No. 49, 2012

The Official Bimonthly English Magazine of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau.Website: ht tp://taiwan. net .t w I S B N : 1 8 1 7 7 9 6 4

/

Diabolo Dance TheatreSanxia Soap FactorySpa EnjoymentLantern Festival

THE BEST BIKE ROUTESNortheast Coast Loop

FOOD JOURNEY PRETTY PERSIMMONS IN

HSINCHU

ShoppINgin Taipei’s FashionableEast District

1 2

NATURAL TREASURESFerns and Fish in Pinglin

Welcome to Taiwan!

Dear Traveler,

Welcome to Taiwan! In this issue of Travel in Taiwan we’ll show you two very different ways to enjoy your time here: shopping and indulging in the big and modern city on the one side, and exploring pristine nature and the great outdoors on the other. How’s that for a great contrast, and a demonstration of the great breadth of travel options we offer?

In our Feature article, we’ll take you to the best shopping venues in Taipei’s swank and ultra-modern East District, including the area surrounding the towering Taipei 101 skyscraper. This is a shopper’s paradise, home to numerous department stores, shopping malls, hundreds of boutiques and eateries, and even a large 24-hour bookstore. For a somewhat less polished yet equally fascinating shopping environment, leave the glitzy world of the East District’s new high-rises behind and head to the Wufenpu wholesale garment market, where you will f ind original clothing and accessories galore, at low prices yet with high quality.

Tired after a full-day shopping spree? Leave your shopping bags at the hotel and head to one of Taipei’s f irst-rate spa establishments. Enter a world of relaxation and unwind while being pampered by professional masseuses and therapists applying the latest in Oriental and Western treatments. Feeling rejuvenated and reenergized afterwards, you’ll be ready to head out once again, full steam ahead, on your Taiwan adventuring.

Enjoying the thrills of our big cities is just one part of the Taiwan experience, for this land has a great deal more in store for you! Taiwan is indeed a shopper’s paradise, but is equally a paradise for nature lovers. While birds and butterf lies, beautiful f lowers, and ancient trees most likely come to mind f irst when thinking of the island’s natural beauty, note that Taiwan is also a “kingdom of ferns,” with more than 700 species recorded. Perhaps the best location to get an idea of the sheer variety of ferns that exist on Taiwan is the Jingualiao Stream area in Pinglin, just an hour by bus from downtown Taipei.

Like eco-tours, bicycle tr ips have become very popular in recent years. Taiwan’s network of dedicated bikeways is being continually expanded, making bike outings ever more convenient and pleasurable. One of the best bike routes on the island is located on the northeast coast. Conveniently reached by railway from Taipei, bike rentals are readily available. Go on a leisure ride that takes you through an old railway tunnel, along the magnif icent coast, to a picturesque lighthouse, across a scenic suspension bridge, and to many other attractions.

Back in Taipei, don’t forget that there is a vibrant local culture waiting to be explored as well. Highly recommended is a performance by the Diabolo Dance Theatre at the EXPO Hall, with shows scheduled until the end of March.

I wish you a wonderfully rewarding time in Taiwan!

Janice Seh-Jen Lai

Director GeneralTourism Bureau, MOTC, R.O.C.

Travel in Taiwan 3

Taiwan Tourism4 It’s Time for Taiwan 2012-2013

naTuraL TrEasurEs42 Fern Kingdom

— Exploring Pinglin’s Pristine Jingualiao Stream Area

mY PHoTo Tour6 Smiles around Taiwan — The People of Taiwan Greet You

with a Smile

FEsTiVaL10 Lanterns in Lugang! — Grand Lantern Festival Being

Staged in Central Taiwan

台 灣 觀 光 雙 月 刊

Travel in Taiwan BimonthlyJanuary / February, 2012www.tit.com.tw/vision/index.htmCopyright © 2012 Tourism Bureau. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form without written permission is prohibited.

Publisher Janice Seh-Jen Lai editing Consultants

David W. J. Hsieh, Wayne Hsi-Lin LiuPublishing organization Tourism Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communicationsaddress 9F, 290 Zhongxiao E. Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei, 104, Taiwan Tel: 886-2-2717-3737 Fax: 886-2-2771-7036 E-mail: tbroc@tbroc.gov.tw Website: http://taiwan.net.tw

ProduCer Vision Int,l Publ. Co., Ltd.

address Rm. 5, 10F, 2 Fuxing N. Rd., Taipei, 104 Taiwan tel: 886-2-2711-5403 Fax: 886-2-2721-2790

e-mail: vision@tit.com.twgeneral Manager Wendy L. C. Yen dePuty general Manager Frank K. Yeneditor in Chief Johannes Twellmann english editors Rick Charette, Richard Saunders direCtor of Planning & editing dePt Joe LeeManaging editor Sunny Su editors Aysel Then, Ming-Jing Yin, Vivian Liu, Gemma ChengContributors Rick Charette, Steven Crook, Mark Caltonhill, Owain Mckimm, Ryan Campbell, Amanda Hsiao, Kurt WeidnerPhotograPhers Sunny Su, Maggie Song, Ivy Chen, Jen Guo-Chen art direCtor Sting Chen designers Ivy Chen, Maggie Song, Karen Pan, Chang, Hsin-YinadMinistrative dePt Hui-chun Tsai, Nai-jen Liu, Xiou Mieng Jiang advertising hotline + 886-2-2721-5412

4246

CONTENTS Jan ~ Feb 2012

16

28

34

FEATURE16 Taipei’s East District — Main Taipei’s East District – Where the Art of Shopping Is Serious Business — eat Dining in Taiwan – The Taiwan Character, in Culinary Form, on

Taipei’s East Side — stay The Lap of Luxury – Taipei East District Accommodation

24 Shopping — Finding Consumer Nirvana – Five of the Island’s Most Popular Shopping Areas

1 Publisher’s Note 8 News & Events around Taiwan 9 Festivals and Events

12 Concerts, Exhibitions, and Happenings

33 What's Going On?

on sTaGE/oFF sTaGE46 Diabolo Dance Theatre

— Amazing Dance and Acrobatics on the Big Stage

EnjoYmEnT50 Spas in Taipei

— Places for Pampering and Unwinding

THE BEsT BikE rouTEs28 Out of the Dark and Into the Light — Cycling through the Old Caoling

Railway Tunnel and around Taiwan’s Easternmost Tip

HoT ToPiC14 Buddha Memorial Center — A New Place of Pilgrimage in

Southern Taiwan

FooD journEY38 The Persimmons of Xinpu

— Delicious Fruits Enjoyed Fresh or as “Cakes”

WhERE yoU cAn pick Up A copy oF TraVEL in Taiwan AbRoAdOffices 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

onLinERead the online version of Travel in Taiwan at www.zinio.com . Log in and search for "Travel in Taiwan". Or visit www.tit.com.tw/vision/index.htm

in TAiWAnTourism 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

Taipei City's East District is a shopper's paradise with many modern department stores and fashionable boutiques. (Photo: Jen Guo-Chen)

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

Tourism FaCToriEs34 Floating Soap

— A Visit to Sanxia’s Cha-Shan-Fang Soap Tourism Factory

16

TOURISM

Travel in Taiwan 4

Travel in Taiwan 5

TIME FOR TAIWAN

Taiwan is a beautiful island, a land of diverse scenery with towering mountains

and dramatic coastlines. Apart from its wondrous natural assets, Taiwan is also characterized by a fascinating mix of traditional and modern culture and the coexistence of different ethnic groups. Its central location in East Asia and its mild climate are also advantages for visitors. The surprise, then, is why in the past Taiwan was not seen as a premier tourist destination by international travelers.

Over the last decade this perspective has begun to change, and in dramatic fashion. Thanks to successful promotional efforts by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, the island has moved from being a seasoned traveler ’s insider tip to a top travel destination in Asia, attracting more than 6 mill ion visitors in 2011, a steep rise from the 2.83 mill ion visitors in 2001. While this growth in inbound tourism has been remarkable, the ambitious plans of the Tourism Bureau don’t stop

here. Promotional initiatives to improve the overall travel environment are ongoing, with the government hoping to increase the number of visitors per year to 10 million by 2016.

This is good news for travelers who plan to visit, both f irst-timers as well as those who have visited before. First-timers will be surprised

by the diverse travel environment, with myriad options for recreation, relaxation, excitement, indulgence, and learning. Repeat visitors will realize with each new visit that there is always still more to discover and experience, and that traveling around each time becomes even more convenient and pleasurable.

During 2012~2013, the Tourism Bureau is covering all bases by presenting visitors the best possible and most touching Taiwan experiences. Tourists are invited to join specially designed tours that bring exposure to all facets of local life, including religious practices, traditional and modern culture, the lives of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, hot-spring bathing, hiking in the mountains and exploring the wide variety of ecological environments, “chasing” local celebrities, and going on two-wheel adventures following dedicated bikeways. Four international annual festivals are being specially promoted: the Taiwan Lantern Festival, Taiwan Hot Spring and Fine-Cuisine Carnival, Taiwan Culinary Exhibition, and Taiwan Cycling Festival.

A total of 100 routes are currently suggested, covering all areas of Taiwan, all promising to offer a “touching” experience. Visitors are also encouraged to visit “International Spotlight” areas that have been selected by the Tourism Bureau as

representative places featuring unique aspects of local culture that offer facilities and services meeting international standards.

Visiting any of Taiwan’s 13 national scenic areas, which are directly administered by the Tourism Bureau, is also highly recommended, since all area administrations offer suggestions for the best routes and organize attractive seasonal festivals and events.

With so much focus and effort being placed on developing Taiwan into a premier travel destination in the heart of Asia these days, it is now truly the time for Taiwan!

For more info about the latest tourism-related developments in Taiwan, visit the off icial website of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau at http://taiwan.net.tw.

2001

1

2

3

4

5

6

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Visitor Arrivals in Taiwan (in Mill.)

2012~2013

Spec tacular mountains

Beautiful flowers

Traditional culture Modern cities Fine cuisine

Scenic coast

Activities by National Scenic Areas in 2012

Throughout the year, the administrations of all 13 national scenic areas (NSA) in Taiwan will organize activities highlighting the attractions of their areas, thus allowing visitors to gain a better understanding and have fun at the same time. This year was kicked off with the following activities/events:

Dec. 31 – Guguan New Year ’s Eve Party (Tri-Mountain NSA)

Dec. 31 – Last Sunset of the Year over the Salt Fields (Southwest Coast NSA)

Dec. 31/Jan. 1 – Alishan Sunrise Impression Concert (Alishan NSA)

Dec. 31 ~ Jan. 15 – Sun Moon Lake New Year Evening Activities (Sun Moon Lake NSA)

Jan. 1 – Greeting the First Sunrise of the Year Concert (Northeast & Yilan Coast NSA)

Jan. 1 – Greeting the First Sunrise of the Year at Sanxiantai (East Coast NSA)

Great bike routes

Pho

tos/

Vis

ion

lnt'l

Splendid scenery

Alishan Alishan East Rift Valley Nantou

Shilin

Northeast Coast Penghu

Yeliu

Yilan Yunlin

Yilan

Pingxi

Taoyuan

Wulai

Taichung

Taipei

Taipei

Hualien

Taipei

Kinmen

Luzhou

Miaoli

MY PHOTO TOUR

Travel in Taiwan 6

Travel in Taiwan 7

Smiles around Taiwan

You Know You Are Welcome when Greeted

with a Smile

Asian hospitality is legendary, and Taiwan, “the Heart of Asia,” is certainly one of the best places to experience this friendliness

towards foreign visitors. Many a Western tourist returns home full of praise about the way he or she was welcomed in Taiwan, how helpful the locals were, and how so many people showed genuine interest in a visitor from a faraway land. Where language barriers exist and communication is l imited, a friendly smile of ten says more than a thousand words could. The warm feeling of being genuinely and enthusiastically welcomed is an experience you cherish for a l ifetime.

To make sure you don’t forget the friendly people you meet, get your camera ready and take snapshots of the new friends you make on your Taiwan journeys, as Travel in Taiwan has done over the years. Here are just a few examples of the friendly folks we’ve met in all parts of Taiwan.

SMILES

Pho

tos/

Vis

ion

Int'l

NEWS & EVENTS AROUND TAIWAN

Opened in 1987, the National Theater and National Concert Hall are iconic landmarks of

Taipei and are the finest venues for performing arts in Taiwan. Built in Chinese palace

style, they appear traditional outside; inside, however, they feature state-of-the-art

facilities accommodating the needs of the world-class artists who perform here – a

list that has included Pina Bausch, Jiri Kilian, Robert Wilson, Tadashi Suzuki, Ariane

Mnouchkine, Seiji Ozawa, Jose Carreras, and Yo-Yo Ma. Celebrating its 25th anniversary

in 2012, the NTCH is presenting a star-studded program throughout the year, with many

not-to-be missed shows. For more info, visit www.ntch.edu.tw.

25 Years of National Theater & National Concert Hall (NTCH)Culture

．�New Lakeshore Hotel opens in Hualien. This is the second Lakeshore

Hotel in Taiwan, the other being located in Hsinchu. For more info,

visit: www.lakeshore.com.tw

．�Good news for gourmets and lovers of Taiwanese cuisine. The

Government Information Office has recently opened a new website

featuring a comprehensive introduction to Taiwan’s cuisine. Find out

why Taiwan is a diner’s paradise at taiwan.foodculture.net.

