abirdw t il radit ns + � u B y + t ursio Gate n e histor g exc olden d r ary terin e “G a G milit scoo = th g ch g / Ri clin urin cy o-to ec

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Travel in Taiwan

KINMEN KINMEN Jinsha Jinning Little Kinmen

Jinhu

Jincheng

Photos: Je

n Guo -Ch

en , Mag g

ie S ong

ate. No, Golden G e th f o s w k no en Gate, in Taiwan ow n Gold ry e v s Everyone it d. For n ha s ge. Taiwa a main lan d in ri h b en C e e th th t no f the “gold tly off iteration o lago direc sl e se n ip a -u h tr rd rc l a a ia an off ic stand asons the r than the e re l th a c ra ri ,” to n his “K inme rac ters is gate” cha en.” yin “Ji n m nds Hany u Pin the 15 isla Twelve of t. o n e t h e y T , an). of Taiwan hina (Taiw K in men is ublic of C p e a’s Fujian R in e h C th part of lled by , o g tr the n in o k c a e re a ally sp , and both , geologic of Taiwan re d a n st s e la d n is rg la e la is e two n of th rather tha is way. T h e th c in in v n m e ro e P in m to th nd Lit tle K PRC refer K in men a ROC and s, ations d in n st la e is trolled tourist d n r o la -c e u C p o O p R e visited th ave becom ecently, I R s. el in e v d (Liey u), h a ra c T e two d wit h a e former, in the past th ga , n o si u tw , e rst time in larger of th fi y m – w en built Taiwan cre , the “gard n io ss re p .” local ex ite fort ress on a g ran

Text : Rick

Charette

Beishan O ld Western -st yle House

Travel in Taiwan

11

FEATURE

Day 1 – Jincheng & Environs

Mofan Street Memorial Arch to Qiu Liang-gong’s Mother

Juguang Jiangong Tower Island

The best way to get around the island is by scooter. The terrain is comparatively flat, the roads are excellent, population density is low, roads are sleepy, and locals drive noticeably slowly. There is good tree cover and much shade along routes, especially on and around rocky Mt. Taiwu (just 253 meters high), and the island’s just-offshore location results in frequent cooling breezes. We picked up our scootersteeds right outside the airport terminal and headed for Jincheng, the quiet main town, which is often the first stop for tourists. Kinmen is shaped like a bowtie, and coast-side Jincheng is in the middle of the western section.

Jincheng Deyue Mansion Shuitou Village

The name Kinmen is about 600 years old. “Golden Gate” refers to protective walls raised in the 1380s where Jincheng today stands, meant to repel pirate attack. The term is best understood as meaning an imposing gateway that could not be breached. The name Jincheng is literally “jin = golden” and “cheng = city, city wall.”

The archipelago was under martial law and heavily garrisoned from the late 1940s into the early 1990s. Since being opened to outside visitors, tourism facilities on Kinmen and Little Kinmen have been systematically built up, and the quaint old section of Jincheng is today an attractive destination. Two main attractions are narrow Mofan Street and the wide, imposing Memorial Arch to Qiu Liang-gong’s Mother.

Charming, flagstoned Mofan Street, lined with red brick-faced souvenir shops and eateries, was built in 1925 in the

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1. Juguang Tower 2. Memorial Arch to Qiu Liang- gong’s Mother 3. Meeting a wind lion 4. Wide and empt y road 5. In Jincheng town 6. Sunset at Jiangong Island

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KINMEN

arcaded Southeast Asia style by returning Kinmen businessmen who had made trading fortunes there. Filial piety and ancestor worship are two of the defining features of Han Chinese culture, and the memorial arch is a well-known example of its expression. Built in 1812 by a governor of China’s Zhejiang Province who was a native son of Kinmen, the arch honors his Mom’s chastity – the chaste but likely quite lonely woman lived on 28 years without remarrying after her husband passed on, in accordance with ancient custom. Refined craftsmanship brings elegance to the high-grade stone, including four auspicious lions at pillar bases staring back at you.

Kinmen's most visited tourist site, the three-story Juguang Tower was built in 1952 to honor all soldiers that have given the ultimate sacrifice in defending the islands. On a hill just south of and overlooking the town, it has displays on such Kinmen topics as food, architecture, wind lions, City God celebrations, and the tower itself. The environment is very pleasant – the stone-base tower has a faux palace in the classical-Chinese style for its third storey, and is surrounded by sculpted, tree-shaded gardens.

5 Down below the tower, offshore in a wide, sweeping bay, is small Jiangong Island, which can be accessed from the pleasant coastal park at this location.

One of the most likeable works of public art I have ever come across is here. At high tide, four steel-frame silhouette sculptures of oystermen with conical hats seem to stand on the water. At low tide, a narrow, shell-encrusted graniteslab causeway magically appears on the mud flats, busy with marine life, leading to the island, the oystermen appearing as though walking in mid-air above it.

The clever work makes the sunsets over the island even more artistic.

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FEATURE

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Day 2 – Northwest Having overnighted at a comfy homestay in the northwest (see our accompanying Buy/Stay/Eat article), our first stop the next day was nearby Lake Ci. This large saltwater lake, cornerstone of Kinmen’s largest wild-bird habitat (there are display boards with good English), was formed when the military closed off a bay by building a long causeway. Augmenting the photo opps here is a line of decommissioned tanks with turrets dramatically pointed at Xiamen, and an abandoned bunker-type fort now open to tourists.

Shuangli Wetlands Nature Center

Guningtou Battle Museum

Shuangli Lake

Lake Ci

Beishan Broadcasting Wall Jinning

On the inland side the lake is surrounded by a network of fish farms, marshes, and small reservoirs. By quiet Shuangli Lake is the bright and airy Shuangli Wetlands Nature Center, which has informative displays on the local ecology with good English. What I liked best about this place, however, was the basement-level café/ eatery, which has large windows that let you view the action both above and below the surface in the adjoining marsh.

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1. Row of tank s by L ake Ci 2. Shuangli Wetlands Nature Center 3. K inmen public telephone 4. Guningtou Bat tle Museum 5. At the Beishan Broadcasting Wall 6. Guningtou Gate near Beishan 7. Bic ycling in Sun Yat-sen Memorial Forest

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Sun Yat-sen Memorial Forest

KINMEN

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On October 25, 1949 Communist forces stormed the beaches and inland areas at Guningtou. After 56 hours of full-scale slaughter the Red forces surrendered, routed, with 12,000 dead. The Guningtou Battle Museum, opened in 1984, has enough battle-related documentation and photos to make war buffs giddy. The choicest morsels, however, are the “Kinmen Bears” on display, the U.S.-supplied M1 A1 tanks that played such a decisive role in this live-and-make-die struggle. I best enjoyed the tunnels that take you to fortified beachfront positions, where countless young men spent long hours, lonely and anxious and far from home.

If time allows, I heartily recommend a jaunt to the nearby Beishan Broadcasting Wall, a startling, bizarre sight. Standing atop a cliff, overlooking the sea and the Xiamen area on the other side, this is a tall, narrow concrete broadcasting station with 48 huge loudspeakers fitted into its seaside face. Long used to hurl propaganda, it’s said, up to 25km, today only soothing golden-oldies pop songs are lofted across. The rocky, cliff-bottom beach here, easily reached, is both wonderfully photogenic and secluded.

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Bicycle Touring The county government and Kinmen National Park administration actively promote eco-friendly bicycling, offering free bike hire. Government bikes may be borrowed for three days (park bikes for one day) simply by showing your ID. Helmets must be worn and bikes returned to the same location from which they are taken. The flat, shady terrain makes bicycling on the peaceful public roads a pleasure everywhere, but specially recommended is the expansive Sun Yat-sen Memorial Forest, which has a shop offering free bikes and is free of motor vehicles.

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FEATURE

Heritage Architecture Kinmen’s long period of martial law and heavy garrisoning froze the islands in economic time. An inadvertent benefit was that its rich trove of traditional architecture was preserved, to the delight of today’s tourists. Its collection of south Fujian architectural works is perhaps the finest in existence, and there are many still-intact clan villages. Much government-supported fixing up has been undertaken. Most visited is Shanhou Folk Culture Village, built in 1900, which has the look and feel of a museum showcase.

I also especially liked the villages of Nanshan, Beishan, Shuitou, Qionglin, and Oucuo, which are very much community places, with residents busying themselves doing laundry, chatting, and so on.

Kinmen is also home to more than 100 Western-style colonial mansions, most built in the late 1800s and early 1900s by returning local traders who had struck it rich in Southeast Asia and Japan. Many have been converted into homestays and cafés/souvenir shops. The two most intriguing, and best-known, are the Beishan Old Western-style House and Shuitou’s Deyue Mansion. The first was commandeered as a command post by the Red forces during the 1949 Guningtou fighting (see Guningtou museum entry); today abandoned, it looks like a backdrop for a war-movie set, but sports bullet holes and blasted-out scars that are remnants of something fearsomely real. The second, which has a pink façade and distinctive gun tower once Kinmen’s tallest structure, has a welcoming courtyard souvenir shop and balconied café.

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In Shuitou V illage Old houses at Qionglin V illage At Shanhou Folk Culture V illage At Deyue Mansion Ruiyou School near Shanhou

KINMEN

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Day 3 – Southwest to Northeast

Mashan Observation Station KINMEN

On this day, we enjoyed a leisurely jaunt from the tip of the southwest to Kinmen’s closest point to the China mainland, in the northeast, with a dip into the southeast quadrant, finishing with a quick zip to the airport for our evening flight home. Our first stop was a special place I, a history buff, have read about many times and was excited to finally see, the Zhaishan Tunnel. This impressive V-shaped tunnel, with a side tunnel that leads to a third mouth on the crashing sea, was hewn almost solely by hand out of solid granite within a seaside hill-and-cliff over a five-year period in the 1960s. It was used as a safe harbor for supply boats making the hazardous run to and from Taiwan's main island, with a capacity for 42. An information display is provided outside the tourist entrance, but best of all is the outdoor exhibit of anti-aircraft guns, supply boats, and other decommissioned equipment.

