Upload
travel-in-taiwan
View
219
Download
1
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Â
Citation preview
Mountain trip Delightful AlishAn
no. 62, 20143 4
top tEn touriSt tourS nanzhuang in Miaoli County
BaCKpaCK BuS tourS taKing thE taiwan touriSt ShuttlE to Sun Moon laKE
FooD JournEy organiC KuMquat FarMing in yilan
indigenous artist Demedemanround-the-island Bicycle ridehiking to the Mysterious Shuiyang Foresttraditional taiwanese Cakes and pastries
/
Welcome to Taiwan!Dear Traveler,
Taiwan does not experience the winter snows that other lands do, but when the warming airs of
spring wash over the island each year the same “spring fever” grips the people, as does the urge to get
out on the road and explore.
Where can you go, and what can you do? Here’s the plate of samplers this month’s issue of Travel in Taiwan presents to you.
In our Feature section we visit the Alishan area, exploring high-mountain tea plantations, an
alpine-railway town called Fenqihu, the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, the region’s
extensive trail network and attractive indigenous Tsou tribe culture, and much more. As always in this
section, we also give advice on where to stay, where and what to eat, and what souvenir items to buy.
In our Top Ten Tourist Tours f ile we visit the town of Nanzhuang in the high hills of Miaoli
County, savoring the many local heritage sites, the distinctive Hakka culture and cuisine, and the
culture of the area’s indigenous peoples. Continuing with the indigenous culture theme, we spend time
with artist Demedeman in our Indigenous Artists department, a young member of the Paiwan tribe
who is preserving her cultural heritage and introducing her tribe’s traditions to the world.
Those with an interest in history and a bit of a sweet tooth will especially enjoy this issue’s Special Report section, in which we travel f rom the island’s north to south to visit the f lagship outlets of some
of Taiwan’s most venerable and prestigious names in traditional-style confections – all of which have
introduced modern twists of decidedly delicious interest for the palates of visitors f rom faraway lands
East and West. Elsewhere on the food-theme f ront, in our Food Journey department we delve deep
into the world of local kumquat cultivation with a visit to an organic orchard in the northeast.
Staying outside to take f ull advantage of the warm spring sun, among the other available travel
experiences we paint for you with photos and the written word are an exploration of tourist-favorite
Sun Moon Lake in the central mountains via the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle service, the Formosa 900, a
bicycle adventure in which teams of participants circumnavigate Taiwan in nine days, and a hike to
the Shuiyang Forest and its earthquake-created mystery lake.
Welcome to Taiwan, where I promise the spring and the people will embrace you with great
travel-easing warmth!
David W. J. HsiehDirector General
Tourism Bureau, MOTC, R.O.C.
台 灣 觀 光 雙 月 刊Travel in TaiwanThe Official Bimonthly English Magazine of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau (Advertisement)March/April, 2014 Tourism Bureau, MOTCFirst published Jan./Feb., 2004ISSN: 18177964 GPN: 2009305475 Price: NT$200www.tit.com.tw/vision/index.htm
Copyright @ 2014 Tourism Bureau. All rights reserved.Reproduction in any form without written permission is prohibited.
PUBLISHER David W. J. HsiehEdItIng ConSULtant Wayne Hsi-Lin LiuPUBLISHIng oRganIzatIonTaiwan Tourism Bureau, Ministry ofTransportation and CommunicationsContaCtInternational Division, Taiwan Tourism Bureau Add: 9F, 290 Zhongxiao E. Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei, 10694, TaiwanTel: 886-2-2717-3737 Fax: 886-2-2771-7036E-mail: [email protected]: http://taiwan.net.tw
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
Alishan National Forest Recreation Area (photo by Jen Guo-Chen)
This magazine was printed with soy ink. Soybean is said to be more environmentally friendly than petroleum-based ink and to make it easier to recycle paper.
This magazine is printed on FSCTM COC certified paper. Any product with the FSCTM logo on it comes from a forest that has been responsibly maintained and harvested in a sustainable manner.
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: [email protected] ManagER Wendy L. C. Yen dEPUty gEnERaL ManagER Frank K. YenEdItoR In CHIEf Johannes Twellmann EngLISH EdItoR Rick Charette dIRECtoR of PLannIng & EdItIng dEPt Joe LeeManagIng EdItoR Gemma Cheng EdItoRS Ming-Jing Yin, Chloe Chu, Nickey Liu ContRIBUtoRS Rick Charette, Paul Naylor, Joe Henley, Stuart Dawson, Owain MckimmPHotogRaPHERS Jen Guo-Chen, Maggie Song, Duncan Longden, Fred Cheng aRt dIRECtoR Sting Chen dESIgnERS Fred Cheng, Maggie Song, Eve Chiang, Karen PanadMInIStRatIvE dEPt Hui-chun Tsai, Nai-jen Liu, Xiou Mieng Jiang
MagazInE IS SoLd at:1. Wu-Nan Culture Plaza, 6, Zhongshan Rd., Central Dist.,
Taichung City 40043 886-4-2226-0330 http://www.wunanbooks.com.tw/
2. National Bookstore, 1F., No.209, Songjiang Rd., Zhongshan Dist., Taipei City 10485 886-2-2518-0207 http://www.govbooks.com.tw/
1028
March ~ April 2014
CONTENTS
Travel in Taiwan 3
feaTure10 Alishan – Where the Sun Starts Its Day — a Journey into high-Mountain alishan national Scenic area
Sleeping and Eating in the Clouds — Tips on Where to Stay and Where/What to eat at alishan
1 Publisher’s Note4 Taiwan Tourism Events6 News & Events around Taiwan8 Concerts, Exhibitions, and Happenings 33 Fun with Chinese
FOOD JOUrneY36 Yilan’s Kumquats
— Visiting an Organic Orchard in Taiwan’s Northeast
SPlenDiD FeSTivalS46 The Formosa 900
— Around Taiwan on a Bicycle
10
50
TOP Ten TOUriST TOUrS20 Lovely Nanzhuang
— A Little Town in the Miaoli Countryside
inDiGenOUS arTiSTS24 Paiwan Artist Demedeman
— Keeping Indigenous Traditions Alive
BaCKPaCK BUS TriP40 On the Way to Sun Moon Lake
— Riding a Taiwan Tourist Shuttle Bus through Nantou County
SPeCial rePOrTS44 2014 – Taiwan’s Year of the Horse, Your Year for Taiwan Travel50 One of Taiwan’s Sweetest Things — Its Cake Culture
36OlD STYle/new iDeaS30 The Amazing Bamboo — An (Almost) Obsolete Material Survives in Modern Times
HiKinG28 Shuiyang Forest
— Hiking to a Mystery Lake Created by an Earthquake
20
Calla Lily Festival (竹子湖海芋季 )Location: Zhuzihu (竹子湖 ), Beitou District ( 北投區 ),
Taipei City ( 臺北市 )
Tel: (02) 2892-4185
Website: www.callalily.com.tw
Many visitors to Taiwan are quite
amazed that there is a national
park less than an hour by bus from
downtown Taipei. Yangmingshan
is home to a beautiful park indeed, with verdant
mountains, hot springs, trails, and plenty of fresh air.
Within its boundaries, situated between Mt. Datun
and Mt. Qixing, is an area named Zhuzihu (“Bamboo
Lake”), where a long, long time ago a barrier lake was
created after a volcanic eruption. The lake dried up over
time, leaving behind fertile earth that is now used by
farmers to cultivate ivory-white calla lilies. During this
festival, f lower lovers flock to Zhuzihu to pick flowers in
the fields and take memorable photos. The festival also
features a design exhibition in which lilies and other
seasonal f lowers are used to create beautiful landscapes.