．�Before visiting Taiwan, it is highly recommended to check out places

of interest with the help of Google Maps. According to Google,

Taiwan is currently the country with the highest concentration of

highlighted places of interest in its Street View service. Check it out

at maps.google.com.

．�A Taiwan Medical Travel application designed by the Taiwan External

Trade Development Council (TAITRA) that provides information

on dozens of medical and healthcare facilities is now available for

download. Travelers interested in making use of the first-rate medical

facilities in Taiwan can download the app from Apple’s App Store

to their iPhones or iPads (there are English and Chinese versions).

Support for other operating systems, including Android, will be

offered in early 2012.

What Is Going On?

An elderly lady playing

with fire? What is she

holding in her hands?

Can you guess what is

happening? A few hints:

It occurs each year in

January or February. Many

people gather to do it

together, creating a truly

beautiful sight.Find the

answer on page 33.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!

We, the producers of Travel in Taiwan, wish to improve our magazine

with each issue and give you the best possible help when planning –

or carrying out – your next trip to Taiwan. Tell us what you think by

filling out our short online questionnaire at www.tit.com.tw/survey/

travelintaiwan.html. Senders of the first ten completed questionnaires

each issue will receive three free issues of Travel in Taiwan. Thank you in

advance for your feedback.

A new commuter line will be put into service early this year in Taipei. The MRT Xinzhuang Line

(Orange Line) will connect central Taipei City with the districts of Xinzhuang and Sanchong in New

Taipei City. The new line will share, in part, the same route as the Luzhou Line, and will connect

and merge with the Zhonghe Line at Guting Station. From Nanshijiao, the terminal station of the

Zhonghe Line, travelers will be able to take the MRT directly all the way to either Xinzhuang or

Luzhou – instead of Beitou, the original terminus of trains departing from Nanshijiao.

New MRT Line in TaipeiMRT

Just before the end of 2011, a new milestone was reached for tourism in Taiwan. On December 28th, Ms Kim Hee Kyung, a housewife from Seoul,

South Korea, became the 6-millionth visitor of the year when she arrived at Terminal 1 of Taiwan Taoyuan Int’l Airport together with members

of her family. This is the first time ever the number of visitors has reached the 6-million mark. To celebrate the occasion, representatives of the

Tourism Bureau greeted Ms Kim and presented her with a bouquet of flowers and a variety of Taiwan specialty goods as gifts.

New Record for Visitor Arrivals in 2011 Tourism

UPCOMINGFestivals and Events from January to March

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

JAN 26 ~ FEB 6Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival平溪天燈節

Location: Shifen Sky Lantern Plaza, Pingxi District, New Taipei City (新北市平溪區十分天燈廣場 )Tel: (02) 2960-3456 ext. 6320

FEB 5 ~ 6Tainan Yanshui Beehive Rockets Festival 鹽水烽炮Location: Wu Temple Plaza, Yanshui District, Tainan City (台南市鹽水區武廟廣場 ); 87 Wumiao Rd., Yanshui District, Tainan City (台南市鹽水區武廟路 87號 )Tel: (06) 652-1038Web: www.wumiao.idv.tw

FEB 26Confucius Spring Ceremony 孔廟春季祭孔大典

Locations: Taipei Confucius Temple (275, Dalong St., Taipei City/臺北市大龍街 275號 )Tel: (02) 2592-3934 ext. 13Website: www.ct.taipei.gov.tw

MAR 7 ~ JUN 20Baosheng Cultural Festival 大龍峒保生文化祭

Location: Bao'an Temple (61, Hami St., Taipei City/臺北市哈密街 61號 )Tel: (02) 2595-1676Website: www.baoan.org.tw

FEB 17 ~ MAR 18Yangmingshan Flower Festival陽明山花季 Location: Yangming Park (陽明公園 ); 26, Sec. 2, Hushan Rd., Taipei City (台北市湖山路 2段 26號 )Tel: (02) 2861-6533, 2861-3388Website: www.ymsnp.gov.tw

FEB 2 ~ 12Taipei Lantern Festival臺北燈節 Location: Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館 ), Sec. 4 of Ren'ai Rd. (仁愛路 4段周邊 ), and Civic Plaza in front of Taipei City Hall (臺北市政府前市民廣場 )Tel: (02) 2720-8889 ext. 6237Website: www.taipei.gov.tw

MAR 23 ~ APR 29Zhuzihu Calla-Lily Festival竹子湖海芋季

Location: Zhuzihu, Yangmingshan (陽明山竹子湖 )Tel: (02) 2720-8889 ext. 6586Website: www.ymsnp.gov.tw

Until JAN 15Taiwan Hot Spring and Fine Cuisine Carnival台灣溫泉美食嘉年華

Location: Hot-spring areas around TaiwanTel: (04) 2331-2688 ext. 110Website: www.taiwanhotspring.net

News Ticker

Travel in Taiwan 8

Travel in Taiwan 9

FESTIVAL

Travel in Taiwan 10

LUGANG

Travel in Taiwan 11

Lugang is a small town located southwest of the city of Taichung in central Taiwan.

It is one of the oldest towns on the island, and a popular destination for tourists in search of history and nostalgia. Many historic sites, old temples, traditional handicraft shops, and eateries serving up hearty local cuisine are located in close proximity to each other, making discovery tours on foot very convenient.

Hosting such a big event as the Taiwan Lantern Festival is not just a huge honor for the members of the organizing committee, but also a great opportunity to present their city/county. To make sure that visitors to this year’s festival will have the chance to see more than just the festival venue, the Changhua County Government has set up two instead of just one festival grounds, one on the north and the other on the south of Lugang, linked by the town’s main thoroughfare, Zhongshan Road, which will be decorated with countless lanterns. Historic sites along the way will be specially highlighted so that visitors moving from one festival ground to the other won’t miss Lugang’s other key attractions.

Ever since the f irst government-organized large-scale Lantern Festival celebration was staged by the Taipei City Government back in 1990, the main theme lantern has been the

center of attention at what has come to be off icially called the Taiwan Lantern Festival (Taipei has continued with its own off icial city festival), and there will be no exception in 2012. It has become a tradition that the main theme lantern is built in the shape of the Chinese zodiac animal of the year, and as 2012 will bring in the lunar calendar’s Year of the Dragon, Lugang will showcase a giant structure in the shape of…you guessed it. The dragon, in the past the symbol of the emperor of China, today remains one of the most auspicious of symbols, associated with power, strength, and good luck. According to the

organizers, this year’s dragon-shaped theme lantern will stand 21 meters high and will appear as though f loating on moving clouds. An impressive sight in daytime, this giant will burst into even more brilliant life in the evening with the help of a

sophisticated lighting system inside its body and laser beams pointing at it on the outside. The organizers emphasize that the use of state-of-the-art LED lighting will not only increase the brightness threefold but also decrease the energy used to one-tenth of that used for the theme lanterns in previous festivals.

This year’s dragon-shaped theme lantern will stand 21 meters

high and will appear as though f loating on moving clouds

The main theme lantern will be ceremonially l ighted at 7 pm on

February 6, and every half hour thereaf ter a light and laser show will burst forth. The main lantern is, of course, just one of the thousands of large and small lanterns presented during the festival. In the Lantern Contest Area alone there will be more than 1,800 lanterns on display. In reference to Lugang’s history as a sea harbor, ships are the theme of the contest, and participants have been busy creating sail ing-vessel lanterns in all imaginable forms.

Other lantern-display areas include a Joyful Lantern Area, where a Taiwan New Paradise theme park is to be created with the help of lanterns; lantern-makers from mainland China will present their works in the Exchange Lantern Area; and children will be looking forward to examining the lanterns of the Innovative Lantern Area, which will be in the shape of aliens and robots. The rich cultural program, featuring entertaining stage performances and a food market – always an important part of big festival events in Taiwan – will introduce visitors to local performing arts and local culinary specialties.

Getting there: During the festival, a tourist shuttle-bus service will be available.

Buses will run every half hour between 9 am and 6 pm, making stops (in order)

at HSR Taichung Station, Changhua Railway Station, Cultural Center, Changhua

County Government, and Lugang Northern Area Visitor Center. Tickets f rom the

HSR station to the venue are priced NT$76 (concession tickets are NT$38).

Time: February 6 ~ 19, 2012

Venues: Lugang Sports Park (north festival ground) and Wenwu Temple (south

festival ground), Lugang Township, Changhua County (彰化縣鹿港鎮鹿港鎮立體育

場&文武廟)

Websites: www.taiwan.net.tw /2012TaiwanLantern/1/index.aspx (Taiwan Lantern

Festival); www.lukang.gov.tw (Lugang Township); www.chcg.gov.tw (Changhua

County)

Cultural Center 文化中心

Exchange Lantern Area 交流燈區

Joyful Lantern Area 歡樂燈區

Innovative Lantern Area 創意燈區

Lantern Contest Area 競賽燈區

Lugang 鹿港

Lugang Northern Area Visitor Center 鹿港北區遊客中心

Taiwan New Paradise 台灣新樂園

Taiwan Lantern Festival 台灣燈會

Yuanxiao Festival 元宵節

Zhongshan Road 中山路

ENGLISH & CHINESE

Lanterns in Lugang!Grand Lantern Festival Being Staged in Central Taiwan

Every year, the Lantern (or “Yuanxiao”) Festival marks the end of the Lunar New Year (Spring Festival) fes-tivities. The official Taiwan Lantern Festival is staged in a different location each time, organized by a se-lected county or city government. This year, the town of Lugang in Changhua County will be the host of this large-scale event. By Christine Harris

Pho

tos/

Vis

ion

lnt'l

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.

Staged since 2009, the Taiwan International Festival of Arts (TIFA) each year invites world-class performing troupes to Taiwan, and

encourages Taiwanese artists to launch new creations. Here are three highlights of this year’s festival:

Hofesh Shechter, from Israel, has

in recent years become one of the

brightest lights of the modern

dance scene in the UK, and Political

Mother is among his most exciting

productions. The dancers and

musicians on stage create an intense

visual and sensual experience in an

atmosphere much like that of a rock

concert.

Two years in the making, this

cooperative effort between puppet and

shadow theater troupes from Taipei,

Beijing, and Istanbul takes the audience

on a journey into the past, following

the Silk Road all the way from China to

Turkey. The fascinating show combines

shadow and puppet theatre, acrobatics,

music, and film.

In Delusion, versatile American artist Laurie Anderson

plays the violin amidst audiovisual installations. She tells

mysterious short stories about desire, identity, memories,

and the questions deep in everyone’s heart. Her creative

combining of music and multimedia in her performances

result in eye-opening experiences.

This exhibition, jointly

organized by the Kaohsiung

Museum of Fine Arts and

Korea’s Gyeongnam Art

Museum, presents a total

of 65 works by more than

30 Korean contemporary

artists. The works, including

paintings, installations,

sculptures, and multimedia creations, are a representative

selection of Korea’s modern art scene.

Shui-Long Yen (1903-1997) was one of Taiwan’s most

important painters and sculptors of the 20th century.

He studied art in France and Japan, and became famous

for his Western-style oil paintings, many of which depict

Taiwan’s landscapes and indigenous peoples.

Flowers and birds were the favorite subjects of Ming

Dynasty (1368–1644) court painter Lü Ji, who came

to prominence in the latter half of the 15th century.

He was highly admired by the Hongzhi Emperor

(1488-1505), and his works became models for study,

influencing the bird-and-flower painting of the late

Ming and Qing dynasties.

One of the most successful rock bands of the 1990s, the Cranberries disappeared from the music scene in 2003,

with their members pursuing solo careers. After reuniting in 2009, they toured the U.S. and Europe, and in 2011

the group recorded the album Roses, which is scheduled for release this February. After concerts in New Zealand

and Australia in March, the band will perform in Taipei this April.