The southeast’s Lake Tai, a great spot for watching both migratory and endemic birds, is Kinmen’s largest artificial lake. Time-travel pagodas on three islands floating atop the lake’s waters make for relaxing times and picturesque views. Make sure to visit the attractive Ming Dynasty residence that has been excavated and restored in the park beside.

The Mashan Observation Station is Kinmen’s closest point to communist China, on a narrow peninsula at the northeast’s tip. The station is still operational, reached by a long tunnel, and it’s quite a thrill looking across the 2,100-meter stretch of open water at the other side – the distance shrinks to just 1,800 at low tide. While peering at the mainland through the bunker’s high-powered binoculars, think of the young men posted at these coastal spots during the martial-law period, nervously watchful through the dark nights for dreaded visits by trophy-hunting enemy frogmen. Incongruously, the west side of the peninsula base offers up lovely coastal-sunset shots.

Jinsha Jinning Little Kinmen

Jincheng

Jinhu Lake Tai

Zhaishan Tunnel

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1. Zhaishan Tunnel 2. At L ake Tai 3. Mashan Obser vation Station

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FEATURE Wind Lion Gods

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The Wind Lion God statue is a defining, and conspicuous, manifestation of local islanders’ religious life. According to popular lore, in the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) the archipelago was left largely bereft of tree cover when Koxinga, celebrated defender of the Ming empire against the invading Manchu Qing, used Kinmen as his source of wood for his massive fleet. His base before jumping to Taiwan in 1662 to boot out the Dutch colonialists ensconced there was the archipelago’s city of Xiamen. In truth, local tour guides will inform you, the process of deforestation had already long been underway; an extensive system of salt pans had been built, and much land cleared for farms. To counter the often fierce unchecked winds that made agriculture more and more difficult, locals set up wind lion gods at strategic points to deflect the gusting thrusts, for the lion is believed to both ward off evil and attract good fortune.

Getting There & Getting Around Flight Access between major cities on Taiwan proper and Kinmen is by air. Domestic carriers offer a number of flights daily. The price for a regular one-way ticket is a little over NT$2,000. There is regular bus service between Kinmen Airport and the towns of Jincheng and Shanwai.

Ferry There is a regular daily ferry service between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm between Shuitou on Kinmen Island and the Chinese city of Xiamen. Ferries run once an hour each way (about 80 minutes). The price is NT$750 from Shuitou to Xiamen, RMB160 from Xiamen. There is regular public-bus service between the Shuitou ferry terminal and Jincheng.

There is also a regular ferry service between Kinmen (Shuitou) and Little Kinmen islands. The price one-way is NT$60; the ride takes 20 minutes. Service from Shuitou is 7 am to 9 pm, from Little Kinmen 6:30 am to 8:30 pm.

Taiwan Tourist Shuttle There are four hop-on, hop-off tourist-shuttle route services, each passing a number of major attractions (a 1-day pass costs NT$200, a 2-day pass NT$350).

Two leave from the Jincheng bus station, two from the Shanwai station. Visit www.taiwantrip.com.tw for more info.

Taxis Yellow cabs with pleasant and knowledgeable drivers (who may only speak Mandarin Chinese or Taiwanese) can be flagged in the busier areas or booked by telephone. Negotiate a flat rate, generally about NT$3,000 for a full day.

Scooter/Car Rental There are scooter- and car-rental outlets at Kinmen Airport and elsewhere, notably by the Jincheng bus station. Renting a 150cc scooter for one day is about NT$550; car rental is about NT$1,300.

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English and Chinese Beishan 北山 Beishan Broadcasting Wall 北山播音牆 Deyue Mansion 得月樓 Guningtou Battle Museum 古寧頭戰史館 Jiangong Island 建功嶼 Juguang Tower 莒光樓 Kinmen 金門 “Kinmen Bears” 金門之熊 Koxinga 國姓爺 Lake Ci 慈湖 Lake Tai 太湖 Lieyu 烈嶼 Little Kinmen 小金門 Mashan Observation Station 馬山觀測站 Memorial Arch to Qiu Liang-gong’s Mother 邱良功母節孝坊 Mofan Street 模範街 Mt. Taiwu 太武山 Nanshan 南山 Oucuo 歐厝 Qionglin 瓊林 Shanhou Folk Culture Village 山后民俗村 Shuangli Lake 雙鯉湖 Shuangli Wetlands Nature Center 雙鯉濕地自然中心 Shuitou 水頭 Sun Yat-sen Memorial Forest 中山紀念林 Western Building in Beishan 北山古洋樓 Wind Lion God 風獅爺 Zhaishan Tunnel 翟山坑道

1. K inmen Airp or t 2. Wind lion in Qionglin V illage

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Advertorial

The Kinmen Ever Rich Golden Lake Plaza Providing Travelers with a Sophisticated Shopping & Entertainment Experience Visit the relaxed and welcoming Kinmen town of Shanwai and you can’t miss the massive, gleaming The Kinmen Ever Rich Golden Lake Plaza, which stands between tranquil Lake Tai and the town’s compact old commercial district. The aesthetically attractive complex towers over all other structures in the area.

Since its emergence from martial law and the 2001 establishment of what are called the “three mini links,” allowing the citizens of China to travel directly to Kinmen, the islands have become a popular tourist destination. To accommodate travelers’ thirst for a high-quality, one-stop shopping experience, Everrich has built Asia’s biggest duty-free store. The chic and elegant Golden Lake Plaza also offers much more to the traveler, however – there is also upscale dining and entertainment facilities, ensuring the satisfaction of all your diverse needs.

The large international-caliber shopping center brims with luxury brands brought in from around the world. Among the many sections is a special souvenir section showcasing the best of local “MIT” (Made in Taiwan) specialty products. The complex is also home to Kinmen’s first Cineplex, on which Ambassador Theatres has spent more than NT$100 million dollars, enticing consumers to cross from China to enjoy movies and encouraging extended stays. It is hoped that providing Kinmen with a more sophisticated leisure and entertainment environment, and thus more comprehensive tourist facilities, will create a seamless cross-strait common living area.

Also serving to enhance the quality of Kinmen’s tourism facilities and services will be the opening of its first 5-star hotel in 2015. The Ever Rich Jinhu Hotel, an addition to the Golden Lake Plaza complex, will offer professional dining and banquet services, a spa, pool, gym, and many other amenities. There will also be integrated medical and beauty tourism facilities, even more comprehensively satisfying visitors’ diverse requirements.

The Ever Rich Golden Lake Plaza – meeting the tourism needs of Kinmen visitors, creating more vibrant business opportunities for the islands, and bringing Kinmen’s tourism industry onto the international stage!

Ever Rich Golden Lake Plaza Add: 198, Sec. 2, Taihu Rd., Jinhu Township, Kinmen County 891, Taiwan (R.O.C.) Business Hours: 09:00~21:00 Consumer Service Line: +886-82-338-888, 0800-818-568 Website: www.everrich.com.tw

FEATURE

The Kinmen Experience Great Value for the Tourist Dollar Here are some recommendations on places to stay, foods to eat, and souvenirs to buy that best capture Kinmen’s distinctive cultural flavor.

Text: Rick Charette

Photos: Jen Guo-Chen

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Stay I heartily recommend a stay in one of the many renovated local heritage residences now operated as homestays/ B&Bs. On this trip, since we had two nights, we tried two different facilities, both operated by Lai Xuan, originally from New Taipei City who fell in love with the “Kinmen way” on a trip back in 2003.

Her Huban Jiangnan – Otter’s Home (yes, Kinmen has Eurasian otters) is in the clan village of Nanshan, beside the northwest’s Shuangli Lake. An exquisitely refurbished single-story south Fujian-style courtyard residence, this was among the first group of heritage-residence homestays/ B&Bs opened in the early 2000s as part of a county government program in which the government handles renovations in return for the right to lease the facility to independent operators for 30 years. All guestrooms have air-con, bathroom with

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shower, and cable TV (no phone). Free bikes are available, and a simple Chinese breakfast is served. (Rooms start at NT$1,600 )

washroom/shower room, and laundry facilities. A simple Chinese breakfast is served. (Rooms start at NT$1,000 )

Across small Shuangli Lake in Beishan, another narrow-lane clan village, is Huban Jiangnan – S. Hill 23-3, in one of Kinmen’s 100-odd old Western colonialstyle villas. The villagers told me this villa was commandeered as the ROC military’s forward command post in the great Guningtou battle described in the main article. The Communist HQ described is just 4-or-so grenade throws away. On our night at this majestic, antiques-filled place, we looked out from the breezy second-floor veranda over the traditional ceramic-tile roofs and villagers enjoying a drink and cards in family courtyards. Scratchy 1930s Shanghai jazz music wafted through the air, source unknown. Guestrooms have air-con and cable TV; there’s a communal

Note that Shuitou in southwestern Kinmen has the largest cluster of homestays/B&Bs. However, like all local villages, it’s extremely quiet at night. If looking for nighttime action, head for Jincheng’s old section, around Mofan Street.

5 1. & 2. Huban Jiangnan – O t ter ’s Home 3. & 4. Huban Jiangnan – S. Hill 23-3 5. Traditional break f ast

STAY/BUY/EAT

Buy Two iconic Kinmen sights are fields of peanuts and harvested peanuts drying in the courtyards in front of farmers’ homes. A key local product, and favorite tourist-souvenir purchase, is peanut candy, here called “tribute candy” because in times gone by it was a favored form of Kinmen tribute at the Chinese imperial court. The premier maker is Sheng Zu Food and Beverage Corp., which has easy-to-find retail outlets.

While rambling Kinmen’s rural roads there will inevitably be times when you are regaled with the strong, pungent, unmistakable fragrance of sorghum (gaoliang in Chinese) drying in farmers’ courtyards. Noting the similarity of Kinmen’s conditions to those of his native Shandong Province on the China mainland, an ROC general now locally venerated introduced sorghum and the making of sorghum spirits to Kinmen in the 1950s.