Following the early-spring f lower season, late spring
has yet more in store for f lower-loving travelers, namely the
cherry blossoms of Alishan, calla lilies of Yangmingshan, and
tung tree blossoms of northwestern Taiwan and other areas.
On the cultural front, the annual Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage,
one of the world’s great religious gatherings, is certainly not
to be missed, and the Spring Wave Music & Art Festival is a
must-experience event for music-loving people.
Alishan Sakura Season (櫻花季音樂會 )Location: Alishan National Forest Recreation Area ( 阿里山國家森林遊樂區 ),
Chiayi County ( 嘉義縣 )
Tel: (05) 278-7006
Website: recreation.forest.gov.tw
The mountainous Alishan area in southwestern Taiwan’s Chiayi County is worth a
visit at any time of the year, its most popular attractions being the famous alpine forest
railway, the sunrise over Mt. Jade, which is Taiwan’s highest mountain, and the “sea of
clouds” that form in and completely fill the deep valleys. Alishan is especially delightful
in springtime, however, when its cherry trees are in full bloom. The Alishan National
Forest Recreation Area is perhaps the best place in Taiwan to enjoy the profusion of pink
and crimson blossoms. Paired with the cherry blossoms, its romantic sunrise and forest
train scenes create unforgettable images.
The Hakka Tung Blossom Festival in Miaoli (苗栗客家桐花祭 )Locations: Counties and cities around
Taiwan
Tel: (02) 8995-6988
Website: tung.hakka.gov.tw
Each year in May you can spot “snow” on trees
in certain areas of Taiwan, especially in the foothills of
Miaoli County. How come? It is not real snow, of course,
but the blossoms of the tung tree, which is in full bloom
at this time of the year. Originally planted by the Hakka
people for their oil and wood, tung trees, no longer used
for commercial purposes and left to grow on their own,
have spread over large hilly areas, much to the delight
of hikers and flower-lovers. To celebrate the blooming
season, local governments stage numerous activities
and events, many combining the beauty of f lowers with
celebrations of traditional Hakka culture. This is a great
time to go for a walk in the forest and marvel at the
profusion of blossoms on trees and along trails, where
expansive “white carpets” are often created.
Festivals in Late Spring
Mar.15
Apr.15
Mar. Mar. May
Happenings Highlighting Taiwan’s Nature and Culture
TAIWAN TOURISM EVENTS
4 Travel in Taiwan
Spring Wave Music & Art Festival (春浪音樂節 )Location: Wuliting Airport, Hengchun Township, Pingtung County
( 屏東縣恆春鎮五里亭機場 )
Tel: (02) 2356-9888
Website: www.spring-wave.com
Spring Wave is one of Taiwan’s biggest annual outdoor music festivals. The venue is the grounds of
Hengchun Airport, not far from the popular beach-resort town of Kending at Taiwan’s southernmost
tip. During the 3-day event, music fans can enjoy the pleasant spring weather of southern Taiwan while
listening to the music of many of Taiwan’s top music acts. Last year, the festival attracted more than
200,000 revelers, who also came to attend the Spring Scream music festival at Eluanbi, southeast of
Kending town. Around 250 independent bands performed, including 60 foreign bands, and there was
also a Moonlight Foam Party at South Bay (Nanwan), one of Kending’s best beaches.
Taichung City Mazu International Festival (臺中媽祖國際觀光文化節 )Location: Dajia Jenn Lann Temple ( 大甲鎮瀾宮 ); 158, Shuntian Rd., Dajia Dist.,
Taichung City ( 臺中市大甲區順天路 158 號 )
Tel: (04) 2228-9000
Website: www.culture.taichung.gov.tw
If you are interested in local culture and want to experience how the faithful people here
go about celebrating the birthday of their most beloved goddess, you don’t want to miss this
festival, which is part of the annual Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage, an 8-day, 7-night walk during
which Mazu temples in central and southern Taiwan are visited. Many of the festival’s
traditional ceremonies are held at Dajia’s Jenn Lann Temple, the start and end point of
the pilgrimage. The festival attracts huge crowds, and it can become a bit frantic at times,
showing how passionate the Taiwanese people are about their faith. During the pilgrimage,
a statue of Mazu is carried on a sedan chair, and up to 200,000 people will do part or all of
the long march from Dajia in Taichung to the town of Xingang in Chiayi County and back.
Apr.
Dapeng Bay International Regatta (大鵬灣國際風帆系列活動 )Location: Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area ( 大鵬灣國家風景區 ),
Pingtung County ( 屏東縣 )
Tel: (08) 833-8100
Website: www.dbnsa.gov.tw
Dapeng Bay is a large lagoon just south of the harbor town of Donggang
in southwestern Taiwan. It is part of the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area and has been developed
as a recreational area, allowing visitors to explore the interesting ecological environment and
engage in a variety of water sports. The Dapeng Bay International Regatta is the largest event of its
kind in Taiwan, and attracts large crowds who come to experience sailing and wind surfing on the
calm waters of the bay. There’s also a sailboat race for experienced sailors from the main island of
Taiwan to the small coral island of Xiao Liuqiu, southwest of Dapeng Bay, which is a popular tourist
destination in its own right.
Mar.
Mar.
May
May
4 6
TAIWAN TOURISM EVENTS
Travel in Taiwan 5
MARCH~MAY
6 Travel in Taiwan
WHAT'S UP
News& Events around Taiwan
Zoo
Movie
Little Panda Biggest Star in Taipei ZooAfter a six-month wait, panda lovers in Taiwan finally got to see her up close – Yuanzai, the Taipei Zoo’s baby panda. Thousands of curious visitors have been drawn to the zoo since the beginning of the year, hoping to see the little critter move about, a rare sight considering the panda sleeps up to 20 hours a day. The panda is the first born in Taiwan; her parents came from mainland China in 2008. If you can’t make it to the zoo, but still want to see little Yuanzai, you can watch her online at hichannel.hinet.net/panda/ (live broadcast from 4 to 5pm local time each day). Zoo website: english.zoo.taipei.gov.tw.
Tourism
Eight Million Visitors in 2013The year 2013 was a successful one for Taiwan’s tourism industry in terms of visitor arrivals. Just before the end of the year, on December 31 at 1pm, the 8-millionth visitor arrived in Taiwan at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, setting a new high for international visitors in one calendar year. Arriving on an EVA Air f light from Japan, Aya Omote and her husband were greeted by officials at the airport and presented with a variety of gifts, valued at NT$500,000 in total, to celebrate the occasion. The couple received two round-trip business-class tickets to anywhere in Asia from Taiwan, coupons for free accommodation in five-star hotels, tickets to an entertainment complex, tour-bus tickets, a three-day High Speed Rail pass, bicycles, and electronic devices.
A Touching Baseball StoryThe film Kano, produced by Wei Te-sheng, the award-winning Taiwanese director of Cape No. 7 and Seediq Bale, is one of Taiwan’s films to watch this year. Released in February, it tells the remarkable story of a high-school baseball team from Chiayi, in southern Taiwan, that was invited to compete in the 1931 Koshien all-Japan tournament and, to the surprise of everyone, made it to the finals. The team, comprised of members of three ethnic groups – Japanese, Han Chinese, and indigenous – and a tough Japanese coach, took a boat from Keelung in northern Taiwan to Kobe in Japan and, though facing far superior competition, almost won it all with a good share of luck and a “never give up” attitude. Wei, who also wrote the script, has added a love story to the drama, which has all the components of a feel-good movie.
Travel in Taiwan 7
WHAT'S UP
Airlines
Dubai-Taipei Flights by EmiratesSince this February, Emirates airline has been offering non-stop f lights between Dubai and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. There are three f lights daily, giving travelers from the Middle East and Europe more options to reach Taiwan.