Taiwan International Festival of Arts (台灣國際藝術節)Website: http://tif.ntch.edu.tw

Hofesh Shechter Company: Political Mother (侯非胥謝克特現代舞團：

政治媽媽)

National Theater

The Cranberries 2012 Taipei Concert 小紅莓合唱團 2012台北演唱會National Taiwan University Sports Center

Shadows of Love (Taipei Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company, Istanbul Cengiz Ozek Shadow Company, Beijing Shadow Theatre Troupe)人間影（台北台原偶戲團、伊斯坦堡皮影戲團及北京皮影劇團）

Experimental Theater

Laurie Anderson: Delusion 蘿瑞安德森：妄想

National Concert Hall

The Spectrum of Contemporary Korean Art 虹光‧掠影‧當代韓國

Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts

The Public Spirit．Beauty in the Making─Shui-Long Yen 走進公眾．美化台灣 ─ 顏水龍

Taipei Fine Arts Museum

Marvelous Attainments of Creation: The Paintings of Lü Ji 妙奪化機－呂紀繪畫展

National Palace Museum

Feb. 16 ~ April 1

Jan. 10 ~ Mar. 25

Nov. 26 ~ Mar. 4

Dec. 03, 2011 ~ Feb. 26, 2012

Jan. 10 ~ Mar. 25

Mar. 16 ~ 18 Feb. 16 ~ 19

Mar. 3

VenuesTaipei

Taipei Zhongshan Hall （台北中山堂）

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

Nearest MRT Station: Ximen

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

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

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

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

Add: 21 Zhongshan S. Rd., Taipei City( 台北市中山南路 21 號 )　　

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

National Concert Hall （國家音樂聽）

National Theater （國家戲劇院）

Add: 21-1 Zhongshan S. Rd., Taipei City( 台北市中山南路 21-1 號 )

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

National Museum of History （國立歷史博物館）

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

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

National Palace Museum （國立故宮博物院）

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

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

National Taiwan Museum （國立臺灣博物館）

Add: 2 Xiangyang Rd., Taipei City( 台北市襄陽路二號 )

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

Novel Hall （新舞臺）

Add: 3 Songshou Rd., Taipei City( 台北市松壽路 3 號 )

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

National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall （國立國父紀念館）

Add: 505 Ren-ai Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei City( 台北市仁愛路四段 5 0 5 號 )

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

Taipei Arena （台北小巨蛋）

Add: 2 Nanjing E. Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei City( 台北市南京東路 4 段 2 號 )

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

Taipei Fine Arts Museum （台北市立美術館）

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

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

Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei （台北當代藝術館）

Add: 39 Chang-an W. Rd., Taipei City( 台北市長安西路 39 號 )

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

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

Add: 189 Shishang Rd., Taipei City ( 台北市

士商路 189 號 )Tel: (02) 6610-1234www.ntsec.gov.twNearest MRT Station: Shilin

National Taiwan University Sports Center （台大綜合體育館）

Add: 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei City ( 臺北市羅斯福路四段一號 )Tel: (02) 3366-5959Website: ntusportscenter.ntu.edu.tw

TaichungTaichung Zhongshan Hall （台中中山堂）

Add: 98 Xueshi Rd., Taichung City( 台中市學士路 9 8 號 )

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

National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts （國立台灣美術館）

Add: 2 Wuquan W. Rd., Sec. 1, Taichung City( 台中市五權西路一段 2 號 )

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

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

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

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

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

Add: 67 Wufu 1st Rd., Kaohsiung City( 高雄市五福一路 67 號 )

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

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

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

Add: 272 Zhongzheng 4th Rd., Kaohsiung City( 高雄市中正四路 27 2 號 )

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

Travel in Taiwan 12

Travel in Taiwan 13

HOT TOPIC

Travel in Taiwan 14

FOGUANGSHAN

Travel in Taiwan 15

One of Taiwan's major Buddhist monastic orders, Foguangshan f lourished since its founding in

1967. It has branch temples throughout Taiwan and on f ive continents. It also runs Buddhist colleges and publishing houses as well as regular schools, and does a range of charity work.

Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Foguangshan's founder, was born in mainland China in 1927. A monk from the age of 12, he arrived in Taiwan in 1949, and has been spreading his version of Humanistic Buddhism ever since. Foguangshan now runs its own TV station, publishes a daily newspaper, and has an informative bilingual website (www.fgs.org.tw).

Foguangshan's base in Kaohsiung City's Dashu Distr ict is within sight of the Gaoping River and the Central Mountain Range. Over the years it has grown into a large complex of shrines, dormitor ies and museums, and currently more than 100 monks and around 200 nuns are in residence. Large numbers of lay followers stay for short retreats and courses.

Long an excellent place to learn about Buddhism as it's practiced in Taiwan, Foguangshan now gives tourists another reason to visit. The Buddha Memorial Center, which formally opened on December 25 last year, is a new architectural and religious landmark.

Occupying a valley less than 1km northwest of the Foguangshan monastery, this massive 34-hectare complex was built to house a tiny relic. A shrine at the very top of the ziggurat-like main building contains what is believed to be one of the Buddha’s teeth.

According to legend, four teeth were retrieved after the Buddha was cremated in 543 BCE. One was later “carried to Heaven.” Of the three remaining, one is now venerated at a temple in Sri Lanka, while another is in Beijing. In a ceremony in Thailand on April 8, 1998, the third remaining tooth was bestowed

on Master Hsing Yun by the Tibetan lama who had cared for it since fleeing from Tibet to India in 1959.

According to Buddhist belief, making an offering to a relic of the Buddha earns merit, so right after returning to Taiwan Hsing Yun began planning a permanent home for the tooth. He conceived the basic layout himself, basing it on the Buddha’s life and doctrines, and construction began in 2003.

While the shrine itself is a main draw for Buddhists, other visitors will f ind themselves

immediately impressed by the eight pagodas – four on each side of the plaza leading up to the main building – and the 105m-high bronze seated Buddha at the back of the complex.

Buddha Memorial Center is a new architectural and

religious landmark

The pagodas represent the Noble Eightfold Path, one of the Buddha’s most important teachings. The outer wall of the complex is decorated with reliefs showing scenes from the Buddha’s l ife, plus examples of Hsing Yun’s call igraphy.

The main building has a stupa on each corner. These symbolize Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths, which hold that suffering ceases when people give up their attachment to desires. While the pagodas are distinctly Chinese in style, the stupa has its origin in India. The pagoda/stupa combination signif ies the transmission of Buddhism from India to China beginning in the second century CE.

Twenty-six stone statues stand just before the main building, and all are labeled in English as well as Chinese. The eight facing the pagodas depict the founders of the Eight Schools of Chinese Buddhism. The 18 that l ine the approach (nine on each side) are Arhats, individuals thought to have attained an exceptional level of enlightenment.

There are exhibition rooms inside the building, as well as the 2,200-seat Patriarchs Hall. Gif ts received by Hsing Yun over the past half-century – among them mundane items such as wristwatches – have been placed in 48 time capsules beneath the building. The plan is to open one capsule each century, so future generations can see 20th-century objects.

Buddha Memorial Center 佛陀紀念館

Dashu District 大樹區

Eight Schools of Chinese Buddhism 八宗兼弘

Eighteen Arhats 十八羅漢

Foguangshan 佛光山

Gaoping River 高屏溪

Meinong 美濃

Noble Eightfold Path 八正道

Qishan 旗山

Venerable Master Hsing Yun 星雲大師

ENGLISH & CHINESE

The Buddha Memorial Center is open 9am to 5pm, seven days a week. To arrange a free English-language

tour of the center or the monastery, call (07) 656-1921, ext. 6205 a few days in advance.

Getting to Foguangshan and the Buddha Memorial Center isn't diff icult, even if you don't have a car. Frequent direct buses leave from Kaohsiung's high-speed railway station in Zuoying and also from Kaohsiung Main Railway Station. Some of these services continue on to the city ’s rural districts of Qishan and Meinong.

Those driving themselves can take either of the national north-south freeways, then head inland on National Highway No. 10, another freeway, as far as Lingkou Interchange. From there it's a 10-minute drive southward on Provincial Highway No. 21.

Buddha Memorial CenterA New Place of Pilgrimage in Southern Taiwan

Housing what is believed to be a tooth of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, the recently opened Buddha Memorial Center in Kaohsiung is a new destination for Buddhist pilgrims and a major draw for local and international tourists. By Steven Crook

Shr ine and Seated Buddha of Buddha Memorial Center

Pho

to/ F

ogua

ngsh

an

Pho

to/ B

obby

Wu

Shopping in Taipei’s East District is a lot of fun

“Shopping Central” in the city of Taipei is the East District. While the Ximending district on the far west side is youth-shopper mecca, the posh and sprawling East District caters to the dedicated shoppers of the white-collar legion who have plenty of disposable income and who consider a shopping outing a great treat rather than a burdensome chore. By Rick Charette

Taipei’s East DistrictWhere the Art of Shopping Is Serious Business

FEATURE

Travel in Taiwan 16

SHOPPING

Travel in Taiwan 17

Pho

to/ J

en G

uo-C

hen

Choosing a Taiwan-flavor souvenir

Pho

tos/

Jen

Guo

-Che

n, M

aggi

e So

ng

Listening to the latest tunes

eslite bookstore

FEATURE

Travel in Taiwan 18

SHOPPING

Travel in Taiwan 19

I came to Taiwan over 20 years ago, just shy of my 27th birthday, making me instantly

“over-qualif ied” for Ximending. I thus can offer you only limited expertise as a Ximending shopping guide. However, my expertise on Taipei east-side shopping, despite the fact I am a sports-loving male, is impressive and of great value to you.

This situation has arisen because of four of the most important ladies in my life – wife, mom-in-law, and wife’s two sisters – whom I call the “four musketeers” of local shopping and who are among Taiwan’s f inest citizens. To them, there is no time better spent than that spent on group shopping forays, and the best times of all are spent in the East District. I am of ten volunteered to come along, as driver and as muscle as the purchases add up, my payment a free meal in one of the area’s countless attractive eateries. Over the years my database of east-end shopping knowledge has been steadily and relentlessly built up, and I here volunteer to serve as your East District shopping guide over the next few pages.

It all started with the Pacific SOGO Department Store, just east of the Fuxing/Zhongxiao road intersection.

Fuxing North/South Road is, roughly, the western boundary of the East District. Opened in 1987, the gleaming-white building was Taiwan’s f irst international department store, a Taiwanese-Japanese joint venture introducing benchmark bright and sparkling-clean interiors, international brands,

and pleasant “customer-is-always-right” service. At that time pleasure-shopping excursions were mostly to the Taipei Railway Station area, but Pacif ic SOGO launched an eastward migration, which was followed by a grand bloom of upscale retail outlets. Today, Pacif ic SOGO remains a favorite leisure-time rendezvous point, and the base of the shopping district on Zhongxiao East Road Sec. 4.

Just south of the Zhongxiao/Dunhua intersection is the former f lagship outlet of eslite bookstore, a home-grown enterprise that is Taiwan’s leading bookstore chain. Open 24 hours a day, and housing a chic café, this is an iconic book-lovers’ haunt. When the store opened in 1989 (the original outlet was next door and soon moved here in search of greater space), there was an immediate redef inition of Taiwan’s bookstore world, and of its retail world in general. From that time forth large retailers catering to an ever more sophisticated public had to have the fashionable visual appeal of a boutique. Go to the Taiwan Studies and Taiwan Travel sections, where you can hunt happily for English-language gems sometimes diff icult or impossible to f ind on shelves overseas.

Artist and entrepreneur Heinrich Wang is a renowned Taiwan f igure, a successful f ilm director who suddenly lef t the business to pursue glass art and whose work is now displayed in the National Palace Museum. One of the boutique galleries of his newest venture, NewChi, is across

Many of the island’s pop stars come to Wufenpu in the hunt for a unique look

Dunhua South Road from eslite. NewChi specializes in modernistic “white China,” a traditional Chinese porcelain type favored by the royal households of the Tang and Qing dynasties. The works, which seem to glow, are exquisitely delicate, and many of the smaller pieces, notably the tea utensils, have both artistic and practical function. All works are steeped in the classical symbolism of the Chinese culture.

On Zhongxiao just east of the Zhongxiao/Dunhua intersection is the venerable Ming Yao Department Store. Though I use “venerable” here, a thorough 7-month remodelling starting in spring 2011 has given it a brand-new cosmopolitan face and personality. The fortunes of this local enterprise are soaring with the setting up of the UNIQLO Global Flagship Store on the f irst four f loors. Taiwan youth are in love with this Japanese brand, which has a global footprint, and this has become its most prof itable outlet. UNIQLO in fact caters to all, f rom kids to adults, offering quality casual wear; think The Gap and Benetton.

The fun of wanderings along the lanes and alleys either side of Zhongxiao East Road, Sec. 4 comes from the serendipity. The East District brims with chic shops and boutiques, today competing with

aesthetically pleasing facades vying for your attention. I especially l ike Lane 205, Alley 29, known informally as “Handicraf ts Alley” because of the numerous places creating handiworks found nowhere else.

Figure 21 is suffused with the nostalgia-inducing aroma of f inely worked leather. You’ ll see the owner-designer team hard

at work at their stations, the display area brimming with handmade leather items themselves brimming with creative individuality. Close by, McVing is the name of both a shop and a brand, both the inspiration of a local who studied design in London; the product here is handcraf ted bags that are both unique fashion statements and statements of green-living commitment. Next, AtWill is the dream-made-reality of two young designers who give life to jewelry artworks that fuse rock-and-roll, retro, and free-wheeling ornate exuberance. They craf t personalized jewelry here, a service much appreciated and of t util ized by my Taiwan-family shopping pros.