What is called Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor is renowned throughout Taiwan. Visit the large, impressive Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor Inc. main facility near the island’s center, which has a bright, well-designed display area. Guided tours of the facility are offered.

deliverers of great misery, they were a godsend – perhaps “Great Helmsman-send” is the better term here – seen in another light, for the shells were made of superiorquality steel, and continue to supply local knife craftsmen with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of raw material. The most celebrated name in local steel-making is the Chin Ho Li Steel Knife Factory.

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I now have a much-admired Chin Ho Li chopper and cleaver set in my kitchen, and a superior-crafted, aesthetically magnetic pocketknife on my keychain. Sadly, my tribute candy and Kaoliang spirits hauls proved very popular, and were exhausted within a few short days of my Taipei return.

Chuen Shin Kinmen Gifts Store is the most interesting outlet for general souvenir hunting. It’s right across from the Jincheng bus station, in the town’s old section.

Kaoliang-flavored egg rolls are made fresh here, and there’s a wide range of Kaoliang spirits, Kaoliang-flavored beef jerky, and other Kinmen specialty products.

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5 Another quintessential Kinmen product is the knife. And not just any type of knife – hold a Kinmen knife in your hand and you hold a physical piece of 20th-century history. During the martial-law era China’s Communists hurled about a million artillery shells at the ROC-held islands. Though

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Pe k inese Dog Rock and Sle eping Beaut y Rock , on G re e n Island ’s east coast

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Tribute candy K inmen k nives Chin Ho Li Steel K nife Fac tor y K aoliang-f lavored egg rolls K inmen K aoliang Liquor Inc. Wind lion figurines

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FEATURE

Eat “When in Rome, eat as the Romans do.” While on the island we systematically canvassed Kinmenites on the best places to eat. After trying many ourselves, we have bestowed the Travel in Taiwan seal of approval on the following.

The façade, the interior, and the ownerfamily staff at small Jicheng Restaurant all look as though they have been in place and unchanged since imperial times. Located in the old section of Jincheng, the signature potstickers here are larger and plumper than the norm, stuffed with fresh minced pork. I also especially liked the spicy and meaty back-bacon-like stir-fried pig’s ears. I don’t think anyone could prove me wrong if I say that every Kinmen resident and every infantry grunt stationed here has eaten at this spot.

You’ll quickly notice on your Kinmen visit that the yellow cow is the bovine of choice here.

You’ll see them tethered by roadsides everywhere.

The meat is lean, fragrant, and chewy. At Lao Die Beef Noodles, the thick, seasoned beef slices are delicious, as is the piquant house-made chili sauce. I especially enjoyed those dishes featuring half-meat, half-cartilage slices, marinated and delectably soft.

At Xinyuan Seafood, the inexpensive dishes featuring locally cultivated oysters and clams are a treat. However, to qualify as truly having “done Kinmen,” try the stir-fried sand worms, a local delicacy harvested at low tide along the coast. I initially thought they were fat bean sprouts without the bean-heads. They have a light, neutral taste akin to mushrooms.

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Stir-fried sand worms Beef noodle soup Shaved ice with glutinous-rice balls Potstickers Yellow cow

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3 4 Chin Ho Li Steel Knife Factory ( 金合利製刀廠 ) Add: 236, Sec. 1, Boyu Rd., Jinning Township, Kinmen County ( 金門縣金寧鄉伯玉路一段 236 號 Tel: (082) 323-999 Website: http://maestrowu.8898.tw (Chinese)

Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor Inc. Main Facility ( 金門酒廠總公司 ) Add: 1, Taoyuan Rd., Jinning Township, Kinmen County ( 金門縣金寧鄉桃園路 1 號 ) Tel: (082) 325-628 Website: www.kkl.gov.tw

Chuen Shin Kinmen Gifts Store ( 淳新金門名物便利店 ) Add: 3-1, Lane 5, Minsheng Rd., Jincheng Township, Kinmen County ( 金門縣金城鎮民生路 5 巷 3-1 號 ) Tel: (082) 326-980

Laodie Beef Noodles ( 老爹牛肉麵 ) Add: 26, Wude Xinzhuang, Jinhu Township, Kinmen County ( 金門縣金湖鎮武德新莊 26 號 ) Tel: (082) 334-504

Huban Jiangnan – Otter’s Home ( 湖畔江南 – 水獺之家 ) Add: 5-6, Nanshan Village, Guningtou, Jinning Township, Kinmen County ( 金門縣金寧鄉古寧頭南山村 5-6 號 ) Tel: 0939-725-883 Website: http://vicoo.myweb.hinet.net/ (Chinese)

Sheng Zu Food & Beverage Corp. ( 聖祖食品 ) Add: 301, Sec.2, Boyu Rd., Jinning Township, Kinmen County ( 金門縣金寧鄉伯玉路二段 301 號 ) Tel: (082) 323-456 Website: www.shengzu.com.tw (Chinese)

Shuangli Huban– Western House Homestay ( 雙鯉湖畔 e 番仔樓民宿 ) Add: 23-3, Beishan Village, Guningtou, Jinning Township, Kinmen County ( 金門縣金寧鎮古寧頭北山村 23-3 號 ) Tel: 0939-725-883 Website: http://www.keepon.com.tw/km/vicoo/peisan.htm (Chinese)

Xinyuan Seafood ( 信源海產店 ) Add: 15, Huandao N. Rd., Jincheng Town, Kinmen County ( 金門縣金城鎮環島北路 15 號 ) Tel: (082) 371-437

Jicheng Restaurant ( 集成餐廳 ) Add: 8, Zhongxing Rd., Jincheng Town, Kinmen County ( 金門縣金城鎮中興路 8 號 ) Tel: (082) 325-067

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English and Chinese gaoliang 高梁 Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor 金門高梁酒 Lai Xuan 賴萱

SPLENDID FESTIVALS

T a iw a n Fun on the Tropic of Cancer Festivities and Activities during the Summer Months Text: Joe Henley

Photos: Rich Matheson, Vision Int’l

Most people

have heard of the Tropic of Cancer (TOC). But how many can actually define what it is? Just in case you were wondering, the Tropic of Cancer is the northernmost circle of latitude on Earth where the sun appears directly overhead at its zenith. The sun “draws” this line once per year during the northern hemisphere’s summer solstice, which occurs sometime between June 20 and June 22.

As of 2014, the TOC lies at approximately 23 degrees north latitude, which means it runs right through Taiwan, cutting, from east to west, across Hualien County, Nantou County, Chiayi County, and the islands of

Penghu County. Throughout the summer numerous festivities and activities related to the Tropic of Cancer are staged as part of the annual Taiwan Fun on the Tropic of Cancer season, running from June 21 until September 30 this year.

To get an idea of what is going on during this year’s celebrations, Travel in Taiwan visited the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center in late June, where an exhibition was being staged showcasing the culinary and other attractions of areas located on or close to the Tropic of Cancer. The city of Kaohsiung itself does not lie on the Tropic of Cancer (not yet, anyway – the TOC is drifting south about 14 meters per year).

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walking through the glass doors at the back of the center and stepping out onto the harbor-view walkway, we saw that food and drink had been given center stage. Lychees the size of tennis balls, mango smoothies, deep-fried aiyu jelly… it was a showcase of Taiwan's agricultural bounty. Aiyu jelly, a popular treat made from the seeds of a variety of fig, was selected in a popularity poll this year as Taiwan’s number one summer snack. But it was not the only specialty item on offer.

We also visited stands selling papaya milk, shaved ice, and even cactus ice from the Penghu islands.

Food is only one element of the Taiwan Fun on the Tropic of Cancer festivities,

TROPIC OF CANCER

Throughout the summer numerous festivities and activities related to the Tropic of Cancer are staged as part of the annual Taiwan Fun on the Tropic of Cancer season

however. In Chiayi County’s Siraya National Scenic Area, for example, named for a lowland indigenous tribe that is not yet officially recognized, activities are centered on the mud springs of the hot-spring resort town Guanziling.

Beat the summer heat by taking a dip in the soothing mud- and nutrient-rich waters with cold beverage in hand.

In the village of Ruisui in Hualien County, located in the East Rift Valley National Scenic Area, representatives of the island's unique and colorful indigenous culture stage song-and-dance performances, with the aim of preserving and promoting the traditional way of life of Taiwan's first inhabitants. Ruisui is also the launch-point for whitewater rafting trips down the Xiuguluan River,

with exciting yet always safe adventure guaranteed.

Among

the various other activities being staged by local governments this summer are night-time eco-explorations at Little Yeliu in Taitung County, fun activities on the beaches of Penghu, sand and salt sculpting on the southwest coast, evening visits to Shoushan Zoo and bicycling in Liugui District in Kaohsiung, day-lily season visits to Mt. Liushidan (Sixty Stone Mountain) and Mt. Chike in Hualien, and visits to indigenous villages in Taitung County.

If you plan to visit southern or eastern Taiwan or the offshore islands of Penghu this summer, make sure to

check out which of the many festivities and activities you won’t want to miss!

Full details are available at www. taiwan235n.tw.

English and Chinese aiyu 愛玉 East Rift Valley National Scenic Area 花東縱谷國家風景區 Guanziling 關子嶺 Kaohsiung Exhibition Center 高雄展覽館 Little Yeliu 小野柳 Liugui District 六龜區 Mt. Chike 赤科山 Mt. Liushidan 六十石山 Ruisui 瑞穗 Siraya National Scenic Area 西拉雅國家風景區 Shoushan Zoo 壽山動物園 Taiwan Fun on the Tropic of Cancer 臺灣夏至 235 Xiuguluan River 秀姑巒溪

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HIKING

J i a m i n g La k e A Hike to a Beautiful High-Mountain Lake Text & Photos: Stuart Dawson

At an elevation

of 3,520m above sea level, Jiaming Lake is Taiwan’s second-highest mountain lake, and one of its biggest. It was once thought that the lake was created by a meteor strike, but it is now believed that it was formed by glacier movement during the last ice age. While it is quite far from Taipei, it’s an excellent two-day hike destination in a more remote part of Taiwan.