Sightseeing
Love River CruisesThe Love River in Kaohsiung has become one of the city’s main tourist attractions in recent years. Especially in the evening, the river attracts many people who come to stroll along the riverside, taking in the charming night views. The Love Boat service allows you to travel on the river itself, on eco-friendly boats powered by solar panels. A new generation of the craft has recently been introduced, and both catering and live-music entertainment are now offered. A 100-min. cruise (incl. buffet and entertainment) is available from NT$500 per person on weekdays, NT$700 on weekends and holidays. Cruises without food and music are available for NT$120. For more info, visit kcs.kcg.gov.tw/new_kcb/index_en.php.
Emirates chairman and chief executive of f icer Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al -Mak toum (center) with poli t ical deput y minis ter at the Minis tr y of Transpor tat ion and Communications of Taiwan Chen Chwen-Jing ( lef t), and deput y direc tor general of Taiwan’s Civ i l Aero -nautics Administrat ion Wan-Lee Lee (r ight)
8 Travel in Taiwan
CULTURE SCENE
Concerts, Exhibitions, and Happenings
Taiwan has a diverse cultural scene, with art venues ranging from international-caliber concert halls and theaters to makeshift stages on temple plazas. Among Taiwan's museums is the world-famous National Palace Museum as well as many smaller museums dedicated to different art forms and aspects of Taiwanese culture. Here is a brief selection of upcoming happenings. For more information, please visit the websites of the listed venues.
The Dialogue of Ancestral Spirits 祖靈對話
April 6Taipei Zhongshan Hall
This music event will be something special. Singers from Taiwan’s indigenous tribes will be joined on stage by percussionists from Africa and the Taipei Chinese Orchestra. Celebrating tribal music, the artists will create a wonderful spiritual experience. Website of the Taipei Chinese Orchestra: www.tco.taipei.gov.tw.
Eva Yerbabuena, one of the most celebrated contemporary flamenco dancers, was born in 1970 and has been dancing flamenco since she was 12. She has performed around the world, including the Sydney Opera House, and has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards. In Lluvia (Rain), a classic Spanish flamenco work, she
presents her highly praised speed, power, and dramatic footwork. Accompanied by four dancers and her ensemble of musicians, she delivers an unforgettable performance, producing despairing monologues with her feet and making one lament while at the same time being thrilled by the charms of the dance form. For more info about Eva Yerbabuena, visit www.evayerbabuena.com/en/.
Ballet Flamenco Eva Yerbabuena: Lluvia
March 28 & 29National Theater
伊娃‧葉爾芭波娜佛朗明哥舞團《雨》
Cloud Gate 2, the junior company in Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, was formed in 1999 by the theatre’s founder and artistic director, Lin Hwai-min. The company showcases talented young dancers in original works by innovative young choreographers. Spring Riot is Cloud Gate 2’s annual spring-season program, and performances are highly anticipated. This year, the company will present Dorian Gray by choreographer Cheng Tsun-lung, adapted from Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, Yaangad by Bulareyaung Pagarlava, which will include live singing by Sangpuy, a member of Taiwan’s indigenous Puyuma tribe, and The Floating Area by Huang Yi, presented to the sound of Bach’s Piano Concerto in D Minor. For more info about Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, visit www.cloudgate.org.tw.
Cloud Gate 2: Spring Riot 雲門 2:春鬥
April 17~ 20Novel Hall
January 18 ~ April 20Taipei Fine Arts Museum
This exhibition is not a display of photographs, but of super-realistic paintings based on photographs. Super-realism, also called photorealism, is a modern art form that originated in the 1970s in New York. More accurate than realism, the focus of this form is the reproduction of images in new, objective form. To achieve this, painters will often take an image with a camera, develop it as either slide or print, project the image on a canvas, and apply realistic painting technique to achieve the lifelike visual effect of a photograph. The exhibition features works by several ethnic-Chinese artists who have lived and worked in New York, as well as Taiwan-based artists of different generations who have mastered the art of super-realistic painting.
Telling Details: Photorealism in Taiwan見微知萌→台灣超寫實繪畫
Travel in Taiwan 9
CULTURE SCENE
Taipei
Taipei Zhongshan Hall (台北中山堂)
Add: 98, Yanping S. Rd., Taipei City( 台北市延平南路 9 8 號 )
Tel: (02) 2381-3137www.csh.taipei.gov.twNearest 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.twNearest MRT Station: Taipei 101/World Trade Center
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 www.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( 台北市至善路二段 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 2 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/enNearest MRT Station: Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
Taipei Arena (台北小巨蛋)
Add: 2 Nanjing E. Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei City( 台北市南京東路四段 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( 台北市中山北路三段 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
TWTC Nangang Exhibiton Hall (台北世貿中心南港展覽館)
Add: 1, Jingmao 2nd Rd., Taipei City(台北市經貿二路 1號 )Tel: (02) 2725-5200 www.twtcnangang.com.twNearest MRT Station: Nangang Exhibition Hall
ATT Show Box
Add: 12, Songshou Rd., Taipei City(台北市松壽路 12號 )Tel: (02) 7737-8881www.attshowbox.com.twNearest MRT Station: Taipei 101/World Trade Center
Venues
雲門 2:春鬥
Telling Details: Photorealism in Taiwan見微知萌→台灣超寫實繪畫
Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts (關渡美術館)
Add: 1 Xueyuan Rd., Beitou District, Taipei City(台北市北投區學園路 1號 )Tel: (02) 2896-1000www.kdmofa.tnua.edu.twNearest MRT Station: Guandu
Taichung
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (國立台灣美術館)
Add: 2 Wuquan W. Rd., Sec. 1, Taichung City( 台中市五權西路一段 2 號 )
Tel: (04) 2372-3552www.ntmofa.gov.tw
TainanTainan City Cultural Center (台南市立文化中心)
Add: 332 Zhonghua E. Rd., Sec. 3, Tainan City( 台南市中華東路三段 332 號 )
Tel: (06) 269-2864www.tmcc.gov.tw
KaohsiungKaohsiung 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://163.32.121.205Nearest KMRT Station: City Council
Alishan Where the Sun Starts Its Day
A Journey into High-Mountain Alishan National Scenic Area
Where the Sun Starts Its Day
Alishan Nat ional ForestRecreat ion Area
10 Travel in Taiwan
FEATURE
This Alishan three-day adventure begins on the island’s Western flatlands with visits to attractions located just before the gap in the mountain wall at the town of Chukou that gives access to the rugged, ever-higher peaks hiding beyond. Provincial
Highway No. 18 takes you there, and we head upward and skyward along its dramatic twists to the area around the small settlement of Fenqihu, a place of great character whose original
reason for being was to serve as a halfway station and timber-loading point on the Alishan Forest Railway, one of the world’s highest and most picturesque lines.
The adventure ends far, far higher still, in the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, the jewel in the Alishan crown.
Alishan
Travel in Taiwan 11
FEATURE ALISHAN
Text: Rick Charette Photos: Jen Guo-Chen
Day 1On the Plains around Chukou
Graceful Wufeng Temple is beside Highway 18 in the township
of Zhongpu, not far from Chukou. An interesting window into
Taiwan history, it was built in 1820 in honor of Wu Feng, a figure
of controversy. It is said he was a Qing Dynasty official in this area,
respected by both Han Chinese immigrants and the local indigenous
peoples, who tricked the latter into giving up their headhunting ways by
disguising himself and allowing them to cut off his head. The tale has
given rise to much political controversy. The display here presents the
story as true.
Just before Chukou and your mountain ascent are a number of
sites, located close to each other along Highway 18, that will bring you
reward. The spanking-new Alishan NSA Chukou Visitor Center, in an
expansive facility of dynamic architecture, has English-speaking staff,
English brochures, and visually attractive displays on such topics as the
area’s tea production and Tsou indigenous culture. There is also a well-
produced 18-minute introductory video offered; ask the desk staff to
play the English version.