Wufenpu

PACIFIC SOGO DEPT. STORE (太平洋百貨)Add: 45, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd. (忠孝東路四段45號)Tel: (02) 2776-5555 Website: www.sogo.com.tw (Chinese)

ESLITE BOOKSTORE (誠品書店)DUNNAN BRANCHAdd: 2F, 245, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd. (敦化南路一段245號2F)Tel: (02) 2775-5977XINYI BRANCHAdd: 11, Songgao. Rd. (松高路11號) Tel: (02) 8789-3388Website: www.eslite.com (Chinese)

NEWCHI (八方新氣)Add: 1F, 5, Lane 252, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd. (敦化南路一段252巷5號1樓) Tel: (02) 8773-8369

MING YAO DEPARTMENT STORE/UNIQLO GLOBAL FLAGSHIP STORE(明曜百貨 /UNIQLO全球旗艦店)

Add: 200, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd. (忠孝東路四段200號)Tel: (02) 2777-1266 (Ming Yao), (02) 2778-3308 (UNIQLO)Website: www.mingyao.com.tw (Chinese), www.uniqlo.com/tw (Chinese)

FIGURE 21 (手工包房)Add: 1-6, Alley 29, Lane 205, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd. (忠孝東路4段

205巷29弄1-6號) Tel: (02) 8771-4498

MCVINGAdd: 5, Alley 29, Lane 205, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd. (忠孝東路4段205巷29弄5號) Tel: (02) 2559-6402

ATWILLAdd: 7-6, Alley 29, Lane 205, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd. (忠孝東路4段

205巷29弄7-6號) Tel: (02) 2711-4609

TITTOT (琉園) LIULI GONGFANG (琉璃工房)Website: www.tittot.com Website: http.liuli.com.tw (Chinese)

YANG JIA HAND-DYED CLASSIC WORKSHOP (楊佳手染古典坊)Add: 17-1, Alley 11, Lane 443, Yongji Rd. (永吉路443巷11弄17之1號) Tel: (02) 2765-5038

ENGLISH & CHINESE

Pho

tos/

Jen

Guo

-Che

n

Handicrafts Alley 手工巷

Heinrich Wang 王俠軍

Koji pottery 交趾陶

Loretta Yang 楊惠珊

Xinyi District 信義區

FEATURE

Travel in Taiwan 20

SHOPPING

Travel in Taiwan 21

The East District brims with chic shops and boutiques, competing with aesthetically pleasing facades vying

for your attention

This is in fact a wholesaler district, handling items sourced from all around the region, but everyone is set up to handle individual-item walk-in sales. My favorite shop, which the owner-couple tells me always grabs the attention of other foreigners passing by, is “Yang Jia Hand-Dyed Classic Workshop.” They sell one-of-a-kind clothing featuring the traditional designs of China’s various ethnic groups, adding practical modern twists (such as making traditionally baggy, airy apparel more form-f itting). Over the years I’ve bought many items for family members back home in Canada, and my sister, an artist, has f itted out her three children in Yang Jia items when tots and has framed favorite selections to create a display wall in her workroom.

It’s been a long and happy day of exploration, and you are no doubt in need of a good meal and a good rest. Time, then, to move on to our Eat and Stay f iles.

OK shoppers, grab your credit cards and let’s get at it. There’s work to be done!

Further east along Zhongxiao, 10-15 minutes on foot, you reach the

new core of “Shopping Central,” in the Xinyi District. With the soaring Taipei 101 tower as its clarion beacon, it is f ramed by Zhongxiao East, Songren, Xinyi, and Keelung roads. Just 20-plus years ago this area was almost all open land; today it is a giant architects’ playbox, f illed with big, brash, bold architectural statements, boldest of all the sky-reaching Taipei 101, not long ago the world’s tallest building.

The many giant malls and department stores here include Taipei 101 Mall, Uni-Hankyu, Bellavita, ATT 4 FUN, and four separate Shin Kong Mitsukoshi buildings that look, to me, much like a f leet of aircraf t carriers l ined up and headed to sea. All are international and decidedly chic and upscale. In your search for a piece of Taiwan in consumer-purchase form, I recommend Shin Kong Mitsukoshi’s tittot and Liuli

Gongfang outlets. Both offer exquisite glass art heavy in local cultural themes. Tittot – surprise – is the child of Heinrich Wang, who we just met at NewChi, and Liuli Gongfang the child of Loretta Yang, a former actress. In fact, Wang was part of the original group of ex-f ilm industry colleagues who started Liuli Gongfang, leaving in 1993.

My favorite tittot l ine is Wang’s emulation of the extraordinarily bright color combinations that def ines Taiwan’s beautiful traditional koji pottery. I am, yes, a proud owner of a piece, a specially requested Christmas present from my wife. Loretta Yang’s fascination with dragons is on display at the Liuli Gongfang boutique, and I currently have my eye on a whimsical l ine of small cartoon-like dragons named “Little Singing Dragon,” “Little Ambitious Dragon,” and “Little Enlightened Dragon” (the last a reference to Confucius), that my Mom will love.

The Eslite Xinyi bookstore is another good option. This is the new f lagship store, much larger than the Dunhua facil ity, and the Taiwan Studies and Taiwan Travel sections have markedly more English titles. Also, near the in-house café is a boutique displaying branded Taiwan specialty goods such as native dried mushrooms, wasabi-coated black beans, sof t plum candies, dried papaya and mango, and burdock chips. You’ve maybe never heard of “burdock” before, but trust

me, these chips are tasty. Finally, I strongly recommend a visit to the OTOP Taiwan outlet in Taipei 101 Mall. “OTOP” stands for “One Town, One Product,” and on display here are the best of the best specialty products from 96 localities, ranging from arts and craf ts to teas and foods and on to dyed and woven clothes and items from Taiwan’s indigenous peoples.

Next, we take a short subway ride further east along Zhongxiao. Wufenpu is an amazing self-contained

warren of hundreds of small open-front shops sell ing good/high-quality apparel and a wide range of fashion accouterments, at prices so low that dedicated local shoppers salivate. Located just a few minutes north on foot from MRT Houshanpi Station, along the exceedingly

narrow lanes and alleys of this bustling night-market-style labyrinth you can buy attractive in-fashion shirts and blouses, for

example, starting at just a few hundred NT$. Proof of the quality, Taipei folk will tell you, is that many of the island’s pop stars come here in the hunt for a unique look – star-spotting has thus become a bonus attraction.

Happy shoppers

Taking a break

Window shopping

Modern shopping environment

DU XIAO YUE (度小月)Add: 12, Alley 8, Lane 216, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段216巷8弄12號)Tel: (02) 2773-1244

danzai noodles 擔仔麵

Ming Yao Deptartment Store 明曜百貨公司

Shinyeh 欣葉

ENGLISH & CHINESE

Our Feature theme this issue is “consuming in Taiwan,” and here we will be consuming via plate

and palate. The East District abounds in culinary adventures, from roadside stalls to simple eateries to chic upscale restaurants. You’ ll f ind treats from all the world’s kitchens.

In Taiwan the well-known name “Du Xiao Yue” captures the quintessence of this land and its people, and Taiwanese cuisine’s emphasis on hearty and f ill ing fare invented during pioneering days that is built around tasty home-produced items freshly harvested from land and sea. The East District’s edition of the famed Du Xiao Yue restaurant is in the restaurant-fecund maze of alleys just south of Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd., behind Ming Yao Department Store. “Du Xiao Yue” literally means “passing the lean months.” The signature dish, “danzai” (carrying pole) noodles, was invented by a southern f ishing family in the 1890s for street sale to help make ends meet during the “lean” typhoon months when seas were too dangerous. The mother restaurant is in Tainan City; this branch was opened by a fourth-generation member. The danzai noodles are made at a quaint mock-up of the original family stand, just inside the entrance. Other classic Tainan-style treasures served are shrimp rolls, f ried oysters, lobster egg in vermicell i rolls, baked mullet roe, and roasted milk f ish tripe.

“Du Xiao Yue” captures the quintessence of this land and its people, and Taiwanese cuisine’s emphasis

on hearty and f ill ing fare

Shinyeh is another among the elite group of Taiwanese restaurants. There’s a number of East District branches, but most thrill ing is Shinyeh 101, on the 85th f loor of Taipei 101. The chain offers both classic and modern Taiwanese dishes, with many seasonal variations.

Lane 216 off Sec. 4 of Zhongxiao E. Rd., and the alleys that branch off it, are home to a dense cluster of eating spots that has made this a favorite gathering point with Taipei folk. The many attractive facades have made pre-decision “window-browsing” popular. Two food-serving joints especially popular with local expatriates are Q Bar and On Tap, the latter one of Taipei’s most popular sports bars.

The cluster of f ive-star names is impressive, among them the Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Sherwood Taipei,

Grand Hyatt Taipei, and Agora Garden. The newest face on the international block is the W Taipei, high up in a shiny new tower standing almost directly over MRT Taipei City Hall Station.

For my money, when choosing a place, Taipei’s best location is the Xinyi District around Taipei 101, because of the impressive new architecture here, the easy access to the MRT system, the area’s comfortable open spaces, and the fact there always seems to be some interesting public event going on, often outdoors. The f irst big international hotel in this area was the Grand Hyatt Taipei, and this remains my favorite. Space is at a premium in Taipei, including immediately outside and within its hotels, but the Grand Hyatt is on an expansive lot and was able to stretch out as well as up. There’s room to breathe here, and though other tall, big-shouldered buildings have gone up around it you still get great views of the mountains to north and south from points above the f irst few f loors – including public spots like the outdoor pool and f itness center, for example. There’s a great range of dining and entertainment venues; the Pool Bar is especially comfy at night under the stars, the Shanghai Court overlooks a Japanese Zen

park area with wood walkways forming a f lower blossom, and the Bel Air Bar-Grill has French windows brushed by treetops – a rare downtown-Taipei hotel experience.

The lobby is unusually expansive and welcoming for Taipei, and when you look up you might feel, as I always do, that it’s like an old Italian village with people looking down into the central plaza from balconies. Diners look down at you while at afternoon tea. The outdoor pool area, on the rooftop over the lobby block, has so much room they’ve installed what feels like a small forest.

Many of the rooms and restaurants are showcases for the artistic visions of acclaimed international designers. The ample common-area spaces also allow wide-space art and decorative f lourishes by contracted professional talent. My favorite individual piece is an oversized globe-like sphere cleverly made of rounded-off logs of Russian pine, located in the lobby near the east entrance.

Dining in TaiwanThe Taiwan Character, in Culinary Form, on Taipei’s East Side

The Lap of Luxury

GRAND HYATT TAIPEI (台北君悅大飯店)Add: 2 Songshou Rd., Xinyi District, Taipei City (台北市信義區松壽路2號)Tel: (02) 2720-1234Website: www.grandhyatttaipei.com.tw

Taipei East District Accommodation

Taipei is Taiwan’s commercial and retail capital, and the East District is the city’s commercial and retail heart. It’s no surprise, then, that it sports a concentration of first-rate high-end places to stay that make your choice, though difficult, inevitably the right one. By Rick Charette

By Rick Charette

EAT

Travel in Taiwan 22

STAY

Travel in Taiwan 23

Pho

tos/

Jen

Guo

-Che

n, T

aipe

i Gra

nd H

yatt

Du Xiao Yue

Grand Hyatt Taipei

Dream Mall 夢時代購物中心

Miramar Entertainment Park 美麗華百樂園

Renzhi Street 仁智街

Wufu 2nd Rd. 五福二路

Ximending 西門町

Xin Jue Jiang 新崛江

Yizhong Street 一中街

ENGLISH & CHINESE

Five of the Island’s Most Popular Shopping AreasBy Rick Charette

FEATURE

Travel in Taiwan 24

SHOPPING

Travel in Taiwan 25

Fifty-some years ago, the people of Taiwan were poor, of ten f ill ing up on sweet potatoes because the rice they

grew was too expensive and destined for export. The government asked them to save what money they had and to limit consumption so the nation could concentrate on exports that would build up the capital base. Today the people of Taiwan are rich, with signif icant disposable income jingling in their pockets and a thirst for consumer delights, and there’s seemingly no limit to the number and range of businesses popping up to meet their ever-expanding world of needs. Adding to our East District feature article, we here introduce f ive more of the island’s best and most popular destinations for happy shopping sprees.

Taipei’s Ximending commercial district was built up as a shopping and entertainment oasis by the Japanese when they ruled Taiwan from 1895 to 1945, and it continues in this function today, dedicated to the youth consumer. From the latest clothing fashions to Hello Kitty kitsch, and from unique local-designer jewelry to the hottest digital games to designer mobile-phone covers, it’s all found here in the dense cluster of shops. Specially recommended are the creative-design boutiques and weekend cultural-creative bazaars at The Red House, an attractive heritage complex, Japanese-built in 1908 as Taiwan’s f irst modern public market. Getting there: Take the MRT Bannan (Blue) Line to Ximen Station.

Located in Taipei’s Neihu District, Miramar Entertainment Park is a modern multi-level shopping and entertainment complex designed to give visitors all options needed for full-day outings. Opened in 2004, the park’s most striking and famous feature is the giant roof top ferris wheel; there is also a carousel, which is another popular romantic rendezvous point. Among the park’s many entertainment attractions is Asia’s largest IMAX screen for commercial f ilms. Complementing the upscale consumer items sold within, the park’s establishment has also resulted in a grand sprouting of scores of shops and boutiques in the immediate area. Getting there: Take the MRT Wenhu (Brown) Line to Jiannan Road Station.

The city of Taichung’s bustling Yizhong Street, and surrounding streets and alleys, is a place where people go to see and be seen. Lined with small shops and boutiques that have prettied themselves up to lure the streams of passersby, the street is dominated by clothing and accessories outlets targeting younger consumers, but there are also myriad small restaurants, drink and snack stands, 24H bookshops, and both shops and vendor stands hawking most every consumer bauble imaginable, from colorful glasses to jewelry and even backpacker equipment. It’s been compared to Tokyo’s Shibuya district, and rightly so. Getting there: Take a bus f rom Taichung Railways Station to National Taichung Institute o f Technology.

Kaohsiung’s massive Dream Mall is Taiwan’s biggest shopping complex, and Asia’s sixth largest. The collection of international brands (LV, Gucci, Marks & Spencer, etc.), local and regional brands, and eating options seems endless, but

the big draw here – l iterally drawing everyone’s attention from miles away – is the slow-turning giant ferris wheel in the roof top amusement park, so high you see past the harbor and out to sea as well as over much surrounding countryside when taking a ride. Getting there: Take a Red 12 bus f rom K MRT Kaisyuan Station, or walk 15 minutes.