From Taipei it’s a long drive to Xiangyang National Forest Recreation Area, where the hike begins. The area is located close to the 155km marker on Provincial Highway No. 20 (the Southern Cross-Island Highway). If you don’t have your own means of transport, the easiest way to get there is to take a train down to

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the town of Chishang in Taitung County and then hire a driver there – as we did on an outing last summer.

There’s a great campsite around the back of the police station at Xiangyang, with shower and kitchen facilities. We put up our tents and set about preparing a hotpot dinner. That evening there was no moon in the sky, and being so far away from the city, we could see the Milky Way and seemingly millions of other stars.

The next morning we packed up early and walked through the forest recreation area to the trailhead. From this point, it was a gentle and very pleasant walk through pine forest to the first mountain hut, the Xiangyang Cabin. From there the trail became much steeper, all the way

to the point where we came out of the forest.

On a good day there are spectacular views here, but on this day clouds had already begun to billow up, and we could only just make out the famous twisted and gnarly Xiangyang Tree.

Typically, during the summer months in Taiwan the weather is clear in the morning, giving way to thunderstorms in the afternoon. With the clouds coming in, we thus pressed on towards the second cabin, the Jiaming Lake Hut, to avoid getting caught in this day’s inevitable downpour.

At the cabin we met a group of Taiwanese hikers, who mentioned that there was the possibility of a typhoon arriving in two to three days’ time. I headed out further along the trail to a point

JIAMING LAKE

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1. Xiangyang Tree 2. Early in the morning 3. On the way to Jiaming L ake

where I could get a mobile-phone signal and called a friend in Taipei, who confirmed that there was indeed a typhoon on the way.

then continue on their way. After a quick breakfast, we set off towards Jiaming Lake.

original plan was to stay in the mountains for three days, and while the typhoon was unlikely to affect us before the end of the hike, the authorities usually close the highway to/from Chishang a day before, and we thus might have ended up stuck at Xiangyang for a time. So we decided to hike to the lake early the next morning and then hike back out in the afternoon.

It was a very cold morning, especially when we arrived at the exposed peak of Mt. Sancha (3,496m). The wind was strong, and even though it was August it still stripped us of heat. We waited ten minutes or so for the sun to rise, and then turned and headed south towards the lake. By this time the glow of the rising sun had hit the grass on the hills surrounding the lake, making it seem like the mountains were on fire. It was a spectacular view.

We woke up at 2am, and were greeted by a group of deer who had come to drink from a water source near the cabin. It’s incredible how unaffected they are by the people and headlamps. They simply stare back at you, and

After a quick break and a hot drink by the lakeshore, we started back. With a typhoon looming we had to move quickly to get back down in time, and we eventually got back to Taipei safely that evening.

Our

Route Xiangyang National Forest Recreation Area (0K) – Xiangyang Cabin (4.3K) – Jiaming Lake Hut (8.4K) – Jiaming Lake (13K)

Safety and Practicalities The Jiaming Lake walk isn’t a technical hike, but since the lake is in the high mountains, it is recommended that anyone wishing to do the hike get in contact with or put together a hiking group to go on an organized trek with a guide.

English and Chinese Chishang 池上 Jiaming Lake 嘉明湖 Jiaming Lake Hut 嘉明湖山屋 Mt. Sancha 三叉山 Xiangyang Cabin 向陽工寮 Xiangyang Tree 向陽樹 Xiangyang National Forest Recreation Area 向陽國家森林遊樂區

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TOP TEN TAIWAN TOURS

Lion’s Head Mountain and Beipu Exploring Hsinchu County’s Enchanting Countryside

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Travel in Taiwan

Text: Joe Henley

Photos: Fred Cheng

Close to Hsinchu City, known for its high-tech industry, there is a remarkable scenic area that is known for its pristine nature, old temples, and a quiet old town where you can sample the best of Hakka cuisine.

HSINCHU COUNTY

About

an hour's drive southwest of Taipei City is Hsinchu, Taiwan's “Windy City.” With a history going back to the early part of the 18th century, it's a mid-sized metropolis of less than half a million people, best known as a center of research and development thanks to its Hsinchu Science Park, home to well over 300 high-tech companies.

But there is more to Hsinchu and its environs than its private-enterprise engineers toiling over the latest touchscreen gadgets and other world-leading electronics innovations – much more.

For example, head out of the city and you will almost immediately find yourself in enchanting countryside with lush mountains and abundant wildlife.

And it's all within an hour's journey from Hsinchu’s high-speed rail station if you take a Taiwan Tourist Shuttle (www. taiwantrip.com.tw ) bus and use connecting bus lines.

After hopping aboard one of the shuttle service’s regular Lion's Head Mountain Route buses at Platform 6, a short walk out of Exit 4 at the HSR Hsinchu Station, it took not long until I reached

the Lion's Head Mountain Scenic Area.

The visitor center there is a valuable source of information on the area, its townships, the various indigenous tribal peoples populating the region, and the dominant Hakka culture. The mountain is criss-crossed by a network of ten different hiking trails, some of which are interconnected, taking visitors through and past the area's rich natural beauty and man-made architectural wonders – including Buddhist/Taoist temples, eleven in all, built into the natural landscape.

To witness these beauties and wonders firsthand, I followed the Shuilian Cave Trail, which starts just a couple of minutes by foot from the visitor center. About 1.3 kilometers in length, it runs over Nuomi Bridge, a trestle bridge dating back to 1918, the stones of which are held together with a glutinous rice (“nuomi ”)-based mortar. The bridge crosses the gurgling Shizi Stream, and in the clear water below members of various species of fish lolled about amongst the smooth stones and potholes.

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1. Temple at Lion's Head Mountain 2. Temple inside Shuilian Cave 3.& 4. Quanhua Temple

5. Lion sculpture 6. Quanhua Temple 7. Buddhist monk statue

HIKING TOP TEN TAIWAN TOURS

The mossy,

treeshaded stone trail winds its way down into a gorge, at the bottom of which is the small Fanyin Temple, set into Shuilian Cave.

The water dripping down from the top of the cave's high mouth is what gives it its name, “Water Curtain Cave,” and I stood beneath the falling drops for a moment to ward off the heat and high humidity. It's a serene setting, and it’s worth taking some time to sit beside the stream and let the sound of the flowing water mix with the recorded chants reverberating from within the shallow cave.

The bus ride took about 15 minutes.

From the Quanhua Temple bus stop it’s a short walk up a hill to the sprawling temple, which is the scenic area's most spectacular. It is built right onto the side of the mountain, incorporating the rocky cliffs into its structure. The ornate roof ridges of the temple buildings, covered in carvings of colorful dragons and other figures, overlook a picturesque valley below. A manmade terraced waterfall flows past a collection of crane sculptures; the majestic birds, symbols of peace and longevity, are depicted in preflight readiness and in stoic stillness.

Next up was the Liuliao Trail, a longer route stretching over 5 kilometers through a canyon cut by the Liuliao Stream. This trail passes abandoned mines and the few remaining ancient camphor trees in the area; camphor trees once served as an important local commercial product. The oldest left standing is about 400 years old, and is venerated by the local Hakka people. If you happen to visit the trail in April or May, you'll also have the chance to see the white tung blossoms falling from the tung trees, blanketing the trail like a soft carpet of snow, and in the spring fireflies light up the trail at night.

The Liuliao Trail connects to the Shishan (Lion Mountain) Historic Trail, which you can follow back to the visitor center or further uphill to the great cluster of temples the mountain is famous for.

Back aboard

The visitor center is also where the area's various local bus lines converge, taking tourists along different routes throughout the region’s mountains. There is a café at the center, which in addition to normal café fare serves up Hakka delicacies and beverages, with both indoor and outdoor seating available. After a break there I took a bus on the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle service’s Nanzhuang Route , bound for Quanhua Temple and other points. This temple is on the far side of Lion’s Head Mountain, reachable on foot for those with enough time – which I did not have.

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Taiwan Tourist Shuttle buses (first back to the visitor center on the Nanzhuang Route , then back down the mountain on the Lion's Head Mountain Route), my final stop for the day was the town of Beipu and its famed Old Street, where you’ll find a collection of restaurants and cafés specializing in Hakka delicacies courtesy of a population that is approximately 98 percent of Hakka descent.

At Peipu Lei Tea, the oldest and most famous tea shop in town, I ordered a cup of lei cha , or “ground tea.” Here, visitors can also make the tea themselves, if they like, with helpful staff on hand to show them how to grind the blend of dried oolong tea leaves, nuts, and grains with a small wooden pestle in a bowl. Other dishes worth trying are Hakka flat noodles, tangyuan (glutinous-rice balls with sweet filling) soup, and dried persimmons, another local specialty found at numerous stands lining Old Street.

A portion of the town has been preserved as a historic site, with its narrow stone-paved alleyways and exteriors of the modest brick homes left much as they were in decades past. Many of these homes have been converted into guesthouses, tea rooms, and restaurants, but some remain private family homes. There's no better place to end a day of exploration in

Hsinchu County, a place where rich Hakka culture, awe-inspiring natural beauty, and tranquil Buddhist architecture are mingled together in a unique tapestry.

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2 English and Chinese Beipu (Old Street) 北埔 ( 老街 ) Dapu Reservoir 大埔水庫 Fanyin Temple 梵音寺 Hsinchu Science Park 新竹科學工業園區 lei cha 擂茶 Lion's Head Mountain Scenic Area 獅頭山風景區 Liuliao Stream 六寮溪 Liuliao Trail 六寮步道 Nuomi Bridge 糯米橋 Quanhua Temple 勸化堂 Shishan (Lion Mountain) Historic Trail 獅山古道 Shizi Stream 石子溪 Shuilian Cave (Trail) 水濂洞 ( 步道 ) tangyuan 湯圓

Peipu Lei Tea ( 三十九號北埔擂茶 ) Add: 39, Miaoqian St., Beipu Township, Hsinchu County ( 新竹縣北埔鄉廟前街 39 號 ) Tel: (03) 580-3157 Website: 39tea.com.tw

1. Dried-p ersimmon stand 2. Lei tea

HOSPITALITY

Beyond Mere Coffee Servers Text: Editorial Department Photos: Second Floor Café, Starbucks

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The Friendly Warmth of Local Wait Staff Makes Your Coffee Even More Enjoyable From the number of cafés that have opened in Taipei in recent years, it is clear that locals nowadays like a cup of latte as much as a cup of Oolong tea. With so many cafés vying for customers, competition is strong, and service is often as important as ambience and the coffee itself in ensuring coffee lovers have a place they find relaxing and enjoyable.