1
2
Located
in Chiayi County, Alishan National
Scenic Area (www.ali-nsa.net) is a well-developed
tourist resort and recreation area that brings countless
numbers of sightseers on pilgrimages to take in
spectacular sunrises over what the Taiwanese poetically
call yunhai, or “seas of clouds,” which dramatically
roll into the deep valleys like a great incoming tide, and
which you witness from above. The pristine, tranquil
region is defined by lofty peaks, long and deep valleys,
soaring stands of cedar, cypress, and pine, massive
“sacred trees” over a thousand years old that stand
like immortals amidst their much younger brethren,
picturesque tea and coffee plantations, an attractive
network of trails, Tsou tribe culture, fresh and tasty
mountain produce, and fun alpine forest railway rides.
The national scenic area abuts Yushan National Park
(www.ysnp.gov.tw), home to Taiwan’s loftiest peak,
Yushan or Mt. Jade.
3
12 Travel in Taiwan
FEATURE
Tsou Tribe and Yokeoasu MarketRight beside the visitor center is a Tsou tribe community. The northern Tsou have long called Alishan home. The tidy modern-style homes here, built after Typhoon Morakot roared across the island in 2009, feature decorative patterns imitating those used on traditional Tsou attire. The Yokeoasu Market, staged at the community center on weekends/holidays, showcases Tsou arts and crafts, traditional song and dance, food delicacies, and mountain produce (with Taiwan’s other tribes represented as well). I find the colorful yet elegant hand-crafted, international-quality leather goods particularly fetching, featuring scenes from Tsou myths (with tagged explanations).
Across from the visitor and community centers is large, long Niupuzi
Leisure Park, which runs between the highway and parallel Bazhang
River and is being developed as a space of f loral landscapes to be used
for relaxed strolls and bicycling. Back on the same side as the visitor
center and not far away is the Taiwan Forestry Bureau’s Chukou Nature
Center (recreation.forest.gov.tw; info on center in Chinese only), which
has pleasant shaded paths, a copy of the wood-built fire-lookout towers
the bureau constructs on high-mountain points, an eco-pond area
showcasing sustainable nature-reengineering practices, and a tree bank
with proud old specimens brought here for protection.
Chukou is dramatically set right where the Bazhang River suddenly
emerges from the mountain wall. Oft called the gateway to Alishan,
adding to the visual drama are two long river-spanning suspension
bridges built by the Japanese in 1937, with a large, ornate Chinese
temple off the end of one. The temple’s market area formed in the days
before the highway was punched through; Chukou was once a major
commercial entrepot, handling f latland goods destined for the hills and
Alishan produce headed into the f latlands.
1. Wufeng Temple2. Al ishan NSA Chukou V isi tor Center3 & 4 Chukou Nature Center 5. Niupuzi Leisure Park
5
4
Travel in Taiwan 13
FEATURE ALISHAN
Day 2 Up to the Mid-Level Hills and Fenqihu
Your trusted writer must here confess to a bit of
a fib. It is almost guaranteed that multi-day Alishan
sojourners, even if spending a good deal of time at the
sites in the section above, will be up in the mountains
toward the end of Day 1, looking to witness the iconic
sea of clouds phenomenon and to take in the day’s sunset
and, perhaps, the next day’s sunrise. I’ve manipulated
the “Day” sections in this article a tad so as to give you
a better sense of each region’s physical separation and
differences.
The Fenqihu-Shizhuo area is 1,200~1,500 meters
above sea level. Shizhuo village is on Highway 18;
Fenqihu is reached via a pretty, gently winding, tree-
hugged 5km road. This is tea country, and steep-slope tea
plantations are almost always in view.
Souvenir shopping for the mellow, premium-
quality Alishan high-mountain Oolong is pretty much
obligatory, and I find Sheng Le Farm (www.sheng-le.com; Chinese), at Xiding, below Shizhuo on Highway
18, one of the most pleasant and relaxing places to do so.
It has an airy retail area, rustic café/restaurant with big
windows to let in the moving seas of clouds panoramas,
and a homestay facility. All the teas are from the
picturesque surrounding fields, English is spoken in the
retail area, and you can even tour the on-site production
facilities. Sheng Le also produces Alishan coffee.
Scenic Fenqihu has a duo of raisons d’etre – the Alishan Forest
Railway was built in the early 1900s by the Japanese to bring
logged timber down to the plains, and this spot was both close to
great timber stands and could serve as a halfway storage and repair
depot. A place of low wooden houses, Fenqihu is fit snugly into a
high slope where two mountain bodies meet.
At its top, just above the tracks (the railway is closed indefinitely
for maintenance) are homespun wood-built cafés with splendid
forest and valley views. Along the tracks you’ll find the attractive
old Japanese-built station, the old train depot (free entry), which
houses logging-era engines and a model showing the amazing
engineering involved in the alpine railway, and a thick showcase
stand of six-meter-high square bamboo, brought here from south
China in 1941 for use in building, handicrafts, etc.
Fenqihu Old Street runs just below the tracks. Lined tightly
with heritage shops selling iconic foods and crafts, at points it is
covered and so narrow that is it more corridor than street. Two
very welcoming wood-décor shops sell traditional baked items
such as sun cakes, mochi, and Taiwan-style cookies made with
1
2
3
14 Travel in Taiwan
FEATURE
1. Sheng Le Farm tea plantat ion2. Sheng Le Farm café/restaurant3. Fenqihu Rai lway Stat ion4 & 5 Fenqihu old train depot
6 Yoshino cherr y blossoms7 & 8 Fenqihu Histor ical E xhibit ion Room9. Japanese horseradish
Alishan’s Sunsets and Seas of CloudsHere are my votes for the best locations to take in Alishan’s sunsets and seas of clouds:
Sunsets: The Eryanping Trail, which starts beside Highway No. 18 at Xiding (53.5km mark), below Shizhuo. “Xiding” means “top of the crevice,” indicating the pass/crevice used by early settlers when heading to Eryanping Mountain. You walk among bamboo stands, tea fields, and strangely shaped rocks, and have grand views of the plains in the far distance. This trail is also good for the seas of clouds.
Cloud-sea viewing: The Upper Shizhuo Trail, which starts just off Highway 18 just up a Shizhuo side road, and moves upslope through tea farms. There is a large cluster of homestays here, one close to the trailhead recommended in our Stay/Eat article. As you wait for the sea and it then moves massively past and below you, a calming sense of serenity envelops you.
fresh local ingredients. DerMing’s (No. 146) gift boxes feature old-time Alishan steam
locomotives, and Trainpei (No. 142) offers a large assorted-goodie giftbox with rope
handles that is itself a steam locomotive.
For me, aficionado of spiced-up foods, a must-buy is the popular Alishan wasabi,
sold at numerous shops here in cute and colorful little containers that look like old-
time milk bottles. The Japanese introduced Japanese horseradish, called shankui in
Chinese, to Alishan to satisfy their wasabi cravings.
Down at the quiet bottom of the village, beside the small police station, is the
Fenqihu Historical Exhibition Room (free entry), housed in a beautifully renovated
Japanese-era police dormitory. Inside, enjoy the quality Fenqihu-theme display and
video, which have good English, and as well enjoy the sunny, breezy café, which has
indoor/outdoor seating, Alishan teas and coffees, and the owner-operator’s delicious
self-created cold tea/honey/Japanese sake drink. Numerous unique gift items are sold
here, notably the owner’s also-delectable orange jam and cane sugar handmade by
Tsou tribe members.
Be sure to leave time to traverse the easy trails that encircle the village, which have
good English signage. Highlights include tall stands of cedar, viewing platforms, and
the ruins of the area’s Japanese Shinto shrine and an old kiln.