The Xin Jue Jiang commercial district, also rendered in English as Shinkuchan, is another major Kaohsiung tourist attraction. Focused on young and young-at-heart consumers, this retail/entertainment area is situated on Wufu 2nd Rd. and Renzhi Street. There are scores of fashion and accessories boutiques, jewelry purveyors, cosmetics sellers, and street-stand businesses dedicated to helping you def ine your personal style. This area has become the largest in south Taiwan for imported goods, and you’ ll f ind the best of youth fashion from Tokyo, Paris, Milan, and Hong Kong. Getting there: Take the K MRT to Central Park Station.

Finding Consumer Nirvana

Miramar Entertainment Park gives visitors all options needed for full-day outings

Ximending

At Xin Jue Jiang

Miramar Entertainment Park Dream Mall

Dream Mall

Pho

tos/

Vis

ion

Int'l

Pho

to/

Twel

li

Anyone who has cycled through hilly countryside has, at some time or other, prayed to the bicycle

gods: “Let there be a tunnel around the next corner, and preferably one without cars.”

It was, perhaps, with this in mind that Taiwan’s cycling gods (OK, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications; MOTC) designated a 2.16-kilometer section of disused railway tunnel for development as part of the Old Caoling Tunnel Bikeway.

Offered the novelty of being able to cycle through a tunnel without sharing the road with countless gravel trucks – or maybe because the air is noticeably cooler inside – many Taiwanese tourists take a tour bus or train to the town of Fulong, near the tunnel’s northern entrance, cycle 15 minutes to the other end, drink a cup of coffee or eat ice-cream, then cycle back.

The MOTC recently extended the bikeway further along the coastal highway north from the tunnel’s southern entrance by constructing a barrier to ensure separation of the above-mentioned trucks with the sof t f lesh of cyclists. This route allows bikers now to safely cycle back to Fulong the long way af ter exiting the tunnel. On the way, its gentle slopes and curves take cyclo-tourists past a plethora of historical, cultural, and culinary places of interest.

For most bikers, the starting point is Fulong Railway Station. And while the journey by bus from Taipei offers its share

of pretty and interesting sights, the rail journey introduces visitors to some spectacular valleys f illed with natural beauty and vestiges of the mining industry on which the area’s prosperity was built. If you come from the city of Hualien to the south you’ ll pass even more stunning scenery, by means of track laid using extraordinary feats of engineering.

Af ter arriving in Fulong, the next port of call is a bike-rental store, of which there are several in front of the station. Prices here are a f lat NT$100 per person per day, though slight savings might be found by those will ing to walk to one of the shops a l ittle further away from the station.

Next stop might be the Fulong Visitor Center three minutes by bike from the railway station, for information, maps, toilet use, and water-bottle ref ills. The center ’s Drif twood’s Rebirth Gallery contains works by 22 artists from Taiwan’s woodcarving capital of Sanyi in Miaoli County, who were invited to make art out of drif twood washed ashore here following the devastating typhoons of 2001.

Fulong’s main beach is accessed by a footbridge near the center. Access to the beach itself is f ree, but the bridge is private and costs NT$70/40 (summer/winter) to cross. In early summer, this beach is the venue for the Fulong Sand Sculpture Festival and, thoughtfully not at the same time, for the three-day-long Ho-Hai-Yan Gongliao Rock Festival.

and Into the LightCycling through the Old Caoling Railway Tunnel and around Taiwan’s Easternmost Tip

By Mark Caltonhill

The Northeast Coast is one of the best areas for leisure bicycle tours in Taiwan. Access is conve-nient by railway, bike rental is easy, and the well-marked dedicated bikeways lead you through a diverse landscape with sandy beaches, dramatic rock formations, bucolic countryside, and a 2km-long old railway tunnel.

Out of the Dark

THE BEST BIKE ROUTES

Travel in Taiwan 28

NORTHEAST COAST

Travel in Taiwan 29

Travel in Taiwan 28

Bikeway along the Northeast Coast

The bike route to the old railway tunnel is so well signed that maps are barely necessary. It starts

right at the railway station, heading up a slight incline with the railway line on one side and a stream on the other. Af ter about 2 kilometers you arrive at the north-end tunnel entrance, where there are toilets, drinks, and snacks, as well as sculptures made out of disused railway materials.

The tunnel is not only dimly lit, cool, and mystical, but also musical, since about two-thirds of the way in the New Taipei City-Yilan County border is celebrated in light and sound. The tunnel is otherwise peaceful, especially in comparison to the coastal highway, and its gentle downhill slope certainly preferable to huff ing and puff ing over the mountain overhead.

Some cyclists chat as they ride two abreast, and many stop to take pictures, but most just silently enjoy the novelty of the situation.

Emerging at the southern end, visitors are greeted by the magnif icent sight of Turtle Island, around 10 kilometers offshore. Many make a prolonged stop here for a dozen or two photographs: of the island, themselves coming out of the tunnel, the old houses, or the modern tourism-related structures. Snacks are available.

While the hour-trippers head back, committed cyclists make a lef t turn and begin the journey along the coastal bikeway which, as mentioned earlier, has recently been separated from the main road (Provincial Highway No. 2) with a low barrier. Another couple of kilometers (about 10 minutes) brings one to the Shicheng Scenic Area, which has the same great view of Turtle Island but also has an elegant coffee shop with indoor/outdoor seating from which to enjoy it. The name Shicheng (“stone city”) is said to refer to an old Dutch or Spanish fort built here when those countries attempted to colonize Taiwan; whether true or not, this is the f irst clue encountered by riders in regard to the area’s

international history over recent centuries.

The next comes shortly af ter, where af ter passing the geologically interesting and visually spectacular Lailai Marine Terrace – usually inhabited by dozens of local anglers – the bikeway rounds a headland, heads north, and then heads back west toward Fulong. This is Cape San Diego – sinicized as Sandiaojiao – so named by Spanish forces which alighted nearby to begin their colonial adventure in 1626 af ter sail ing from the Philippines, before quickly moving up the coast to Keelung and establishing their permanent base there.

Pho

to/ T

wel

li

Pho

tos/

Tw

elli

2

Longmen Campsite

Fulong Railway StationMao’ao Village

Sandiaojiao Lighthouse

Lingjiu Mountain

Longmen Suspension Bridge

Old Caoling Tunnel

Dongxin Temple

Shicheng Scenic Area

Lailai Marine Terrace

Fulong BeachFulong Coastal Park

THE BEST BIKE ROUTES

Travel in Taiwan 30

NORTHEAST COAST

Travel in Taiwan 31

Travel in Taiwan 31

The bikeway is clearly marked and easy to follow

Old Caoling Tunnel

Sculptures made of railway parts

Old Caoling Tunnel is 2km longInteresting rock formations

Fishing village cats

Longmen Suspension Bridge

Sandiaojiao Lighthouse

NORTHEAST COAST

Pho

tos/

Tw

elli,

Mar

k Ca

lton

hill

THE BEST BIKE ROUTES

Travel in Taiwan 32

The cape is now home to the Sandiaojiao Lighthouse, built not by the Spanish but by another temporary colonial power, Japan, in 1935 following the wrecking of two of its ships in local waters. The l ighthouse is open to the public, and the cl imb from kilometer marker 108 up the small access road is well worth it if you have enough puff lef t in your lungs.

Succor is at hand just two kilometers further on at Mao’ao Village, both physical

and spiritual. Physical in terms of refreshments; spiritual in terms of f ine views and cute buildings, with many f ishermen’s stone cottages still standing over a century af ter being built. The Mao’ao Little Stop (no English sign) combines both. Built in an old stone house, albeit reconstructed, on the main bay, it sells coffee, other drinks, and meals. Upstairs are two rooms for rent (NT$1,800 for the larger room with the sea view, NT$1,600 for the other), and proprietor Wang Shu-mei is a font of information about the area’s heritage of international, Hoklo Taiwanese, and indigenous Ketagalan-tribe inf luences.

Revitalized and back in the saddle, cyclists next pass weird-shaped geological constructions on the right (sea) side, and Lingjiu Mountain on the lef t (inland) side. The mountain is topped by the Wusheng Monastery, a sprawling collection of temples, meditation halls, statues, stupas, and other structures representative of the eclectic mix of chan (Zen) Buddhism, esoteric Tibetan Buddhism, and even the Chinese popular religion practiced here. Visitors are welcomed (there are dormitories), but should check f irst (www.093.org.tw) in case the monks and nuns are in retreat. Be warned, however, that the climb here is a lot tougher than the last up to Sandiaojiao Lighthouse.

For a more standard Daoist temple experience, cyclists should stop at Dongxing Temple, located down a side road through an archway on the right just as they re-enter Fulong from the east. Restaurants nearby sell fresh seafood, while the South African-run Fu Bar caters to foreign tastes for meat, sausage, and international beers.

The railway station, bike-rental stores, and famous “Fulong lunchbox” restaurants are just half a kilometer further up the road.

If time (and energy) permits, a 5-kilometer extension heading further northwest is well worth considering. Leave the highwayside bikeway by turning right and entering the Longmen Campsite (www.lonmen.tw). This leads to a pine-f illed park, with free access to the sands, and a tranquil ride through f ishing communities toward the village of Yanliao, where a memorial commemorates local people who resisted Japanese forces landing here to begin their f ive-decade occupation of Taiwan in 1895.

This route also crosses photogenic Longmen Suspension Bridge, which like the Old Caoling Railway Tunnel is another man-made highlight of a cycling tour along the northeast coast.

Cycling Tips:Before setting out, make sure tires are pumped up and brakes are functioning and adjust the saddle to the correct height (most day-trippers set it too low). If renting, ask for a bicycle lock if none is provided, and write down the renter ’s telephone number in case of puncture or technical failure. Along the way, drink plenty of water, and remember that the rules of the road apply along bikeways too.

Cycling Tips:

chan (Zen) 禪

Dongxing Temple 東興宮

Driftwood's Rebirth Gallery 原木再生緣木雕展示館

Fu Bar 福吧

Fulong 福隆

Fulong lunchbox 福隆便當

Fulong Sand Sculpture Festival 福隆國際沙雕藝術季

Fulong Visitor Center 福隆遊客服務中心

Ho-Hai-Yan Gongliao Rock Festival 貢寮國際海洋音樂祭

Lailai Marine Terrace 萊萊海蝕平台

Lingjiu Mountain 靈鷲山

Longmen Campsite 龍門露營區

Longmen Suspension Bridge 龍門吊橋

Mao'ao Little Stop 卯澳小站

Mao'ao Village 卯澳村

Old Caoling Tunnel Bikeway 舊草嶺自行車隧道

Sandiaojiao 三貂角

Sanyi 三義

Shicheng 石城

Shicheng Scenic Area 石城觀景區

Turtle Island 龜山島

Wang Shu-mei 王淑美

Wusheng Monastery 無生道場

Yanliao 鹽寮

ENGLISH & CHINESE

Peculiar rocks

Fulong Beach

WHAT’S GOING ON?

And here is the answer to the question on page 8. Did you guess right? The elderly lady in the picture is one of the thousands of revelers that participate in the annual Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival (Jan. 26 ~ Feb. 6 this year). She is about to release one of the large balloon-l ike paper lanterns the town of Pingxi has become famous for. While releasing these lanterns is now possible throughout the year, it is only during the sky lantern festival that you can see hundreds ascend into the night sky at the same time, creating a truly marvelous scenic tableau.

WHAT’S GOING ON?

Travel in Taiwan 33

LanternSkyFestival

TOURISM FACTORIES

Travel in Taiwan 34

SOAP

Travel in Taiwan 35

This may well be the perfect example of what a tour ism factory should be

l ike. A small three-generation family operation, producing a product anyone can relate to. A product that is hand-made, contains only natural ingredients, is benef icial to customers, and is not harmful to the env ironment. A factory that is spotless clean, w ith f ragrant scents waf ting through the air. And a place that allows v isitors to easily understand the production process by tour ing the facil it ies and taking part in f un DIY activ it ies.

Another pleasant surpr ise is the location. Cha-Shan-Fang Soap Tourism Factory is located not in a gray and dusty industr ial zone but rather along a lovely country road south of Sanxia in New Taipei City, surrounded by verdant hills.

Perhaps the only drawback is the lack of foreign-language information available on the premises, though the production process is explained in Engl ish and Japanese on wooden boards in the factory ’s main work hall. Three options are of fered to v isitors: (A) a guided tour, (B) a guided tour + soap-shaping DIY, and (C) a guided tour + creative soap-making and soap impr inting.

Dur ing the guided tour you learn about soap making in general, the history (see box) of the factory, and the herbs and ingredients used in its soap production. At one point you’ ll be asked to l ick (!) a t iny piece of soap (the factory founder ’s preferred method for testing the qual ity). The

The founder of this soap business, Lin Yi-cai, started off peddling soap behind Taipei Railway Station in the late 1940s. He later learned the craf t of making soap and founded the factory “Meishengtang” in Sanxia. When the constant exposure to lye gave him eczema on his hands he developed a pH-neutral soap by f inding a way to remove as much alkali as possible during the manufacturing process. The new product was f riendly to the skin and so l ight that it would f loat on water – the birth of the f irm’s “Float” soap.