Travel in Taiwan recently asked the staff of two cafés in Taipei about the things that are most important when it comes to serving customers.

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Second Floor Café

Starbucks

Travel in Taiwan: What are your ideals when serving customers?

Second Floor Café: Our main aim is to provide a space where people can relax, recharge their batteries, and feel at home. We also hope to surprise our guests with a level of warmth and happy spirit they won’t find anywhere else.

Travel in Taiwan: How does a Taiwan Starbucks differ from one in the US? Starbucks: While there might be similarities in how a Starbucks looks and what products are served in Taiwan, the difference is in the attitude our guests see when we serve them. Friendliness and good spirit are very important, and I believe what customers experience here in Taiwan clearly goes beyond what they experience elsewhere. Our staff appreciates every opportunity to interact with our patrons, and we are very passionate about serving everyone well.

Travel in Taiwan: Are you prepared for customers with special needs?

Second Floor Café: We work to prepare our staff to handle customers with special needs. For example, we have staff that speak English so we can communicate with foreign guests, and we offer vegetarian dishes and pork-free dishes for guests with special food requirements. We are also prepared for physically handicapped guests, families with children, and even have a special treat for guests with four-legged friends (a specially prepared soft-boiled egg for dogs).

Travel in Taiwan: What are some of the recommended specialties on your menu?

Second Floor Café: Apart from our fine selection of coffees, we also serve a variety of mouthwatering dishes. If you come in the morning, try our wide selection of brunch offerings, including the New German Brunch, Mexican Flavor Fajitas Roll, and Spicy Crab Meat Omelet.

Travel in Taiwan: How do you serve customers from abroad?

Starbucks: Language ability is obviously the main factor to consider. Our menus are all bilingual, and our staff is usually able to communicate in English. Foreign customers are often curious about trying products they won’t find at a Starbucks in their home country, so we introduce them to our Taiwan-specific products, such as soybean milk latte and iced shaken green tea. Since good service is not just limited to making a sale, we are also happy to answer any questions tourists might have about Taipei, and point them in the right direction if they inquire about places of interest to go.

1. Waitress at Second Floor Café

2. Starbuck s drive -thru

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INDIGENOUS ARTISTS Doriq Nisak of the Truku Tribe is the first indigenous lacquer artist in Taiwan. With his art he contributes to preserving his people’s culture. Travel in Taiwan recently visited him at his studio in Taichung.

The term

lacquerware refers to decorative pieces and utensils made from wood, bamboo, metal, or other materials that are coated with layers of natural resin, with or without the addition of color pigments. After drying, this resin is extremely durable and waterproof. When layers of resin are carved, the lacquerware becomes a one-of-a-kind artwork.

Lacquering as a technique first appeared in China some 7,000 years ago, but more sophisticated techniques were not developed until about 3,000 years ago. By the Han Dynasty (206 BC ~ 220 AD), there were numerous centers of lacquerware production in China, and with the expansion of trade, knowledge of this process spread across Asia.

Lacquerware production in Taiwan dates back to the Japanese colonial period (1895~1945). With the establishment of the Taichung College of Industrial Arts, students were encouraged to make lacquered goods and souvenirs representative of Taiwan, including the use of indigenous themes. After the end of World War II, however, local lacquerware production nearly disappeared. It was kept alive by Lai Kao-shan, one of Taiwan’s earliest lacquer artists, and his son Lai Tsou-ming, who devoted his life to reviving this art form.

In 2001, lacquer art once again became linked to local indigenous culture, when Doriq Nisak (Chinese name: Zeng Yi-lang) became Taiwan’s first indigenous lacquer artist. Nisaq is from the Truku Tribe, and spent much of the first 30 years of his life in the place of his birth, Hongye Village in Wanrong Township, Hualien County.

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L acquer ar t ist Doriq Nisak

Lacquerwar About 30 years ago, he moved to Taichung City in search of a better-paying job. Although his primary career has been in education, teaching the Truku language at the elementary-school level, Nisak has long been interested in art. One of Nisak's colleagues was impressed with his talent upon seeing his work and, acquainted with Lai Kao-shan, brought the two together.

Nisak is now retired from full-time teaching, but is sometimes asked to provide guidance to current teachers of the Truku

language. He develops his own materials, such as Truku children's songs, for which he creates illustrations using colored pencils.

He also likes oil painting, noting that, "With oil painting you have an immediate sense of achievement, as an image quickly forms on the canvas. With lacquer art you have to add layers of resin, and each has to dry completely before the next can be added, which can take two or three days for each layer. Lacquer art thus trains your patience."

He adds that one of his lacquer works took him three years to complete.

LACQUERWARE knowledge that a work of lacquer art can last thousands of years.

He originally made lacquered pottery, an art form Lai focused on. But his desire is to create works guaranteed to last, and if pottery falls to the ground, lacquered or not, it will break. Nisak thus made the decision to switch to wood. One of his first works on wood is also his favorite.

Entitled Grandmother with Facial Tattoos , it features the wrinkled face of an elderly indigenous woman who is dressed in traditional attire and is smoking a pipe.

Around her mouth and across her cheeks are black pattern tattoos.

Facial tattooing was long practiced

by Taiwan’s Atayal, Sediq, and Truku tribes as a symbol of entry into adulthood.

They had to be earned. A man had to prove himself a competent warrior, able to defend his family and village, and a woman had to prove herself a competent weaver, able to clothe and care for her family. The Japanese banned the practice of facial tattooing during their period of rule of Taiwan, and currently only a handful of very elderly people, all women, have them.

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Text: Cheryl Robbins

Photos: Maggie Song

An Ancient Chinese Art Form Inspires the Preservation of Taiwan's Indigenous Culture

Lacquering

is a complicated process. At least two to three layers of the resin, which comes from the lacquer tree, are needed for each art piece, and some require many more layers. Following the application of the layers, polishing and grinding is required, and lines and patterns are created using small engraving knives. Materials such as eggshells, seashells, seeds, and fine sand can also be applied. Nisak makes his own adhesive for this, consisting of flour, sticky rice, and sweet-potato starch.

In the past, the process was further complicated for Nisak by the presence of an active ingredient in the lacquer resin that can cause allergic reactions such as itching and skin inflammation. He says this caused him physical suffering in the beginning, but over the years he has built up an immunity.

When asked what makes him so determined to continue creating new pieces given all these obstacles, he says that his motivation comes from the

Traditionally, indigenous women used a simple horizontal backstrap loom to create woven textiles. They would sit on the ground with legs stretched out and feet up against a hollow wooden box. To this box was attached the weaving frame. A strap fit behind the back was used to adjust the tension during the weaving process.

Nisak has created a lacquer artwork from a wooden box that was once part of a traditional loom. On each side are different themes, such as "the passing on of heritage," which depicts an indigenous warrior and an eagle, and "recalling the past," which includes fragments of handwoven textiles.

Much of his artistic inspiration comes from his experiences while growing up in his village. He remembers his father taking him to check the traditional traps set for catching mice, and the songs sung and stories told to him by the elders. One

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INDIGENOUS ARTISTS of his favorite subjects is the human face.

His grandparents had facial tattoos – they caught his attention as a child, and inspired him to observe faces closely.

When

I recently visited him in his studio, he was polishing an artwork called Encouraging a Child . This will be entered into the 2014 Pulima Art Award competition, which was established by local Taiwan organizations to support indigenous artists. The work features a grandmother with facial tattoos with her hand on the shoulder of her grandson.

Nisak says that this work recalls the many stories and words of wisdom told to him by his grandmother.

There are also other cultural themes in this work. For example, a bird can be seen flying skyward. This type of flight

pattern was considered auspicious when indigenous men were preparing to set out on a hunt. The large eye at the top of the work represents the protection of the ancestral spirits. This particular piece required 12 layers of resin to complete.

he considers himself "a lifelong volunteer in the promotion of lacquer art." He adds that, "I have a cultural mission. My art is a way of preserving my culture." This is how an ancient Chinese art form has come to inspire the preservation of Taiwan's indigenous culture.

Nisak shows his works in various exhibitions around Taiwan. They can also be seen by appointment at his studio. Since he works in his studio almost every day, this is generally an easy matter. In terms of sales, Nisak says that his works are mostly large in size, and he has not yet created a collection extensive enough to market.

Thus, one of his future directions will be to create smaller works and functional products that will be easier to sell.

However, he makes it clear that he did not become a lacquer artist with the sole intention of making money. Rather,

English and Chinese Atayal Tribe 泰雅族 Hongye Village 紅葉村 Lai Kao-shan 賴高山 Lai Tsou-ming 賴作明 Sediq Tribe 賽德克族 Truku Tribe 太魯閣族 Wanrong Township 萬榮鄉 Zeng Yi-lang 曾一郎

Studio of Dorik Nisaq ( 得了漆工作室 ) Add: 66, Alley 116, Lane 477, Sec. 2, Zhongshan Rd., Taiping District, Taichung City ( 台中市太平區中山路 2 段 477 巷 116 弄 66 號 ) Tel: (04) 2392-0039

Doriq Nisak and his ar t work

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OLD STYLE/NEW IDEAS

The Tatami of Dongshi Visiting a Straw Mat Maker in Central Taiwan

Text: Dallas Waldie

Photos: Maggie Song

Tatami make r Huang Zhi - quan and his wi fe

During the first half of the last century, Japanese-style tatami mats and mattresses were common furnishings in Taiwanese households. Today, tatami making is a niche industry, with entrepreneurs having to find new – and often ingenious – ways to attract customers.