9
4
5
8
6
7
Travel in Taiwan 15
FEATURE ALISHAN
Day 3 Alishan National Forest Recreation Area
The drive to the forest recreation area from Shizhuo
takes about an hour. Along the way, you are presented with
ever more impressive peak/cliff/valley vistas and ever more
impressive road-engineering feats. Arrival at the forest
recreation area brings you into a busy complex of eateries
and retailers primarily selling Alishan-theme goods. There
is also a visitor center. From the main area, which is at about
2,200 meters above sea level, you launch into the latticework
of pathways and eco-friendly raised boardwalks further on
uphill and downhill. There are short forest-railway runs from
Alishan Station, up behind the food & retail complex, to
Zhaoping Station, the Sacred Tree, and, in the early morn, to
Zhushan (“Celebration Mountain”) for the famous sunrises.
Among the many images of natural beauty that will
become part of your album of life memories will be Zhaoping
Park’s decorative cherry trees (planted throughout Alishan
by the Japanese), the laid-to-rest Sacred Tree, estimated at
over 3,000 years old and long revered by the Tsou, the Giant
Tree Trails, featuring dozens of massive, ancient red cypress
trees, the forest-surrounded Sisters Ponds, one prettified
1. Sunr ise at Zhushan2. One of the Sis ters Ponds 3 & 4 Al ishan Forest Rai lway5 & 6 Forest recreation area
1
2
316 Travel in Taiwan
FEATUREFEATURE
with two wooden “love pavilions” built on Formosan red
cypress bases (said to be named after two lovely native
sisters who long ago drowned themselves to avoid a forced
marriage), and the fantasy-like Three-Generations Tree,
which has one tree growing from the dead trunk of another,
which originally grew from the dead trunk of a third, that
one 1,500 years old.
On this three-day trip, taken in January, temperatures
reached into the 20s (Celsius) in the day, but tickled zero in
the forest recreation area at night – so be prepared!
English and ChineseAlishan National Forest Recreation Area 阿里山國家森林遊樂區Alishan Forest Railway 阿里山森林鐵路Alishan National Scenic Area 阿里山國家風景區Alishan NSA Chukou Visitor Center 阿里山國家風景區 - 觸口遊客中心Alishan Station 阿里山車站Bazhang River 八掌溪Chukou 觸口Chukou Nature Center 觸口自然教育中心 DerMing 德銘餅店Eryanping Trail 二延平步道Fenqihu 奮起湖Fenqihu Historical Exhibition Room 奮起湖文史陳列室Fenqihu Old Street 奮起湖老街Giant Tree Trails 巨木群棧道Mt. Eryanping 二延平山Niupuzi Leisure Park 牛埔仔草原Sacred Tree 神木shankui 山葵Sheng Le Farm 生力農場Shizhuo 石棹Sisters Ponds 姊妹潭sun cakes 太陽餅Three-Generations Tree 三代木TrainPei 天美珍餅舖Tsou tribe 鄒族Upper Shizhuo Trail 頂石棹步道Wufeng Temple 吳鳳廟Xiding 隙頂Yokeoasu Market 優格哇獅市集yunhai 雲海Zhaoping Park 沼平公園Zhaoping Station 沼平車站Zhongpu Township 中埔鄉 Zhushan 祝山
Alishan Forest RailwayTaking the narrow-gauge Alishan Forest Railway all the way from the city of Chiayi, on the coastal plains, to the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, high up in the central mountains, is a truly memorable train ride. Unfortunately the line was seriously damaged by typhoon-caused landslides in 2009, and repair work has been continuous since then. On January 27 the section from Chiayi to Fenqihu, which is at about the half-way point, was reopened. The section from Fenqihu up to the forest recreation area is still being repaired, and a date for reopening will be announced at a later date. For ticket reservations on the Chiayi-Fenqihu section, call Chiayi City’s Beimen Station at (05) 276-8094 or (05) 276-2251.
4
56
Travel in Taiwan 17
FEATURE ALISHANFEATURE
Getting There, Getting AroundSelf-drive is your best option, for the national scenic area’s attractions are quite spread out. The next best option for the DIY traveler is the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle, an inexpensive hop-on/hop-off coach service. There are two Alishan routes: one starts/finishes at Chiayi’s High Speed Rail station, the other at Chiayi Railway Station. Check out the official website (www.taiwantrip.com.tw) for more details. For other bus options, visit the Alishan National Scenic Area website (www.ali-nsa.net) and click on “Transportation,” then “Public Transportation.”
Your stay and eat options perfectly complement the fresh air and simple beauties of Alishan mountain living.
2
3
Bright, airy Alishan House stands amidst the soaring,
straight-spine trees and shady walking paths that define the
Alishan National Forest Recreation Area. The upscale hotel has
two sections, each with its own distinctive character. The front,
two-story wood-built section, which was built as a mountain
getaway for imperial officials by the forest-loving Japanese in
1913, has the look and ambience of the old, rustic inns you find
in wooded areas in the New England countryside. The chic,
modernistic new section, opened in autumn 2012, rises above
the old in the rear and along one side, like a mother gently
protecting a child with one arm extended. Alishan House has all
the facilities of a big-city hotel, plus much extra nature-sculpted
beauty. Especially inviting are the rooftop decks and café
amongst the trees. (Rooms start at NT$7,000.)
Changqingju (“Evergreen Home”) is a comfortable, bucolic
homestay (i.e., a B&B without the second “B”) run by quiet,
friendly tea farmer Xu Yong-hong. The traditional three-sided
courtyard residence is his ancestral home, and he has given it an
impressive renovation. It sits amidst tea plantations, with a trail
leading uphill behind, just above Shizhuo village and Provincial
Highway No. 18, both out of sight and earshot. Beyond, facing
east, is a deep valley, a backdrop of high peaks, and serene
sunrises. The rooms (for two people, four people, and families)
are modern, bright, and airy, featuring much polished wood
and etched-glass paneling. Each has a bathroom/shower – bring
towels – and cable TV, but no phone. Simple breakfast foods can
be ordered from the Shizhuo FamilyMart convenience store;
order forms are supplied. (Rooms start at NT$3,000.)
Note that surrounding Changqingju are many other
homestays. Check with the Tourism Bureau for details. Other
suggested places to stay include the missionary-run Arnold
Janssen Activity Center hostel (aj-centersvd.myweb.hinet.net ; Chinese) in lower Fenqihu, where the gentle, lovely Sister
Ulrich from Switzerland will take care of you in the way my
grandmother did when I was a child, and the small Fenqihu
Hotel (www.fenchihu-hotel.com.tw), a hotel with the simple
facilities of an inn located on the main Fenqihu tourist foot-traffic
alley, so quiet before mid-morning and after supper you hear the
local roosters crowing.
Tips on Where to Stay and Where/What to Eat at Alishan
StayOvernighting in Alishan almost automatically means bracing
morning views with your coffee or tea. Here are places that have
passed the Travel in Taiwan test for pleasantness and comfort.