From the 1970s to the 1990s this soap was very popular in Taiwan, and business boomed. Then, with consumers increasingly turning to l iquid body washes instead of the traditional soap bars, the factory fell on hard times and was almost shut down in 2001. Thanks to the founder ’s visionary grandson, Lin You-an, the business received a new lease on l ife a few years later when he started the production of all-natural and environment-friendly handmade soap targeting the health- and eco-conscious consumers of today. Production has been consistently strong ever since, and last year the factory, now named “Cha-Shan-Fang,” was opened to tourists to allow everyone to see the production process f irst-hand and learn about the factory ’s interesting history.

A Visit to Sanxia’s

Cha-Shan-Fang Soap

Tourism Factory

production process is explained to you in detail while you stand on the second-f loor walkway looking down over the production area and witnessing how the factory workers carry out their tasks. This is the main – and most interesting – part of the tour.

Cha-Shan-Fang uses a 10-step production process that takes 8 to 10 days to complete. Since the factory is rather small, w ith only a few workers employed, the steps are not carr ied out simultaneously; instead, a l imited number are handled each day. The steps include: Cooking the soap base (2-3 days); extracting the soda (3 days); gr inding natural ingredients into powder and mixing w ith water, adding ingredients to soap base and stirr ing, pour ing the mix into wooden boxes, and evening out the surface (1 day); letting the soap cool down (the octogenar ian factory founder of ten himself arranges the boxes containing the soap in neat order) (2 days); cutting of the soap with metal w ire, placing it on racks, dry ing it in a dry ing room, and packaging it (1~2 days).

Af ter the factory tour, you’ ll have the chance to sit down for some DIY f un with soap if you have selected option B or C. Travel in Taiwan gave it a try dur ing a recent v isit (see next page).

By Kurt Weidner

SOAP

Cha-Shan-Fang Soap Factory

Herbs used in soap-making

DIY soap creation

Lin Yi-cai, founder of the soap factory, can still be

seen making soap P

hoto

s/ S

unny

Su,

Cha

-Sha

n-Fa

ng S

oap

Tour

ism

Fac

tory

TOURISM FACTORIES

Travel in Taiwan 36

SOAP

Travel in Taiwan 37

diy activities

1. Cut pieces of black and white soap into thin slices. 2. Use cookie cutters to create stars and hearts.3. Create “soap sandwiches” by gluing the different slices of soap together.4. Use needle and thread to put soap on a string.

1. Grind dried leaves of lemon verbena (tea leaves can be used as well) into a powder.2. Add essential oil (lavender, camellia, or lemon grass).3. Add the heated soap base and stir quickly.4. Put soap in mold and let it cool for 20 minutes.5. Take soap out of mold.

CHA-SHAN-FANG SOAP TOURISM FACTORY(茶山房肥皂文化體驗館)Add: 64-10 Baiji Rd., Sanxia District, New Taipei City (新北市三峽區白雞路64之10號)Tel: (02) 8671-8822Hours: 9am ~ 5pmWebsite: www.teasoap.com.tw (Chinese)Fees: Guided tour NT$100/pers . , guided tour + soap shaping DIY NT$150; guided tour + creat ive soap making and soap imprint ing NT$200; all fees include NT$50 which can be deducted from a purchase at the factory shop on the first floor. Reservations 3 days in advance nec-essary.

CHA-SHAN-FANG'S SOAP SHOP IN SANXIA'S OLD STREETAdd: 79 Minquan St., Sanxia District, New Taipei City(新北市三峽區民權街79號)

HOW TO GET THERE:

Self-drive: Freeway No. 3 (Second Northern Freeway) to Sanying Interchange → Fuxing Rd. (復興路) to Sanxia → Sanxia Bridge (三峽大橋) → Jieshou Rd. (介壽路) → Zhong-zheng Rd. (中正路) → Zhengyi St. (正義街) → Baiji Rd. (白雞

路)

Public Transport: (From Taipei) MRT Zhonghe Line (Orange Line) to Jingan Station → bus No. 907 to Sanxia Elementary School (三峽國小) bus stop → bus No. 1078 (one service ev-ery 40 min. to 1 hr.) to Quanjiafu Villa (全家福別墅) bus stop. To reach Sanxia, you can also take a train to Yingge Railway Station and take Taoyuan bus No. 5005 to Sanxia terminal bus stop, then take bus No. 1078 from there.

Baiji 白雞

Float soap 浮樂脫藥皂

Lin Yi-cai 林義財

Lin You-an 林祐安

Meishengtang 美盛堂

Sanxia 三峽

Sanxia Qingshui Zushi Temple 三峽清水祖師廟

Xingxiu Temple 行修宮

ENGLISH & CHINESE

1. Cut out a funny shape from a thin piece of tea-leaf-scented soap.

2. Imprint some letters.3. Take home your "soap elephant."

OTHER

PLACES

OF INTEREST

IN THE AREA

TOURISM FACTORIES

The town of Sanxia has two main attractions, Sanxia Qingshui Zushi Temple and Sanxia Old Street, lo-cated close to each other. Sanxia Qingshui Zushi Temple is one of the finest examples of temple architec-ture in all of Taiwan. The temple was first built in 1769, and has been rebuilt three times. It is the main center of worship in Sanxia. When entering the temple, make su re t o l ook up to admi re t he amazingly beautiful plafond. Other highlights of outstanding crafts-manship are the s tone columns, the most remarkable of which de-pict one hundred birds in different poses.

Sanxia Old Street (Minquan St.) is just a short walk from the temple. After a thorough makeover in recent years, the street is now one of the most complete and best-preserved old streets in Taiwan. Both sides of the street are lined with one- and two-story red-brick buildings, many sporting facades with orna-ments in Baroque style. Eateries along the street serve old-flavor foods and shops (including Cha-Shan-Fang s soap shop)

sell traditional toys and other unique souvenirs.If you travel further east along Baiji Rd. from the tourism soap factory you come to Xingxiu Temple . The temple, sur-rounded by verdant hills and embraced in a peaceful aura, has immaculately clean courtyards and meticulously kept gardens. Behind the temple is a popular tree-shaded trail, great for lei-sure walks through lush forest.

Pho

tos/

Sun

ny S

u, V

isio

n In

t'l

Pho

to/ B

obby

Wu

Delicious Fruits Enjoyed Fresh or as “Cakes”Racks of bright-orange persimmons rest on top of an arbor, drying in the sun. Their hardening skins reflect the sun-light, and the effect is like staring directly into a field of electric light bulbs. From the months of September through January each year, the town of Xinpu in Hsinchu County is famous for dazzling visitors with scenes like this one.

The Persimmons of Xinpu

Whereas other towns use indoor ovens to dry their persimmons, Xinpu retains the

traditional method of letting the fruit bask in the sunshine. The autumn winds here are dry, strong, and frequent, and because of the nearly impenetrable soil, excess water is easily drained away, so that the air remains fairly dry even after a rainfall – perfect conditions for making persimmon cakes.

Driving through the streets of Xinpu, we pass an elementary school featuring a wall covered with an enormous mosaic of a persimmon tree with fruits ripening, yellow to red, on its branches. Persimmon cakes have been made here for over 170 years, and are an intrinsic part of the local Hakka culture.

Don’t let the “cake” fool you. There’s no f lour or icing involved in making persimmon cakes. They are referred to as “persimmon cakes” (shi bing) in Taiwan because the Chinese word bing means both a f lat-topped cake and something shaped like one. Before being packaged, the dried persimmons are molded into a nest-like form which, to those who decided the name long, long ago, resembles a true cake.

Persimmon cakes have been made here for over 170 years, and are an intrinsic part of the

local Hakka culture

We arrive at Jinhan Dried Persimmon Education Farm in the early afternoon. The entrance is f illed

with crates of persimmons, and we hear the clang and grind of machinery from the building to our right. The farm is owned by Liu Xing-wu, a former salesman, who now runs the persimmon factory here. Making persimmon cakes has been his family’s business for three generations.

He takes us into the small factory, where a group of workers is busy peeling persimmons. The fruits are put into a machine

that takes off most of the skin (the cause of the clanging we had just heard outside), after which the top and bottom are cleaned by hand.

“The workers here are all locals from farming families,” says Liu. “Many of them have their own farms and produce but depending on the season, if they have time, they come here to work.”

I’m curious about the different kinds of persimmon used – the crates we saw on our way in held persimmons of different lengths, sizes, and shapes – so I ask Liu to explain the various types and their qualities.

I learn there are three main types of persimmon grown in Taiwan. “This type is called ‘Bull Heart’ persimmon,” he says, holding up a large round fruit. The Bull Heart persimmon is juicy but not quite as sweet as other persimmons. “One of the reasons why Xinpu has been successful at making persimmon cakes with the Bull Heart variety is the area’s favorably dry conditions. The natural drying of these persimmons, which easily rot, is much easier here than in other, more humid, areas.”

By Owain Mckimm

Xinpu offers perfect conditions for drying persimmons in the sun

FOOD JOURNEY

Travel in Taiwan 38

PERSIMMONS

Travel in Taiwan 39

Pho

tos/

Mag

gie

Song

, Sun

ny S

u

FOOD JOURNEY

the persimmons are simply laid out on the arbor for three days until they become suff iciently dry, then on the fourth day they are pinched so that the center (which has not become dry yet), gets pushed towards the outer surface, where it can be better exposed to the drying sun. This process is repeated, and af ter about 12 days in the sun and three pinches, the persimmons are ready to be packaged. Most producers of persimmon cakes in Xinpu also move the persimmons into oven dryers during the night, which usually cuts the drying time by half.

Each year Xinpu holds a persimmon-cake festival in the second week of October. This celebration of all things

persimmon attracts gourmands from all over the island; visitors can taste all kinds of persimmon-related food, from persimmon mochi to persimmon ice loll ies – which the casual visitor can also buy at the local farmers’ association building. The 15 local farms which cooperate with the farmers’ association in staging the festival also hold dyeing workshops during which boiled persimmon peel is used to color bags and cloth. Visitors are also invited to help out with some stages of persimmon-cake production.

When we visit another local farmer, Liu Li-jian of Wei Wei Jia Persimmon Cake Tourist Farm, he aff irms our suspicions that with so many varieties and uses, the persimmon is best exploited by the adventurous, even in the face of tradition.

Liu says that he is constantly discovering new ways to treat different varieties. He has experimented with drying non-astringent persimmons, comparing their f lavors with the commonly used astringent type, with soaking various persimmons instead of drying, and with organic cultivation. As a result he is able to apply the most suitable technique to whatever variety comes his way.

It’s rare to f ind such an experimental attitude in an area where traditions run so deeply. In Xinpu, however, where persimmons are concerned, the spirit of discovery is today enjoying its place in the sun.

Zeng describes the Stone persimmon as tender, fragrant, and chewy. “Until recently, people in the city preferred to buy the Bull Heart persimmon, because they thought bigger is more beautiful. But over the last few years the local Stone persimmon has made a comeback because of its better quality,” she says.

Farmer Liu is also keen to tell us about the Hakka people’s relationship with drying

persimmons. “To make high-quality persimmon cakes you need three things. The f irst is Hsinchu’s Stone persimmon, the second is the area’s dry autumn winds, and the third is the Hakka people.” He explains that the Hakka have the habit of preserving food by drying because they have what Liu jokingly calls “refugee genes.” “Anything that is not consumed freshly, we dry,” he says. “For example, beans and turnips – and persimmons are no exception.”

Eager to try our hands at making some of these traditional cakes ourselves, we ask Liu if he can talk us through the process. It turns out that due to Xinpu’s naturally dry climate (the winds bring the humidity down to around 30 percent), drying persimmons is a fairly straightforward task. Af ter picking, washing, and peeling,

“To make high-qualit y persimmon cakes you need Hsinchu’s Stone persimmon, the area’s dr y autumn

winds, and the Hakka people”

He leads us over to another crate. “This variety is called the ‘Pen’ persimmon.” The fruit in his hand is long and shaped like a stubby carrot. “This kind of persimmon is more suitable for growing in colder climates, l ike Japan or Korea, but it’s now adapted to the hot plains of Taiwan as well.” The variety now grown in Taiwan has in fact been nicknamed the ‘Honey’ persimmon, because of its sweetness.

Originally, Pen persimmons were not dried, Liu’s wife Zeng Gui-mei tells us, but eaten fresh. Belonging to the non-astringent group of persimmons, they are naturally sweeter, and can be enjoyed when red and ripe

“It’s only in the last three years or so that we discovered that you can make persimmon cakes from this kind of persimmon as well. The Pen persimmon is more gelatinous, and when you cut it open its insides look oily and shiny,” she says. When dried they are incredibly sweet and juicy, but they generally take longer to dry than other varieties.

Finally, Liu takes us over to his arbor, where the third variety of persimmon is being exposed to the af ternoon sun.“This type of persimmon is the reason we make persimmon cakes in Xinpu,” he says, reaching up and removing a small f ruit about the size of a Mandarin orange. “It’s called the ‘Stone’ persimmon, and is perfect for drying due to its low water content and high sugar levels. With Xinpu’s autumn winds, all you need to do is put it out in the sun and it will become delicious.”

Bull Heart persimmon 牛心柿

Liu Li-jian 劉理鑑

Liu Xing-wu 劉興武

Pen/Honey persimmon 筆/蜜柿

Persimmon cake / shi bing 柿餅

Stone persimmon 石柿

Xinpu 新埔

Yangmei 楊梅

Zeng Gui-mei 曾桂美

ENGLISH & CHINESE

GETTING TO XINPU: (Self-drive ) From Taipei, take National Freeway No. 1 south. Exit at Yangmei Interchange (楊梅交流道), take Prov. Hwy 1 to the town of Yangmei, and transfer onto County Road No. 115 to Xinpu. In Xinpu, follow Zhongzheng Rd., Minsheng St., and Hankeng Rd. to the farms. (By train/bus ) Take a train to Hsinchu Railway Station and take a bus from Hsinchu's main bus station to Xinpu. From Xinpu, take a taxi to the farms. During the annual persim-mon festival, a shuttle-bus service takes visitors to farms in the area.