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OLD STYLE/NEW IDEAS The workbench is kept low in order to take stress off the worker’s back, neck, and shoulders – ensuring a lengthier career. After a good deal of practice, says Huang, your legs won’t feel the strain any longer, and he is proud to say that his body doesn’t ache at all after decades of the repetitive work.

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Tatami

are traditional Japanese floor mats, with a core originally composed of rice straw. They are also commonly used as mattresses. The solid surface is said to be good for bad backs, and the mattresses keep you cool in the summer and warm during the winter.

Tatami are extremely durable as well, and can be used for over a decade before showing wear-and-tear.

Tatami were introduced to Taiwan by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation period (1895~1945). Toward the end of this period, a revolutionary discovery regarding tatami was made: the use of lemongrass. When the Japanese were waging war in northeast India and Burma during World War II, they happened to discover the miraculous qualities of this grass. Soldiers claimed that after sleeping on lemongrass beds they would awake with a rejuvenated spirit, as if pressure and evil spirits had been removed overnight (less superstitious folk might attribute these effects to what was, in fact, unintended “lemongrass aromatherapy”).

Along with the natural stress-relief effects, lemongrass has anti-fungal properties which are beneficial for the skin, and the grass is also a natural bug repellant.

The Japanese soon made it the material of

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choice when making high-quality tatami and, thankfully, brought lemongrass seeds to Taiwan from South Asia.

To learn more about tatami making in Taiwan, Travel in Taiwan recently ventured down to the small town of Dongshi in central Taiwan to speak with Mr. Huang Zhi-quan, a seasoned tatami craftsman who is one of just a few remaining manufacturers left in the country. He operates a small shop, the Donglin Tatami Factory, easily identified by the numerous tatami slates scattered around outside.

The doors are left wide open for friends, customers, and curious pedestrians, and to let cooling breezes pass through. Upon entering the shop I see a stockpile of mats Huang has completed, and a knee-high workbench.

Another thing that strikes me is that almost every piece of furniture in the shop has been fitted with a custom lemongrass-tatami cushion.

Huang has been crafting tatami since the tender age of 8. Studying under his father’s guidance, he completed his first solo project at the age of 16. He claims that you have to start that early – otherwise your body will be unable to adapt to all the kneeling that is necessary.

Huang is a member of the Hakka minority, known for its emphasis on education. He is highly educated, having obtained a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s in law. After completing his studies and returning home with his abundance of academic credentials, however, he ultimately decided to take over the family business, which his grandfather started.

He’s extremely affirmative about the positive effects of lemongrass tatami, and is passionate about his work. Strongly inspired by Buddhism, he also believes that even when doing business, money should be secondary – helping others, he says, is his primary goal.

Despite

the tatami’s professed physical/mental benefits and practical functionality, its popularity has waned over the past few decades. Fewer and fewer young people are opting to pursue this trade as a career, and as a result the skills required to make quality handmade versions of this product are being lost. Even though tatami can now be made with machines, since the 1950s the total number of Taiwanese producers of hand- and machines-crafted tatami has been reduced from a few hundred to less than twenty.

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1. Color ful pat terns on tatami mats 2. Mr. Huang's creations

TATAMI The advance of science and the imported substitutes that now fill up local furniture stores have also had a detrimental impact on the industry.

Tatami craftsmen now have to compete with manufacturers such as TempurPedic, which produces remote-controlled mattresses with built-in heating systems!

I doubt that Japanese royalty still opts for mattresses made of grass.

Luckily, Huang has a creative mindset, and has adapted to meet the needs of the modern market. The tatami is no longer limited to floor mats or mattresses at his store – it has been expanded into a full-blown lifestyle concept. From the time you wake up to the time you hit the sack, “tatami” can be with you in the form of pillows, seat cushions, slippers, hats, and yoga mats.

Even a windbreaker is in the works.

Huang

has also started using technology to his advantage by adding artistic designs to his mattresses – something no one else in Taiwan does.

He thinks of the concepts himself, hires a designer to make the prints, and has the finished product manufactured at a factory in southern Taiwan. Something like this would be a nightmare if crafted manually, even for an experienced old hand like Huang.

Custom designing of patterns would be too expensive. Instead, Huang has segmented his market, coming up with a range of designs that satisfy different needs. For example, there are cartoon prints meant for kids, and traditional bamboo prints more suited for mature clients. For married couples, separate floral designs on two mattresses become a unified whole when the mattresses are placed side by side. These beautiful pieces of art can even be used as a substitute for your floor panels, bringing an authentic oriental aura to any room in the house.

Incorporating artistic designs into his tatami has been among Huang’s most successful efforts at diversification and innovation, turning the heads of many and even gaining him exposure in major newspaper articles. Although most customers are attracted to tatami for their functionality and health benefits, enhancing their visual appeal has helped regenerate interest, blending modern styling with traditional craftsmanship. The master states that he is open to all new concepts, as long as they do not degrade the craft. For example, incorporating prints of movie stars and presidential candidates seems like a viable idea, but could also cause controversy. Mr. Huang isn’t that eager to make a quick buck.

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Although product design is being moved along on the path of innovation, manufacturers still prefer to preserve the traditional methods of doing business.

Huang has no website available to show his ten-plus varieties of tatami, and rarely takes the initiative to advertise – word of mouth is still the fuel for growth. He nevertheless has big aspirations for the expansion of the tatami market, hoping that public institutions such as hospitals or schools, for example, which are crammed with stressed-filled souls (and sometimes uncomfortable furniture), will pick up on the benefits of tatami.

If interested in purchasing your own tatami masterpiece, your best bet is to head to Huang’s workshop. Most people aren’t sure what type of tatami would best suit them, especially first-time buyers, so it’s worth your while to have a quick chat with him. After a brief interview, Huang should be able to sort out your needs and intended method of usage.

English and Chinese Dongshi 東勢 Huang Zhi-quan 黃誌權 Donglin Tatami Factory ( 東彬疊工廠 ) Add: 68, Ben St., Yanping Borough, Dongshi Township, Taichung County ( 台中縣東勢鎮延平里本街 68 號 ) Tel: (04) 2587-4793 3. Tatami produc ts and tools 4. Ar tistic tatami pat terns 5. Color ful bands

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FOOD JOURNEY

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Through the Grapevine Grape Farming in Central Taiwan’s Changhua County

Text: Dallas Waldie

Photos: Maggie Song

Taiwan is not known as a great grape-wine country, but grapes are indeed cultivated on this island.

Travel in Taiwan visited an orchard in central Taiwan to find out more about local grape cultivation.

Central Taiwan

is the ideal location to grow grapes on this island, due to its moderate climate.

In the south it is too hot, and the north’s abundant rainfall is detrimental to optimal growth as well. The central region’s climate offers that happy medium grape farmers desire. Furthermore, the fertility of the soil in central Taiwan is boosted by the nutrients absorbed from several rivers that flow from the soaring central mountains, including the Zhuoshui River, the island’s longest river and a key water lifeline. The warm weather year-round also allows farmers to cultivate two crops a year.

To learn more about Taiwan’s grape cultivation, we head to Changhua County, which is just south of the central metropolis of Taichung. We go to the grape fields of Dacun Township, south of Changhua City. To get there, we take an express train from Taipei to Changhua and then a local train to Dacun. Upon arrival at Dacun’s railway station, I spot a 10-foot-high statue of grapes across the road – we’ve clearly come to the right place.

We are greeted by local farmer Mr. Wu Shu-chun, who runs a grape orchard on his Jiaxiang Farm in this rural part of the county and has agreed to show us around.

From the station it’s a short ride to his

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farm, and on our way I notice the stark difference from the bustle of life in Taipei that I’ve become accustomed to. However, as I hail from the countryside myself, the fresh air, fertile terrain, and unobstructed landscape that vanishes into the horizon are all refreshing to my senses.

After arriving

at the farm, we sit down for a chat with Mr. Wu, who serves us a sample of the orchard’s produce. The grapes are succulent as can be, and virtually explode as my teeth dig in. The farm itself is quaint and traditional. I don’t see any pieces of heavy equipment or high-tech gizmos.

The grapevines are entwined around iron frames which, despite looking rather primitive, are said to be able to withstand typhoon-force winds. Mr. Wu informs us that the total area of the orchard is approximately 6,000 square meters (about 1.5 acres). The 36,000 bushels of grapes produced on Jiaxiang Farm each year are

all cultivated and harvested by hand by the farmer and four laborers.

Inside a weathered aluminum warehouse, three women are sorting the freshest possible batch of grapes at a casual pace, preparing them for shipment. I’m surprised to learn that Mr. Wu, along with a few other farmers in the area, uses an approach different from the usual for distribution – his farm delivers grapes directly to the doors of its customers. This not only eliminates the middleman and increases profit, it also allows for direct communication between the farmer and his customers.

Maintaining a healthy relationship with customers is crucial, since new clients are often derived through recommendations by satisfied existing customers. “Quality over quantity” is 1. Grape farmer Wu Shu- chun 2. Fresh Jiaxiang Farm grap es

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FOOD JOURNEY the motto that is insisted upon when it comes to grape cultivation in Dacun.

In the early

stage of each harvest, a huge chunk of grapes is cut from each vine in order to optimize nutritional intake for the remaining, more promising, fruit. The less-satisfactory grapes are used as fertilizer. The grapes left dangling are covered with eco-friendly bags, which reduce the amount of viruses, pesticides, and bugs that come in contact with the fruit.

With high pressure from clients and intense competition from other farmers, quality is of the utmost importance.

Eco-friendliness is also a priority in the fields of Dacun. To reduce the use of pesticides, Mr. Wu calls on a trusty gang of bug-eating ducks to patrol his fields.

Homemade bug traps are also used.

Pheromones attract pests into a vessel from which they cannot escape.

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pleasant, and not overly sweet – just enough to put a smile on your face.

However,

The steady rainfall of central Taiwan also reduces the need to irrigate the fields, and the fertilizer used is 100% organic. Only in the relatively drier winter season might there be a need for man-made showers.