Sleeping and Eating
in the Clouds
1
18 Travel in Taiwan
STAY/EAT ALISHAN
Text: Rick Charette Photos: Jen Guo-Chen
Alishan House (阿里山賓館 )Add: 16, Xianglin Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County ( 嘉義縣阿里山鄉香林村 16號 )Tel: (05) 267-9811 Website: www.alishanhouse.com.tw
Changqingju (長青居 )Add: 16, Zhonghe Village, Zhuqi Township, Shizhuo, Chiayi County ( 嘉義縣竹崎鄉中和村石棹 16號 )Tel: (05) 256-1603 / 0932-711-222
Tianshui (天水 )Add: 159-2, Fenqihu, Zhonghe Village, Zhuqi Township, Chiayi County ( 嘉義縣竹崎鄉中和村奮起湖 159-2號 )Tel: (05) 256-2084
A-Liang's (阿良鐵支路便當 )Add: 117, Fenqihu, Zhonghe Village, Zhuqi Township, Chiayi County ( 嘉義縣竹崎鄉中和村奮起湖 117號 )Tel: (05) 256-1809
4 5
6
7
English and ChineseFenqihu Dried Beancurd 奮起湖豆干堡Fenqihu Hotel 奮起湖大飯店Lijing Restaurant 麗景廳Shizhuo 石棹Xu Yong-hong 許永鴻
1. Old wood-built sec t ion of Al ishan House2. Al ishan House old-sec tion guestroom3. Changqingju homestay4. Fenqihu dr ied beancurd5. St ir- f r ied f iddleheads at T ianshui restaurant6 . Beancurd with wasabi at L i j ing Restaurant7. Fenqihu rai lway lunchboxes
The glass-walled Lijing Restaurant on the first f loor at
Alishan House has soothing views into the forest behind the
hotel and into its waterfall-adorned central courtyard. The food
is Chinese, with dishes built around local produce. My favorites
are the deep-fried Alishan range chicken with mushroom, meat-
stuffed tomatoes, and beancurd with wasabi. The pure, mineral-
rich mountain waters here have given the local beancurd an
island-wide reputation.
The Lijing Restaurant is also the venue for the hotel’s
breakfast buffet. There is a wide range of both Western and
Chinese breakfast standards. Among the tasty non-standard items
are the selection of fresh European-style breads, lox, and meat
stew – the last most welcome on a chilly Alishan winter morn.
In Fenqihu, the open-front, hole-in-the-wall eatery
Tianshui is always busy. The fare, filling and straightforward,
is quintessentially local. The best dishes, in my view, are the
pumpkin soup, fried tea-oil chicken, fried mountain boar, and
fiddleheads. There is an English menu here.
Directly across the narrow alley from Tianshui you’ll see
the “Fenqihu Dried Beancurd” stand. This supplies the closest
thing to soul food you’ll find in Alishan, a snack I’ve never
seen anywhere else. Large squares of local soy-braised smoked
beancurd are sliced open to form pockets à la pita bread, and
stuffed with a savory medley of spicy red pepper, spring onion,
minced pork, and other goodies, which you can adjust to taste.
Delicious! Two of these make a meal.
Fenqihu “railway lunchboxes” are pretty much a tourist must.
In days of old they were sold to passengers on passing trains
from the station platform. Each has a bed of rice, a cut or two of
meat, a soy-braised egg, and other goodies. A-Liang’s is generally
considered to have the village’s best. With an NT$270 version, you
get a souvenir tin lunchbox with attractive railway-theme art.
EatFrom Alishan’s pristine environment grows fresh, delectable
mountain produce, and from these, simple, hearty fare is created.
STAY/EAT
Travel in Taiwan 19
ALISHAN
Lovely Nanzhuang
Sweet Osmanthus Lane
Nanzhuang Old Post O f f ice
Nanzhuang Hundred Year Maple Tree
TOP TEN TOURIST TOURS
Text: Paul Naylor Photos: Fred Cheng
A Little Town in the Miaoli Countryside
Kangji Suspension Bridge
At Nanzhuang Hand-made Noodles
Nogi Stairs
TOP TEN TOURIST TOURS NANZHUANG
It was a dark, cold, and rainy day, and we started our trip very early. I got on the train headed south and fell asleep. At some point on the journey from Taipei Railway Station to the town of Zhunan I woke up. All was bright and clear now, and I could even see the Taiwan Strait off in the distance.
Travel in Taiwan 21
After an
hour’s ride we
arrived at Nanzhuang, where our first stop
was the Nanzhuang Visitor Center. The
center is well-stocked with information
about the area, and the staff has plenty of
ideas on where you might journey.
We then walked to close-by
Yongchang Temple. Built in 1905,
this temple is large and imposing, and
features beautifully painted door gods
and woodcarvings. The “Three Lords of
the World” are worshipped at the temple
– they control heaven, earth, and water,
respectively.
Next door to the temple is the
Nanzhuang Old Post Office. This was
built during the time of Japanese rule
over Taiwan, around 1900, and still
has many of its original features. It is
no longer operational, but there is a
mailbox outside. These days it houses as
an exhibition space and a souvenir shop.
Many of the region’s traditional specialty
products are sold here, such as kumquat
jam and lemongrass oil, as well as the
shop’s own signature mosquito repellent!
It may seem strange that Nanzhuang
Elementary School was recommended
as a destination on our tour, but the
school has a feature of special interest
to travelers. Beside its playing field is
a unique tree. Curved in the shape of a
crescent moon and supported by wooden
scaffolding, the Nanzhuang Hundred
Year Maple Tree is believed to be a
century old.
From the elementary school we
descended the Nogi Stairs, the building
of which was initiated in 1897 by
General Nogi Maresuke, the third
Japanese governor-general of Taiwan,
when he inspected the town. We then
came to a cobbled area marking one
end of Nanzhuang Market. Here stands
the well-known Lao Jin Long (“Old
Golden Dragon”) restaurant, which
has been satisfying customers with its
traditional Hakka food for the past 50
years. However, we had come here for
the gourmand’s paradise of snacks found
in Sweet Osmanthus Lane.
Sweet Osmanthus Lane is so named
because of an old noodle restaurant here
named Guihua (“Osmanthus Flower”).
In an attempt to make the lane better
known to outsiders and boost business,
the locals started to call it Sweet
Osmanthus Lane and restaurant owners
began to add the fragrant osmanthus
f lower to various foods.
We were met with a cacophony of
shouts in the narrow, cobbled streets, as
stall-holders vied to sell us their wares.
As the day was getting colder, we ordered
hot osmanthus and kumquat drinks first,
and then went on to try some of the snack
foods. On the food front, we first sampled
some Hakka-style taro fritters, a simple
treat made with taro and glutinous-rice
paste, then tried some spicy chicken feet,
and finished with pork and sausages
We had
entered Miaoli in
northwest Taiwan, a county characterized
by foothills and mountains, with rich
rainfall and small rivers, giving it a perfect
climate for the cultivation of many types
of fruits and vegetables. Miaoli is also
culturally significant, as a great number of
Taiwan’s Hakka people live here, and it is
also home to the small indigenous Saisiat
tribe, as well as the Atayal.
The Hakka have been living in this
area since the 18th century, and thinking
of their long tradition of distinctive
cuisine and handicrafts, I was looking
forward to a grand adventure in terms of
both cultural and culinary exploration.
We were heading to the town of
Nanzhuang, known as one of the best
places on the island to see (and taste) this
cultural legacy.
At Zhunan we caught a local
bus bound for Nanzhuang. Buses of
the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle service’s
Nanzhuang Route (www.taiwantrip.com.tw/Besttour/Info/?id=5) also start
out from Zhunan, but we didn’t want
to wait (the tourist shuttle buses leave
once an hour on weekdays). As our bus
moved deeper into Miaoli County the
countryside came to life. The fields
were full of sunflowers and pink garden
cosmos, and bright-orange kumquats
glistened on dark-green trees. The bus
stopped at a morning vegetable market
and a lively, colorful group of old men
and women got on, talking excitedly
in the melodious Hakka language.
Accompanying them was the smell
of spring onions, fresh soil, and other
evidence of intimate contact with Mother
Earth. We were definitely out of the city.