JINHAN DRIED PERSIMMON EDUCATION FARM (金漢柿餅教育園區)Add: 501, Sec. 1, Hankeng Rd., Xinpu Township, Hsinchu County (新竹縣新埔鎮旱坑路1段501號)Tel: (03) 589-2680

WEI WEI JIA PERSIMMON CAKE TOURIST FARM (味衛佳柿餅觀光農場)Add: 53, Alley 283, Sec. 1, Hankeng Road, Xinpu Township, Hsinchu County (新竹縣新埔鎮旱坑路1段283巷53號)Tel: (03) 589-2352

Visitors are free to visit the farms when open, and photo op-portunities are abundant. For DIY workshops, book at least a week in advance.

Farmer Liu Li-jian

Fresh fruit and persimmon cakes

FOOD JOURNEY

Travel in Taiwan 40

PERSIMMONS

Travel in Taiwan 41

Pho

tos/

Mag

gie

Song

The fruit is pinched to facilitate the drying process

Drying persimmon at Jinhan Farm

Pho

to/ B

obby

Wu

Pho

tos/

Ivy

Chen

, Sun

ny S

u

Fern KingdomEx ploring Pinglin’s Pris t ine Jingualiao Stream Area

By Owa in Mck imm

My notebook is full of Latin names, quickly scribbled diagrams, and notes on spores, pinnately compound leaves, and optimum growing conditions. Could it be that I’ve become a fern enthusiast? Af ter spending half a day fern-

observing on the Jingualiao Stream Fern and Fish Observation Trail, and being bombarded with more factoids than anyone would expect on a trail just over 2km long, I am now truly fascinated with the fecund fern kingdom of Pinglin.

In 1896, the botanist Augustine Henry made the following rash statement about Formosan f lora: “…we meet with no exceptional types of vegetation. Indeed there is not a single genus peculiar to the island.” Yet in the same text he goes on to list a total survey of 131 ferns and 15 fern all ies on the island, though he guesses that only half the island’s plants had been discovered by that time.

Now, considering that along the 2km of trail you can walk following the crystall ine Jingualiao Stream, there are over 108 species of fern to be found, and that there’s an estimated island-wide total of 735 species and sub-species, 11% of which are endemic to the island, you have a number that far surpasses the f indings and expectations of the botanists of yesteryear.

And just as the ferns exceed expectations, so does Pinglin, a rural district within the sprawling New Taipei City. Known primarily as a tea-growing area, famous for its fragrant Baozhong tea, it also quietly boasts pristine natural habitats and protected reserves that exist in large part due to its importance in providing drinking water to the Taipei area.

As we drive to the trailhead, our guide, Mr. Zhong Wen-yuan, who holds down a regular job as a tea-grower, points enthusiastically at the waterway to our lef t.

“This is the Beishi Stream,” he says. “It has the cleanest water in all of Taiwan.” The Jingualiao Stream, which we are on our way to visit, is a tributary of this waterway. Further downstream, Beishi Stream f lows into the enormous Feicui Reservoir, which provides water to the residents of Taipei and New Taipei cities. “This area has been protected since the reservoir ’s construction in 1979,” says Zhong. “No factories, no livestock, no hotels – to protect the water quality.” He points to a series of rock formations on the banks, which look like stacks of books slipping under the water. “The banks here are f illed with layers of shale, which f ilter and neutralize rainwater as it drips down into the river. This provides ideal conditions for moss to grow, which then attracts many kinds of f ish. There are about 26 species of f ish in this stream, the most of any stream in Taiwan.”

After stopping at several roadside spots to examine ferns, including one short stretch of wall which features 10 different species, we arrive at the trail entrance. There are two sections of trail along the Jingualiao Stream, both just over a kilometer long. We f irst walk the southern section, which follows the river closely as it twists and turns and breaks over clusters of rock. As soon as we descend onto the path we are in the belly of the green beast, surrounded on each side by the unbroken verdure of innumerable ferns which seem to creep, sway, slink, or recline over every inch of slope and surface variation. The fern is one of the earth’s oldest plants, and the fossil record shows them as existing as early as 400 mill ion years ago. If ever there was a place resembling a Paleozoic jungle, this would be it.

As we ramble along, our guide gets us crouching, examining and photographing in a botany saturnalia which lasts about two hours, during which we scrutinize 20 or so species. It would take a full tome to introduce them all, so I here present a selection of my favorites:

Pinglin, known as a tea-growing area, boasts pris t ine na tura l habi ta ts and protec ted reserves

Following the

tra i l a long J ingua liao Stream into a

fern parad ise

NATURAL TREASURES

Travel in Taiwan 42

FERNS

Travel in Taiwan 43

Pho

to/ B

obby

Wu

Travel in Taiwan 43

NATURAL TREASURES

Ferns lik e humid areas

Unfold ing

Large ferns are easy to s pot

Though a relatively small area of land, Taiwan is so rich in fern species

because of its wide diversity of landscapes. There are sub-tropical forests, high mountains, gorges, and temperate zones in Taiwan and Pinglin is itself a kind of microcosm of the island.

“Pinglin is moist, and has constant rainfall through the year. Moreover, it has a varied topography, including ridges and valleys, creating many different habitats which allow ferns to retain moisture,” says Ralf Knapp, a German fern expert and long-time resident of Taiwan, who recently published the detailed f ield guide Ferns and Fern Allies o f Taiwan (http:// fernsand f ernallieso f taiwan.blogspot.com; for an overview of Taiwan’s ferns, also see http://tinyurl.com/Taiwanf erns).

Angiopteris somai 臺灣原始觀音座蓮

Baozhong tea 包種茶

Batwing fern 栗蕨

Beishi Stream 北勢溪

Doederlein's spikemoss 生根卷柏

Feicui Reservoir 翡翠水庫

Flying spider-monkey tree fern 筆筒樹

Formosan kooye minnow 竹葉魚

Formosan gem-faced civet 白鼻心

Guanyin 觀音

Jingualiao Stream 金瓜寮溪

Jingualiao Stream Fern and 金瓜寮溪觀魚蕨類步道

Fish Observation Trail Orange Bus 亞通巴士 Oriental hard fern 烏毛蕨

Pinglin 坪林

Pinglin Visitor Information Center 坪林旅遊服務中心

Sweetfish 香魚

Taiwan sago fern 臺灣桫欏

Turnip fern 觀音座蓮

Wulai District 烏來區

Yangmingshan 陽明山

Zhong Wen-yuan 鐘文元

ENGLISH & CHINESE

Though Pinglin is only about 300m above sea level, many ferns that normally grow at higher altitudes can also be found here. This is because, come September, the northeastern seasonal winds cause the temperature to drop, creating a climate suitable for many mid-elevation ferns.

Knapp lists several rare species found in the area, some of which can only be found in Taiwan, including a shorter, more delicate relative of the turnip fern, Angiopteris somai. Apart from Pinglin, he also recommends Yangmingshan and the rural Wulai District in New Taipei City as prime fern-exploration areas in northern Taiwan.

“People from Taipei come here on the weekends to get away from the city,” says Zhong. “They come here because it’s a completely natural environment. You just need to look at the water and you can see f ish.” He throws a stone into the stream and f ish swarm to it, mistaking it for food. “This river is one of the best places in Taiwan to see the sweetf ish,” he adds. This migratory f ish only has a one-year l ifespan. It breeds in Feicui Reservoir and its young swim upstream into the Beishi and Jingualiao streams, returning again in September to breed and die. The native Formosan kooye minnow, called “f iref lies in the water,” can also be seen swif tly f lashing their silver bodies amongst the rocks. Come in the evening and you might see the Formosan gem-faced civet – a l ithe little mammal with badger-like markings on its face – or troupes of wild monkeys crossing the stream on a downed tree called Monkey Bridge. For cyclists, there is also a 23.4-kilometer-long bicycle route that includes a scenic stretch along the Jingualiao Stream. If you’re looking for unspoilt nature and the chance to see rare native species less than an hour from Taipei, you can’t do much better than Pinglin.

Getting there: Take the MRT to Xindian Station at the end o f the green line, then trans fer to a No. 923 bus on the le ft as you exit the barriers. Buses run ever y hour on weekdays, and ever y 30 minutes on weekends. The trip to Pinglin takes 40 minutes, and you should get off at the Pinglin Visitor In formation Center stop, which is right outside the center. From there, a free shuttle bus, called the “Orange Bus” (ever y hour on weekdays, and ever y 20 minutes on weekends) will take you to the area’s trailheads. The last bus to the trailheads is at 3pm on weekdays, 5pm on weekends

Pho

tos/

Tw

elli,

Mar

k Ca

lton

hill

Pho

tos/

Ivy

Chen

, Sun

ny S

u

Our guide’s favorite fern, this wavy winged specimen is in fact quite poisonous. The shallow lobes on its leaf lets make a shape that’s l ike a bat’s wing, hence the name, and it can grow in incredibly acidic soil where other plants would not be able to thrive, or even survive. As a result, it can also be found in f ire-ravaged areas, and in the sulfurous valleys of the Yangmingshan massif, on Taipei City ’s north side. Generally however, it prefers open sites l ike forest edges and trailsides.

Batwing fern (Histiopteris incisa)

Oriental hard fern (Blechnum orientale)

The f irst fern we came across on our trip was this kiss-curled beauty. Its fronds are over a meter long, and burst up from the forest f loor l ike broadswords. Its leaf lets are the usual green, but seep into a darker brown at the tips, which twist into tight ringlets. It’s of ten seen in more mountainous areas of Taiwan, and prefers forest edges and roadsides.

Taiwan sago fern (Cyathea spinulosa) & f lying spider-monkey tree fern (Cyathea lepi fera)

These two kinds of tree fern pepper the steeper slopes along the Jingualiao Stream trail. They look similar, but there are distinct differences between the two species. The f lying spider-monkey tree fern is a l ittle taller, of ten growing more than six meters tall, and its dark trunk is covered in pale spots. Taiwanese folk think this spotted trunk looks like a

hand-made pen pot, so call it the “pen pot tree.” The Taiwan sago fern is a l ittle shorter than its cousin, but has an ingenious defense mechanism against any potentially suffocating vines. When its fronds die, they hang down from the tree like a Hawaiian skirt. Any vines which grow too high on the tree become entangled in the skirt, and the additional weight causes the dead frond to drop out, dragging the vine with it to the ground.

NATURAL TREASURES

Travel in Taiwan 44

FERNS

Travel in Taiwan 45

FERNS

Jingua liao Stream, home to f ish and fern

Diabolo Dance TheatreAmazing Dance and Acrobatics on the Big Stage

Dizzying, daring, and dazzling, Diabolo Dance Theatre com-bines the Chinese art of diabolo with dance, acrobatics, and stunning visuals in a spellbinding synthesis of the old and the new. The troupe is now taking to the stage with its latest and most ambitious creation to date. By R yan Campbell

Diabolo Dance Theatre

ON STAGE/OFF STAGE

Travel in Taiwan 46

DIABOLO DANCE THEATRE

Travel in Taiwan 47

In the past, I had always thought of a diabolo as a simple toy for children. When I recently met up with the

creative director of Diabolo Dance Theatre, however, I came to realize that its role can be transformed into something much larger. The troupe has taken a centuries-old pastime and given it a new lease on life.

The Chinese have been playing with the diabolo since the 12th century, when its initial use was as a merchant method to attract customers. The diabolo soon caught the attention of the general public, and children as well as adults started to use it as a recreational toy. In Europe, the diabolo became popular in the 18th century when merchants returning from the Far East brought the toy home as a present for their children. In England and France it was known as “el Diablo,” or “the devil on two sticks.” Like any fad, however, the diabolo soon lost its allure in Europe, though interest never completely died off. It has been used ever since, notably in circus shows and street performances.

In Taiwan, the diabolo didn’t become widely known until af ter 1946. The mass inf lux of immigrants from mainland China in the late 1940s brought a host of cultural imports, the diabolo one of them. Today it is considered an essential part of Taiwan’s cultural and historical heritage, and diabolo technique is of ten taught in elementary school.

For those unfamiliar with how a diabolo is handled, think of it as one part yo-yo technique, one part juggling, and one part balancing act. The toy consists of a spool that is spun on a string that is wound around it; the string has a short stick attached at each end. You make the spool move back and forth across the string like a yo-yo by moving the two sticks. Once you’ve mastered this balancing act, there is a considerable arsenal of tricks you can try, such as tossing, spinning, and juggling. Experienced diaboloists can make diff icult and complex maneuvers with a diabolo and while the pros make it seem effortless, this is not something you become skilled at overnight. Mastering the diabolo is a serious commitment that takes equal portions of patience and practice.

For Liu Le-chun, the creative director and founder of Diabolo Dance Theatre, the pursuit of the diabolo

has been an ongoing love affair. He was f irst exposed to the toy in elementary school, l ike the majority of Taiwan’s students. He continued to practice and perfect his moves through high school and beyond, and when he launched himself into a teaching career he introduced his love for the diabolo to his elementary-school students. Eventually, however, he began to feel the creative itch, and saw that diabolo “play” could be taken to a whole new level. In 1986, he founded Diabolo Dance Theatre to pursue his dreams.