Most of the farming is done outdoors, but a small fraction of grapes are cultivated in greenhouses. This is to ensure there will be stock when holidays like Mother’s Day and Chinese New Year roll around.

the township’s location is also the source of a serious drawback. Even though precipitation is comparatively lower in the central plains, Taiwan’s inevitable generous rainfall results in rapid growth that aesthetically hinders the grapes. In other words, if you’re looking to decorate your mantle with grapes like an ancient Greek, you might want to consider picking up imported varieties.

After five months of meticulous care, the grapes are ripe and ready to harvest – every June and December. We’ve arrived just in time for the June picking, but still too late, it initially seems, to grab a box to take home – we’re told everything is already been spoken for! Luckily, Mr. Wu soon lets us know he has a secret stash, ensuring us that we won’t go home empty-handed.

You’ll find most Taiwanese don’t eat the skin of grapes. I have also acquired this habit. To peel the fruit properly, place the grape in your mouth with the hole from the stem facing the back of your mouth. After a light pinch to the backside with your teeth, the flesh will slide right out of the skin like it was meant to be. Once the skin is separated, remove it with your fingers like a candy wrapper. It may seem like a hassle, but afterwards it’s much easier to isolate the seeds.

The earth of farms in Dacun Township is made up of sediment from the Zhuoshui River. It is rich in nutrients, notably calcium, which helps to create a grape that provides a lush, juicy sensation on your palate. The flavor of these grapes is

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ones include wines, jams, and juices, but on this trip I am also introduced to grape vinegar. Grape vinegar can be used as a low-fat salad dressing, in cooking, or even consumed on its own. I’m told not to take too much on my first sip, and to my surprise find that, for a vinegar, the taste is not at all unappealing.

When I began writing this article, I had a full bowl of Taiwan-grown grapes beside me. It has since been reduced to stems, skins, and seeds. As during my farm visit, they have had a “potato chips effect” on me – the same effect they will no doubt have on you when you try them.

English and Chinese Dacun Township 大村鄉 Wu Shu-chun 吳樹春 Zhuoshui River 濁水溪

Jiaxiang Farm ( 佳香農場 ) Add: 20, Lane 131, Sec. 2, Jiadong Rd., Jiadong Village, Dacun Township, Changhua County ( 彰化縣大村鄉茄苳村茄苳路二段 131 巷 20 號 ) Tel: (04) 852-7533, 0926-584-829

There is also a wide assortment of processed products available to keep grape- 1. Grap e orchard 2. Grap es are protec ted with eco -friendly bags lovers happy all year round. The obvious 3. E xamining har vested grap es

TAINAN

The Old Capital

Exploring Tainan on the 88 Anping Tourist Shuttle Route Tainan is one of the most interesting and history-rich cities in Taiwan. Exploring it is easy with the help of the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle bus service and some healthy, pleasant walking.

Text: Joe Henley

Tainan Railway Station

Photos: Rich Matheson

Koxinga Shrine (Kaishan Rd.)

Confucius Temple

Chikan Tower

Linmoniang Park

Anping Historic Harborside Park

Indigenous Culture Museum

Anping Fort

Taiwan Tourist Shuttle bus

Tait & Co./ Anping Tree House

Anping For t

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BACKPACK BUS TRIP 1

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If you had

to describe getting around Taiwan in a single word, “convenient” would probably be the one.

Playing a big part in making things convenient for travelers is the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle bus service (www.taiwantrip. com.tw ), set up in areas around Taiwan to help tourists reach major points of interest quickly, easily, and cheaply. One of the shuttle-bus routes of this service, the 88 Anping Route, runs through the laid-back, sunny southern city of Tainan, long Taiwan's imperial capital, a place where history is preserved down narrow, winding alleys and the island's international past comes to light.

steaming bowls of broth and meat chunks are served with a side dish of chopped ginger and thick soy sauce, at NT$100 a bowl.

The dish is not heavy – it's a good, light meal that provides ample fuel for a walk through the Chikan Tower heritage site.

After arriving in Tainan by train, I hopped on the tourist shuttle right outside the railway station. My first stop was the ruins of Fort Provintia. For nearly 40 years, from 1624 to 1662, Holland had a colonial presence in Taiwan, with Tainan its seat of power. The Dutch built the fort in 1652 to serve as both a center of trade and as a means of defense against uprisings. Today, atop the ruins of the fort is the Chinese imperial-style Chikan Tower, for which the site is now formally named.

Though the structures on this site have been destroyed, rebuilt, and refurbished numerous times over the centuries, sections of Fort Provintia’s original red-brick walls remain. The mortar used, a mix of sand, sugar, glutinous rice, and crushed oyster shells, has proven to have great durability. Strolling through the grounds, I saw imperial-era stone steles on which poetic verses were written in tribute to brave generals of centuries past, held up by sculptures of mythical bixi , half-dragon, half-tortoise creatures.

Beneath a double-eaved roof, Wenchang Pavilion, one of the two main buildings of Chikan Tower (the other being Haishen Temple), which stands atop the Fort Provintia ruins, serves as a site of worship for Lord Kuixing, a god believed to bestow good fortune in the academic and professional fields. To the right of the site entrance is a statue depicting Koxinga, the man instrumental in freeing Taiwan from Dutch colonial rule. I would learn more about this renowned historic figure later on.

I have a confession to make – my first stop was not in fact the fort. I stopped for lunch first. Not far from the bus stop, on Sec. 2 of Minzu Road, is the venerable Shi Zhing Zhuo, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant specializing in beef soup. The secret of the soup is in the beef used, which is never frozen; it is boiled on the same day the cow is slaughtered. Hot,

Across from the entrance of the Chikan Tower site is a series of alleys housing a cluster of famous (read: old) eateries, each with its own specialty. If you're visiting during the hot summer months, stop by the verbosely named Two Silver Cents Traditional Winter Melon Tea Shop which, as the name indicates, doles out refreshing cups of tea flavored with sweet

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TAINAN

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1. Chik an Tower 2. Grand Matsu Temple 3. Confucius Temple 4. Beef soup 5. Altar at Koxinga Shrine 6. Koxinga Shrine 7. Confucius Temple 8. Anping Tree House 9. Anping Historic Harb orside Park

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winter melon. A short walk away is Sen Maw Rice Food, which serves small but filling bowls of rice (ground rice in liquid, steamed at high temperature) with ground pork, salted egg yolk, and mushrooms.

Also in the neighborhood are a couple of historic temples; honestly speaking, you are never far from one no matter where you might be in Tainan. Grand Matsu Temple is where the faithful come to worship the goddess of the sea, and is said to have been the first official Matsu temple, of which there are hundreds, on the island of Taiwan. Nearby is Sacrificial Rites Martial Temple, dedicated to another widely worshiped deity, Guan Gong, the god of justice, courage, and loyalty. The temple, built in the classical southern Fujian style, features ornate “swallowtail� roofs decorated with carvings of the mythical qilin , a creature with the head of a dragon and the body of a winged horse.

Four bus stops

away on the shuttle line from Chikan Tower is the sprawling Tainan Confucius Temple, erected in 1665 to honor the man revered as the father of classical Chinese thought. I walked through the Hall of Edification, the Hall of Ethics, a place where intellectuals once met to hear lectures, then the Hall of Great Achievement, in which a memorial tablet to Confucius himself is housed. All the hoary buildings (though they have each been restored in some capacity over the centuries) are windows into the solemn world of Confucian thought and history, with perhaps no display as representative of this culture

as the painstakingly crafted calligraphy in the Hall of Edification, the mere sight of which is enough to instill a feeling of peace and thoughts larger than oneself.

Next, it was time to check out a place of reverence of a different kind, the Koxinga Shrine, about 10 minutes by foot from Tainan Confucius Temple, dedicated to the military leader who expelled the Dutch from Taiwan, also known as Zheng Cheng-gong. The shrine contains a memorial to Koxinga and a hall with displays on Tainan history. Though the grounds have a history going back hundreds of years, the structures today date back only to the early 1960s, when they were restored in the architectural style of northern China. Every year on April 29, memorial services are held here to commemorate the life of the man regarded as Taiwan's imperial-era liberator.

Following the shrine, I took the shuttle bus to the western part of central Tainan City and got off at Anping Historic Harborside Park. The rest of the stops on the route are all within walking distance of this point. First I went to the Tainan City Culture Exhibition Center of Indigenous Peoples, a place where visitors can watch traditional song-and-dance performances by people representing the various tribes that make up Taiwan's indigenous population. At the park itself you can enjoy the sight of colorful kites sent up by vendors f lying high in the sky. Walk around the harbor to the side opposite the exhibition center and you'll find Anping Old Street, a collection of cramped alleys featuring shops and food stalls where friendly

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BACKPACK BUS TRIP

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hawkers regularly call out with a ready smile, offering free samples in hope of earning a sale.

Anping Old Street leads to Anping Fort, site of the ruins of Fort Zeelandia, the main fortification built by the Dutch during their Taiwan adventure. Built overlooking the harbor of the time, long since silted up, it offered protection against the local indigenous and Han Chinese population and protected the Dutch harbor trade.

The Dutch weren't the only Westerners to set up for business in Tainan in days of old, however. The British also set up shop for a time in the 19th century, just down the road from the old fort’s location.

The Old Tait & Co. Merchant House, opened by an English trade company, has now been converted into a museum with exhibits on the progress of the area from prior to the Dutch occupation to the time of increased Han migration from China in the 18th century, with a small wax museum on the second floor. Beside this facility is an old company warehouse that, over the

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years, has been completely overtaken by the creeping roots and branches of massive banyan trees, which is why the building now sports the lyrical name Anping Tree House – an excellent spot to learn about the local ecology while you grab some shade.

This might be a lot to take in in a single day, but all in all, even a busy day in Tainan leaves you feeling relaxed, a testament to the friendly and charming nature of what is oft called the cradle of Taiwan’s history and culture.