The old post office was built during the time of
Japanese rule over Taiwan, around 1900, and still
has many of its original features
3
2
1
TOP TEN TOURIST TOURS
22 Travel in Taiwan
prepared with Shaoxing wine, a classic
Chinese rice wine. These served as
splendid appetizers, for lunch-time had
arrived and our tummies were growling,
demanding satisfaction! We stepped into
a small, traditional Hakka-style Sweet
Osmanthus Lane restaurant and quickly
found that two Hakka must-tries were
on the menu, bamboo-shoot soup with
meigan cai, a type of pickled Chinese
mustard plant unique to the Hakka, and
dried beancurd with spring onion and
chili. We ordered both. The soup was
perfect, especially considering the cold
weather, and the dried beancurd had an
interesting texture and smoky taste, well
complemented by the chili.
Osmanthus f lowers are also used by
local vendors in dessert items and we were
keen to try some of those next. We first
sampled some crunchy osmanthus egg
rolls, then some taro cakes, and finally a
traditional dessert, glutinous-rice balls,
with wax apple, banana, and osmanthus
honey added. These come either with ice
or warming ginger soup. As it was a cold
day, I was looking forward to the ginger
soup. However, as we would have had to
wait for it to be heated, we opted for the
ice instead. There was also lavender and
lemongrass ice cream available, but after
eating up our generous servings of ice we
decided to leave these for a warmer day
and a return trip.
On the way
out of Sweet
Osmanthus Lane, we came upon a strange
sight. Here, a small stream emerges from
under a rock, flows along a short stone
trough, and disappears underground once
again. This is the Shuibiantou Laundry
Trough. In days of old, locals would wash
English and Chinesebantiao 粄條guihua 桂花Kangji Suspension Bridge 康濟吊橋Lao Jin Long 老金龍meigan cai 梅乾菜Nanzhuang 南庄Nanzhuang Elementary School 南庄小學Nanzhuang Hand-made Noodles 南庄手工麵Nanzhuang Hundred Year Maple Tree 南庄百年楓樹Nanzhuang Market 南庄市場Nanzhuang Old Post Office 百年南庄郵便局Nogi Stairs 乃木崎石階Penglai River 蓬萊溪Saisiat tribe 賽夏族Shaoxing wine 紹興酒Shuibiantou Laundry Trough 水卞頭洗衫坑Sweet Osmanthus Lane 桂花巷Three Lords of the World 三官大帝Yongchang Temple 永昌宮Zhongzheng Road 中正路Zhunan 竹南
We first sampled some crunchy osmanthus egg rolls,
then some taro cakes, and finally glutinous-rice balls,
with wax apple, banana, and osmanthus honey added
Nanzhuang Visitor Center (南庄遊客中心 )Add: 43, Datong Rd., Borough 4, Dong Village, Nanzhuang Township, Miaoli County (苗栗縣南庄鄉東村 4 鄰大同路 43號 ) Tel: (037) 824-570
their clothes in the clean spring water; and
judging by the traces of washing powder
on the stones and the clothes hanging in
the sun, at least a few still do.
A short while later we were standing
on Kangji Suspension Bridge, a
structure of brick-built towers and
impressive architectural engineering that
spans the stony Penglai River, enjoying
the excellent views of Nanzhuang.
We spotted a cat prowling around
the courtyard of one of Nanzhuang’s
traditional three-sided courtyard houses,
and savored the quiet, which contrasted
dramatically with the hustle and bustle of
Sweet Osmanthus Lane.
Walking back towards the town
center, down Zhongzheng Road, we did
a little browsing in the many traditional
craft shops. Nanzhuang, like a number of
other places in Miaoli County, is known
for quality woodwork, and the shops
here sell beautifully crafted items such
as images of the Laughing Buddha and,
strangely, laughing pigs. There are also
tailors and fabric shops where traditional
Hakka f loral-pattern fabrics are made
into clothes, cushions, sheets, and all
manner of other things.
The light was now fading, signaling it
was time for dinner. Nanzhuang Hand-
made Noodles, a 50-year-old noodle
shop on Sweet Osmanthus Lane, was
the place to go. The walls are covered in
notes written by visiting tourists, many
in English, a testament to the restaurant’s
popularity; I added my own, in rather
shaky Chinese characters. The restaurant
serves tasty hand-made bantiao (thick
rice noodles), a staple of Hakka cuisine,
with pork and red onion.
Our stomachs full, our legs tired,
we bid goodbye to Nanzhuang, and
then to Miaoli County. Nanzhuang is
a great destination for a one-day trip
from Taipei; but if you have the time,
spend more than just a single day in
Miaoli County. Our trip presented me
with splendid scenery and gave me a
fascinating glimpse into the intriguing,
timeless cultures of the Hakka and of the
area’s indigenous people.
1. Sweet Osmanthus Lane 2. Nanzhuang Old Post Of f ice3. Nanzhuang Elementar y School4. Kangji Suspension Br idge5. Sampling an osmanthus egg rol l
5
4
TOP TEN TOURIST TOURS
Travel in Taiwan 23
NANZHUANG
Text: Joe Henley Photos: Duncan Longden
With her unique artwork, a young artist of the Paiwan tribe attempts to preserve her cultural heritage and introduce aspects of her tribe’s traditions to the world
In a small
exhibition
room in the Yilan Creative Culture
Center in Luodong Township in Yilan
County, a woman sits at her work desk
stitching colored beads into cloth,
putting the finishing touches on a
geometric design done in bright oranges
and greens. At the same time, she keeps
a storied tradition alive. Demedeman, a
member of the Paiwan tribe, used to hate
making the traditional dress and crafts
of her people. When she was young her
grandmother would make her sit and
help with her handiwork, much to the
child's dismay. It was only later on, after
she had moved to Yilan in northeast
Taiwan from her native Taitung County
in the southeast, home to Mt. Dawu, the
ancestral territory of the Paiwan, that
she began to feel a sense of nostalgia for
her cultural origins. Wanting to express
her feelings and preserve a disappearing
craft and a way of life, she again took
to the stitches taught to her by her
grandmother, starting down a path that
she today continues to explore.
Demedeman's grandmother is now
nearly 90 years old, and a traditional
Keeping Indigenous Traditions Alive
dress she has made hangs in her
granddaughter's exhibition room. It is
adorned with beaded representations
of the sharp-nosed viper, the protector
spirit of the Paiwan, and is the work of
a lifetime. As Demedeman explains,
her grandmother, still spry even at her
advanced age, is always looking to add
something to the dress, just as the artist
herself is always looking to refine her
Paiwan Artist
Demedeman▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼
INDIGENOUS ARTISTS
24 Travel in Taiwan
▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼
▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼
Wanting to express her
feelings and preserve a
disappearing craft and a way
of life, she again took to the
stitches taught to her by her
grandmother
13
2
1. Ar t is t Demedeman2. Neck lace with metal nuts3. Tradit ional neck lace
craft and explore her own personal style.
She is well-versed in the legends and
creation stories of her tribe. She will
sit and tell visitors of how the Paiwan
believe they were hatched from eggs
stored in a ceramic pot, protected by the
viper, and of the spiritual importance of
glazed beads and the ceremonial knives
they carry in hardwood sheaths that are
painted red and have images of their
ancestors carved into them.
Welcoming and endlessly
accommodating, Demedeman will
tell you of the drink the Paiwan use
to welcome guests, their version of
the potent millet wine that is such an
intrinsic element in traditional Taiwan
indigenous culture, made with glutinous
rice rather than millet. She might even
serve you some. Then she may well go
on to explain how in Paiwan society men
and women are considered equal, and
how members of either sex can become
leader of the tribe – a fact she is well
aware of as the daughter of a Paiwan
chief. The sun on her black-cloth shawl
shows that she is descended from tribal
leadership. After this she may point to
the various other shawls hanging on
the walls of her shop, each featuring a
pattern unique to one of Taiwan's 14
officially recognized tribes.