In its early days, Diabolo Dance Theatre faced a series of challenges, the biggest of which was how to break with the traditional approach to diabolo performances. Before the troupe’s inception diabolo performances were mostly seen as mere skill demonstrations, but Liu was looking for something new and bold. He wanted to combine the diabolo with storytell ing and dance, and have his performers do more than just juggling or tossing it back and forth.

Liu and his troupe have come a long way since then. His elaborate stage shows are carefully planned and skilfully executed. Driven to be different and to take on new

challenges, the troupe has garnered much attention and great admiration,

performing around Taiwan and abroad, including South Korea, Japan, and the U.S., the mesmerizing shows riveting audiences.

In his 25-year run as director, Liu has done his best to push the envelope while increasing the troupe’s popularity. Working together with his team of creative minds, he starts each new production by brainstorming and visualizing his ideas. Af ter the initial concepts and sketches are complete, technical experts from various f ields are brought in. During a lengthy process, new dance moves and challenging diabolo stunts are tried out, testing the limits of the dancers. Innovative stage designs are formulated, incorporating the latest stage technology and visual effects. New diabolos are created, some as big as truck wheels, some with integrated special-effects LED lights. Colorful and of ten funny costumes are designed that instantly add a sense of joy to the stage performance. A production usually takes a minimum of two years to put together from start to f inish, with ideas constantly being re-evaluated and tweaked.

Mastering the diabolo is a serious commitment that takes equal portions

of patience and practice

Pho

tos/

Dia

bolo

Dan

ce T

heat

re

Liu prefers a more challenging approach, using modern technology and ideas, seeing this as the best

way to make the diabolo relevant and interesting to modern audiences

ON STAGE/OFF STAGE

Travel in Taiwan 48

DIABOLO DANCE THEATRE

Travel in Taiwan 49

Some critics say that diabolo performances should be focused on Asian stories and inf luences, but Liu feels this would be holding his team of artists back. He prefers a more challenging approach, using modern technology and ideas, seeing this as the best way to make the diabolo relevant and interesting to modern audiences. This drive in turn helps to

inspire his performers, encouraging them to push their creative limits.

One of the troupe’s most acclaimed productions, Entrance, is an excellent example of what started as a simple idea and turned

into a presentation of breath-taking fantasy, taking the diabolo and launching it to new heights. Here, Liu drew his inspiration from his daughter ’s toys. The story features a young girl who notices that one of her toys has disappeared from her room. She follows the toy through a portal into to a strange and magical world, all the while playing with a diabolo. There, she meets a many-eyed creature that is sad because its “heart” (a diabolo) is missing, while other fantastical creatures around it are playing happily with their hearts. The young girl helps the creature to retrieve its heart and rediscover happiness. For Entrance, huge moving stage pieces and LED diabolos were specially created.

In another production, Ocean Heart, common sea animals and elements f ind in the ocean, including crabs, sharks, and bubbles, come to life with the help of the diabolo, with the troupe’s dancers decked out in colorful costumes.

The performers of Diabolo Dance Theatre are all impressively talented. While mastering the diabolo is challenging enough, the troupe’s members are also astonishingly well trained in dance, acrobatics, gymnastics, acting, and even singing (which will be a new element in future productions). It’s no surprise, then, that training starts at an early age. Children will join the troupe at 6~8 years old, and it will of ten take up to 10 years of hard training before they are ready to perform on the big stage. Time is therefore usually the deciding factor when determining who is going to succeed. According to Liu, it’s generally not a matter of physical abil ity but rather one of determination and passion for performing with the diabolo.

Since much of the training is conducted by older members of the troupe, the performers grow up together and are l ike members of a closely knit family. To join the troupe, interested children are not required to have received formal training in any of the usual areas of performance art – one of the reasons it is so appealing to so many. Everyone is welcome to apply, learn, grow, and earn the chance to perform, as long as they have the passion to go on. This concept of acceptance not only makes for an eclectic mix of artistic styles, but also an interesting mix of performers of all shapes and sizes.

Diabolo Dance Theatre’s current stage production, Entrance I I, is its most ambitious project to date. Performances started

in December, and will continue into March at the EXPO Hall inside Taipei Expo Park. This is the f irst time a show of this scope and scale will premiere and have such a long run in Taiwan and it is the second time the troupe is performing at this venue, as it took part in the impressive opening ceremonies for the Taipei International Flora Expo at the end of 2010.

Even though busy and fully focused on their current show, Liu and the Diabolo Dance Theatre players are already thinking about their next challenge. A new concept called Transform has taken shape, and is scheduled to premiere as a full-blown production within the next two years. Without doubt this newest showcase will again establish new heights and new milestones in the performing arts, challenging the performers on all physical and emotional levels, and presenting audiences with a spectacle they’ll still marvel at long afterwards.

Liu Le-chun 劉樂群

EXPO Hall 舞蝶館

Taipei Expo Park 花博公園

ENGLISH & CHINESE

DIABOLO DANCE THEATRE (舞鈴劇場)Add: 1F, 6, Alley 3, Lane 10, Xinyi Rd., Sec. 2, Taipei City (台北市信義

路二段10巷3弄6號1樓)Tel: (02) 2341-6066Website: www.diabolo.com.tw (Chinese)

Pho

tos/

Ivy

Chen

, Sun

ny S

uP

hoto

s/ D

iabo

lo D

ance

The

atre

Pho

tos/

Nat

ural

Bea

uty,

BEI

NG

spa

, Ivy

Che

n, M

aggi

e So

ng

BEING spa

Taipei is a city known for its hustle and bustle and a fast pace of life. And while this may be true, there are also places within the city which move to a much slower beat, allowing you to stop, smell the roses, and just relax. Spas in Taipei are the perfect getaways to take a break and focus on health and wellness with an oriental twist. By Amanda Hsiao

Places for Pampering and Unwinding

If you happen to be staying at the Miramar Garden Taipei hotel, located on Taipei’s busy Civic Blvd., and looking for a place to relax, look no further than the second f loor of the hotel for the spa next to the f itness center. If you are not staying at the hotel you can of course visit the spa as well, but hotel guests enjoy a discount.

Inside the BEING spa reception area, you take a seat and f ill out forms in order to build a personal prof ile and f ind out which massage or treatment would most suit your needs. An attendant will also ask you to randomly choose a scent from a box of bottles with your non-dominant hand, the scent supposedly helping to also reveal what you need.

BEING spa has a wide variety of massages to please the customer. These services can be broken down into f ive basic groups: skin care, body contour and slimming work, body scrubs and wraps, spa sessions for female and male customers, and body massages. While the f irst four groups are great for cosmetic and slimming use, it is the body massages that are the most popular.

Two unique and very different styles are used for the massages. The f irst is called The Legend o f Stones f rom India, preferred by those who suffer from poor circulation or constantly feel cold. Specially chosen dark stones that have been soaked in aromatherapy oils are warmed and then used, with gentle strokes, to massage the body. A full-body massage lasts about 70 minutes and costs NT$4,350; massages focusing on a specif ic area of the body can be chosen as well, each lasting 30 minutes and costing less than NT$3,000.

The second unique type of body massage is Spa Care f rom the Australian Dreamtime, with options like Mala Mayi Mud Wrap, which lasts 70 minutes and costs NT$6,250, and Yanko Pink Desert Salt Ex f oliation, which is a 20-minute treatment for NT$1,750. These massages are good choices if you desire a younger and fresher look. For those who want to focus on relaxation, however, the Kodo Body Massage option (NT$4,250)

might be the best choice. This is a 70-minute massage that uses aboriginal symbols as guide for the therapist’s rhythmic hand strokes. It is meant to restore harmony in the body and invigorate you with the energy needed for your travels ahead.

Af ter the massage, customers are invited to rest in relaxation lounges, with separate facil ities for men and women, enjoy light snacks and a hot cup of tea, and browse through brochures that introduce the spa’s l ine of skin- and body-care products, before heading back out into the rush of the day.

NATURAL BEAUTY (自然美)Add: 9, Songqin St., Xinyi District, Taipei City (台北市信義區松勤街9號)Tel: (02) 8786-3399 Website: www.nblife.com (Chinese)

Natural Beauty

Spas in Taipei

BEING SPAAdd: 2F, 83, Sec. 3, Civic Blvd., Taipei City (台北市市民大道三段83號2樓)Tel: (02) 8772-6645Website: www.beingspa.com.tw

Situated close to Taipei 101 and only a 10-minute walk from MRT Taipei City Hall Station, Natural Beauty is easy to spot with its large windows filled with an array of Natural Beauty products. Guests are more than welcome to browse on the first floor, and friendly sales clerks are happy to answer questions or help direct you to the next floor, where your spa treatment begins.

Stepping into the wood-paneled elevator might well be declared the first step of the service, as immediate quiet embraces and delivers you from the noise of the traffic outside. The doors then open into a Bali-style area with wooden floors, large rocks used as stepping stones, and the sounds of running water, frogs, and crickets.

No matter which massage or treatment you choose, each starts with a skin and health diagnosis, one of this spa’s unique features. Conducted with some of the latest technology, an attendant will

explain the diagnosis and which products would be most suitable during your treatment. After this, you shower, slip on a soft robe, and head off down an all-white hallway lined with floor lights, a pure area where guests leave the stresses of daily life behind. You choose a massage room, each with its own theme based on type of treatment, and it’s time for your massage or beauty course.

Treatments are broken up into two categories: facial care and body care. As the company was started by a woman who was sensitive to other beauty products and decided to start her own line, the facial-care treatments focus on taking care of sensitive skin and on anti-aging. Two of the most popular treatments are Diminishing Lines and Wrinkles Care and Recovery Over-Sensitive Care, each lasting about 90 minutes and costing NT$2,400 and NT$2,700, respectively.

If a full-body massage is what you desire, the Chinese Five Elements of Li fe Cultivation Meridian body massage is highly recommended. This is the longest massage, lasting about two hours, during which the masseuse works on your body in segments according to the five elements – metal, wood, wind, water, and earth – as well as two additions, sun and moon. If two hours seems a bit long, guests can also choose individual segments, the most popular being “sun,” which is focused on the neck and shoulders. Each individual segment lasts about 20 minutes and costs NT$1,400 while the full body massage is priced NT$5,500.

There are also more services beyond the massage and skin treatments: body scrubs, hand and foot care, hair care, as well as waxing. Many of these treatments are perfect for busier guests, who may not have as much time. They are also cheaper, running from NT$800 to NT$1,600.

Skin diagnosis Relaxing in a whirlpool at Miramar Garden Taipei

Body Contour & Slimming Work

ENJOYMENT

Travel in Taiwan50

CITY LIFE

Travel in Taiwan 51

Travel in Taiwan 51

Pho

tos/

Ori

ent R

etre

at

The Orient Retreat is special, one of the f irst spas introduced to the local market blending Chinese health concepts with the Western spa tradition, creating a new spa experience. Customers will not only f ind this a place to relax and get pampered, but will also be offered delicious and healthy foods and snacks based on the Chinese idea of the 24 solar terms. These solar terms are 2-week periods ref lecting the changes that go on in nature, and also serve as a guideline for what is healthy to eat at any particular time.

Orient Retreat has a café, The Sense, with a menu that strictly follows the 24 terms, and offers an abundance of service options that range from providing you with a relaxing getaway to taking care of your health needs. It is important to schedule an appointment and plan a lot of

time for the treatment, for in the words of Shenyn Wang, CEO of Orient Retreat, “a spa should be a ‘heart-to-heart experience’ and not something to be done in a rush.” This sentiment is ref lected in the careful choosing and training of the therapists working at Orient Retreat.

For those new to the spa, there is a list of starter’s choices introducing the most popular options from the many styles of treatments offered. All of the starter’s choices last about 30 minutes, and are all priced under NT$2,000. These range from an Anti-Stress Back Massage focusing on relaxation of the body, to a Body Scrub with salt or yogurt for energy and healthy skin, to a Busy Bee Facial for those wanting to focus on facial care.

Beyond the starter’s choices is an incredible number of services that cover the body from head to foot and treat a wide variety of ailments. Whether a customer is suffering from a bit of jetlag or has slightly more serious trouble with, say, a sore back, Orient Retreat has a service to help alleviate the problem.

After you have enjoyed a relaxing massage or one of the many other treatments, you can spend some time resting back in the lounge before heading over to the café and browsing a menu that not only lists the food and drinks for the current solar term but also describes the benef its of these items, including drinks to f ight headaches and colds and soups to improve circulation. Enjoying one of these carefully prepared meals is a great way to end your day at the spa and provide health and wellness inside as well as outside.

Orient Retreat has many locations throughout Taiwan. Its largest outlet is in Taipei, just a 5-minute walk from MRT Nanjing East Road Station, across the street from the Taipei Arena. In order to better understand the various treatments available at Orient Retreat, potential customers can visit the North American section of their website, which explains some of the services provided in English: www.enjoyspa.com/canadaandusa.

Orient Retreat

ORIENT RETREAT (登琪爾)Add: 5F, 337, Sec. 3, Nanjing E. Rd., Taipei City (台北市南京東路三段337號5樓)Tel: (02) 2713-1565Website: www.enjoyspa.com

Enjoying a “heart-to-heart experience”

ENJOYMENT

Travel in Taiwan52