Shi Jing Jiu Beef Soup ( 石精臼牛肉湯 ) Add: 246, Sec. 2, Minzu Rd., Tainan City ( 台南市民族路二段 246 號 ) Tel: (06) 223-2266 Two Silver Cents Traditional Winter Melon Tea Shop ( 兩角銀古早味冬瓜茶 ) Add: 51, Lane 227, Sec. 2, Yongfu Rd., Tainan City ( 台南市永福路二段 227 巷 51 號 ) Tel: (06) 221-6818 Website: www.come-incool.com.tw (Chinese) Sen Maw Rice Food ( 森茂碗粿 ) Add: 228, Sec. 2, Minzu Rd., Tainan City ( 台南市民族路二段 228 號 ) Tel: (06) 222-5575

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1. Anping For t 2. Shrimp rolls in an Anping restaurant

English and Chinese 88 Anping Route 88 安平線 Anping Fort 安平古堡 Anping Historic Harborside Park 安平港濱歷史公園 Anping Old Street 安平老街 Anping Tree House 安平樹屋 bixi 贔屭 Chikan Tower 赤崁樓 Grand Matsu Temple 大天后宮 Guan Gong 關公 Haishen Temple 海神廟 Koxinga Shrine 延平郡王祠 Lord Kuixing 魁星爺 Minzu Road 民族路 Old Tait & Co. Merchant House 德記洋行 qilin 麒麟 Sacrificial Rites Martial Temple 祀典武廟 Tainan Confucius Temple 台南孔廟 Wenchang Pavilion 文昌閣

d l O ple m i S

NOSTALGIA

s e m a G oys J e pl

, Sim s e Gam

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1. Box with sweet treats inside and luck y stamps on the outside 2. A winning stamp and dried fish as reward 3. Green b ean cake b ox with luck y stamps 4. Cardb oard disk s with color ful images

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Text: Editorial Department Photos: Maggie Song

When the

older parents or grandparents of today’s Taiwan kids were kids themselves, they had no smartphone or tablet games, they had no videogames, and they had no Gameboys. In those days, kids would often walk to the mom-and-pop store in their neighborhood to enjoy far simpler forms of entertainment.

A few cents, for example, brought them a “lucky stamp,” which would reward them with treats like candy – if they were lucky.

At nostalgia shops in tourist towns close to Taipei City, such as Tamsui or Pingxi, you can get a taste of this type of simple fun. Boxes containing sweetened dried fish or mungbean treats come with these “lucky stamps” attached on the outside. You play a game of luck with your friends to see who gets to eat the treats, and how much, peeling off stamps in turn and then checking the writing inside to see if you’ve been lucky or not.

Another game the kids of Taiwan played in the past was similar to the game Pogs commercialized in the United States in the ’90s. It's played with flat round cardboard disks decorated with colorful images on one or both sides. During a game, the disks are stacked, and players hit the stack with a special, heavier disk, the “slammer,” trying to either turn a desired disk or separate it from the other disks. If the game is played “for keeps,” the winner takes home the disks he has successfully moved.

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ACTIVE FUN

B - G i r l s

G

&

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B - B o y s

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! y d a e R Street g, One n i c n a D an’s of Taiw Hottest Trends

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Dance inst ruc tor Cynt hia Jang

STREET DANCE

Young Taiwanese are serious about their dancing. You can see teens practicing their moves in many public locations, such as underground malls and MRT stations. Travel in Taiwan visited a professional dance instructor to find out more about one of the hottest trends in Taiwan’s dance scene.

Text: Nick Kembel

Two dozen

Taiwanese teenagers watch me through a large window as I step two paces right, raise the roof, two paces left, raise the roof. My embarrassed laughter as I botch these most basic steps highlights my complete lack of ability. I’ve interrupted their summer camp to receive a crash course in street dance from professional instructor Cynthia Jang.

We’re using the only practice room at Lumi Dance School, in eastern Taipei, a city where space for dancing is a valuable and scarce commodity.

Where I come from, “going out dancing” is synonymous with getting drunk and sloppy on a club’s dance floor.

In Taiwan, when I tell locals I like dancing, they invariably reply “What kind?”

Dancing is a serious matter here. Cynthia puts it well when she explains, “When Taiwanese want to drink and chat, we go to a restaurant and drink and chat. But when we want to dance, we dance.”

Street dance originated in North America, but I don’t remember ever seeing anybody doing it while growing up. In Taiwan, it’s everywhere. On a daily basis I see groups of teens practicing their routines in metro stations and underground malls. If you don’t

Photos: Maggie Song

believe me, turn on the local news and within minutes you’ll see a feature on a local streetdance group or pop star surrounded by street dancers. Virtually every secondary and postsecondary institution has a dance club, and school-graduation ceremonies at all levels almost invariably now include street-dance performances.

Within minutes of the launch of my instructional session I’ve broken a sweat, and give up. Cynthia the professional nevertheless goes on, demonstrating popping – rapidly contracting her muscles to the music’s rhythm – and locking – a succession of frozen poses interspaced with faster movements. She also performs her favorite, girl’s hip-hop, which adds sexier, more feminine touches to a style that is traditionally rougher around the edges and gender neutral. She wears long-tongued Adidas, ripped jeans with a chain hanging from the waist, a belly shirt, and colorful makeup. Several of the male students watch her through the window, eyes glowing with admiration. “Kids have it so easy now,” she says.

“When I was in high school, we couldn’t just watch instructional videos

online. Street dancing was new in Taiwan, and resources were few and far between. We had to search for videos in rental shops, and some of them were so old they were in black-and-white.”

Street dance encompasses various genres with, by definition, origins on the streets rather than in studios. Breaking (aka breakdancing or b-boying), a type of street dance known for headspins and other acrobatics, originated among African and Latin American youths in New York in the 1970s. It is one of the creative outlets of hiphop culture, which also includes rapping, DJing, graffiti, and beatboxing. Breaking is performed by individuals or crews, who show off their moves in largely improvised bouts. Street dancing became increasingly popular in North America in the ’80s, and in the ’90s a more commercialized and choreographed version was developed to fulfill the demands of the music-video industry.

In Taiwan, 38 years of martial law starting in the late 1940s meant that youths lacked exposure to foreign subcultures. It wasn’t until 1987, when martial law was lifted and restrictions

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ACTIVE FUN on public assembly were relaxed, that street dance caught on. The L.A. Boyz, a dance-rap trio of Taiwanese descent from California, popularized street dance in Taiwan in the mid-’90s. The craze intensified as local stars incorporated it in their performances. However, dancers like Cynthia still struggled against negative perceptions of the dance form, and a culture that places enormous pressure on students for academic achievement.

“In high school, my parents didn’t understand why I spent all my time dancing. In grade 12 I stopped dancing to study for my college entrance examinations, and got accepted into the nutrition department at Taipei Medical University. But I only did this to satisfy them, so they would allow me to continue dancing.”

After Cynthia graduated from university, her dance crew, Maniac , devoted much time to practicing and participating in competitions. In 2009 they placed third on Let’s Dance , a popular TV dancetalent show. In the same year, as well as the following, Maniac scored first place at the NTU Dance Competition , Taiwan’s most prestigious street dance event (“NTU” stands for “National Taiwan University”).

Meanwhile, Cynthia was seeking to continue her education, studying for the entrance exam for a Chinese medicine program. “After failing twice, I decided to abandon this course in favor of my true love, dancing, and became a full-time instructor.”

Over time, the perception of street dance in Taiwan has shifted from negative to positive. Even the government knows how important street dance is for local youth. This year the Metro Street Dance Competition entered its tenth year, with NT$440,000 in cash prizes. The event is co-organized by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation. Similarly, the New Taipei City government has increased sponsorship for its own annual dance competition.

While the above two events have the most substantial sponsorship and receive

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greater media attention, it’s the NTU Dance Competition that remains Taiwan’s oldest and most important. Organized entirely by students, the event entered its 20 th year this May. This is the big one that all dance crews and clubs across Taiwan aspire to win. It’s free to attend, and the crowds get rowdy, characteristic of the true street-dance style.

Taiwan might have started out a few years behind America and other street-dance powerhouses, but that gap is quickly narrowing. At the Battle of the Year, the world’s largest b-boying competition, usually held in France or Germany, the Taiwanese crew Formosa took third place in 2008, and TPEC (Taipei Physical Education College) matched that success in 2011.

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When I ask Cynthia what is different about the way Taiwanese approach street dance, she says you can’t really compare the techniques of dancers from different backgrounds:

“Dancing style is affected by one’s personality and attitude. People from different cultures interpret and react to sounds differently with their bodies. For students in Taiwan, shyness and lack of confidence are the greatest obstacles. I have noticed that Americans don’t feel shy on the dance floor, chatting freely with their friends as they shake their bodies.

Taiwanese kids are trained to mimic their teachers, so it’s much harder for them to freestyle.”

Last year, Cynthia visited New York to take an African-dance class. She felt that by practicing improvised dancing to a simple drum beat she could learn how to teach her students to awaken their natural abilities to dance, instead of just memorizing choreographed steps.

“I used to be very quiet in big groups,” she admits. “Thanks to dancing, I am no longer shy.” I believe her, for throughout our conversation she has spoken with a strong voice, making expressive gestures

with her hands, exuding an air of confidence that is atypical of most Taiwanese.

“Through dancing, I have learned how to overcome difficulties and find myself. For some, dancing is just a way to exercise, but for me, it’s my mentor, it’s my EVERYTHING (she uses the English instead of Chinese word here to add emphasis).

Dancing is something natural that we possess, and by using it, we can realize our own power and beauty.”

English and Chinese Cynthia Jang 張愛媛 Metro Street Dance Competition 捷運盃捷客街舞大賽 NTU Dance Competition 台大盃全國熱門流行舞蹈大賽

Lumi Dance School Add: 3F-6, 250, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市忠孝東路 4 段 250 號 3 樓之 6) Tel: (02) 2771-2799 Website: www.lumi-dance-school.com 1. Cynthia Jang 2. At Lumi Dance School 3. High-school student dance p er formance