Though
Demedeman is
cogent of the ways of the past, she is also
a modern woman, and this side of her
personality shines through in her work.
She came to Yilan five years ago and a
year ago began designing accessories and
clothing. Since then she has developed
a unique creative style combining old
and new. A Demedeman necklace, for
example, might have eagle feathers
hanging from it, symbol of a Paiwan
warrior. In another time, the number
of feathers hanging from a warrior's
necklace represented the level of his
bravery in past battles. On Demedeman’s
creations, however, a string of metal
nuts might be found next to the feathers,
which have no cultural relevance at all
and, according to the creator, simply
remind her of the seeds of a millet stalk.
Demedeman has a line of shawls and
necklaces resembling baby bibs, the latter
known as “jube” in the Paiwan language,
complete with geometric patterns
inspired by the artwork of Taiwan's
various tribes. While working on a pair
of earrings, a new shirt design, or any
other new creation, she may well listen
to some rock music, a lingering passion
from her youth. The theme throughout
is juxtaposition, and the goal is to give
her culture a broad appeal to those who
might not be familiar with Taiwan's
indigenous customs or history, be they
Taiwanese or people from abroad, using
a modern sense of fashion to introduce
selected aspects of Paiwan tradition to
the world at large.
Demedeman, now in her early
thirties, is married to a man from the
Atayal tribe, and has a daughter. At
one time, marriage outside the Paiwan
tribe was not common, but customs
have changed to suit modern times.
However, she and her husband note that
although some of their traditions have
merely changed, others are in danger
of disappearing altogether. The Atayal
people, for example, were once known for
their facial tattoos, but today these can
almost exclusively be seen on the faces of
a dwindling number of elders. When they
go, the tradition will likely die with them.
Similarly, in the past Paiwan chiefs and
shamans had intricately designed tattoos
done on the back of their hands, with
INDIGENOUS ARTISTS DEMEDEMAN
Travel in Taiwan 25
English and ChineseAtayal tribe 泰雅族Dawu Mountain 大武山Demedeman 日姆日蔓Luodong Township 羅東鎮Paiwan tribe 排灣族Yilan Creative and Cultural Center 宜蘭縣文化創意中心
an eye symbolizing the fact that their
revered ancestors were always watching
over them, but this custom is no longer
followed. Demedeman does what she can
to make sure that even if these aspects of
traditional tribal life disappear, they will
not be forgotten, recreating these designs
on clothing and postcards so that people
might remember.
Another
example of the
artistic inspiraton Demedeman has
received from her grandmother is an
enlarged cardboard cut-out of the elderly
woman and the artist as a child that sits
in her exhibition room, facing the desk
where she works on her newest creations.
She sees this as a concrete way to both
show and tell her child, as well as the
next generation of Paiwan, where they
come from and who they are. The Paiwan
people, she says, like to sit and listen
to the stories of their elders and learn
about how things were in the past. She
is encouraged, noting that the younger
Paiwan are starting to realize the
importance of keeping their culture alive
and taking action, not waiting around for
others to do it for them and losing their
dependence on outside assistance.
As for the future, Demedeman
dreams of becoming a full-time artist.
The biggest challenge, she says, will be
in channeling sources of inspiration on
a daily basis. She would like to stage a
national touring exhibition of her works,
and has already branched out to other
parts of Taiwan, selling her wares in
craft markets in Taipei and online. She
is also exploring new ways to broaden
her creativity, all while remaining loyal
to the theme of introducing elements of
Paiwan culture that could be in danger
of fading away to as many people as
possible. At the moment she is learning
She is exploring new ways
to broaden her creativity, all
while remaining loyal to the
theme of introducing elements
of Paiwan culture
▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼
▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼
the art of temporary henna tattoos,
which she intends to paint on people's
hands in the same way that Paiwan
chiefs used to mark their skin. She is also
beginning to pass on what she knows
to her three-year-old daughter, who has
1
3
2
1. Bird- feather neck laces2. Tradit ional neck laces3. Bracelet and neck lace
already shown enthusiasm in and talent
for sewing beads, and who loves to draw.
Perhaps one day she will also take up her
mother's work, make steady additions
to a traditional dress she has spent a
lifetime working on, and ensure that the
knowledge and artistic traditions of the
Paiwan will never be forgotten.
If you would like to check out
Demedeman's work online, or pick up
some of her clothing or accessories,
log on to her web store at www.pinkoi.com/store/demedeman (Chinese). You
can also follow her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Demedeman).
INDIGENOUS ARTISTS
26 Travel in Taiwan
Shuiyang ForestHiking to a Mystery Lake Created by an EarthquakeText and Photos: Stuart Dawson
A lake was
formed in
the Shuiyang Forest after the massive 921
Earthquake that struck central Taiwan on
September 21, 1999. The quake measured
7.3 on the Richter scale, and caused a great
deal of damage. The forest is situated in a
valley located north of the Alishan National
Scenic Area. The earthquake caused a large
landslide that blocked the original path of a
river in the valley, causing the valley to flood
and creating the lake.
The hike to the Shuiyang Forest and
the lake (about 10km one way) begins at
SunLinkSea (www.goto307.com.tw), a
40-hectare eco-park situated 1,600m above
sea level in Nantou County. After arriving
at the park early one morning, we caught a
shuttle bus to the trailhead proper, which
is located around 4km inside the park.
The hike begins on the old, abandoned
Shanlinxi Forestry Road. There’s a trail
that starts at roadside and cuts straight up
the side of the mountain, but it’s so steep
that it’s better to stay on the road. After
about 500m you’ll come across another
trail that starts at roadside, this one
tagged. This leads up Mt. Luqu (2,288m),
and is well worth doing if you’ve got
enough time. The trail is steep, and passes
by a number of felled camphor and cedar
trees. The smell of these trees fills the air
as you approach the peak.
We decided to climb up the mountain.
When we came to the peak, the forest
opened up and we were treated to an
amazing view. It was late winter, and we
could see the snow-capped peaks of the
Yushan Mountain Range to the east, plus
half a dozen eagles soaring above the
valley in front of us.
From this point, the trail headed down
steeply and turned sharply. The change
of direction was such that we began to
worry we’d missed a turn somewhere, but
as we continued hiking down, the forestry
road that we’d left a couple of hours ago
reappeared, and we knew we were on the
right track.
After the
steep climb up and
down Mt. Luqu, we were grateful to walk
through this beautiful section of forest on
a flat and gentle path. All around us was
the evidence of logging in the past, with
the stumps of fallen giants littering the
sides of the trail.
After a few kilometers of this type of
scenery, the trail drops steeply down to the
lake. This part of the hike is the trickiest.
There are a number of fixed-rope sections,
and steep drop-offs on one side. It’s very
important that you take your time and
watch your footing.
HIKING
28 Travel in Taiwan
Ear t hquake L ake at Shuiyang Forest
Shuiyang Forest
There is little wind, meaning that the flat surface of the water creates perfect mirror-like reflections
of the surrounding dead trees
English and ChineseAlishan National Scenic Area阿里山國家風景區Taichung Gancheng Bus Station 台中干城站Mt. Luqu 鹿屈山Shanlinxi Forestry Road 杉林溪林道Shuiyang Forest 水漾森林SunLinkSea 杉林溪Yushan Mountain Range 玉山山脈
Safety
Taiwan’s mountain terrain can be quite rugged. It’s important to bring the correct equipment. It is also highly recommended that anyone wishing to hike to Shuiyang Lake join a group on a guided hike.
Getting There
There are buses from Taichung Gancheng Bus Station to SunLinkSea. SunLinkSea shuttle buses will bring you to the trailhead.
Water re lease of t he lake
Camping at t he lakeside
Once at the lake, we looked for a spot
to set up camp. There’s plenty of f lat
ground, but it’s a good idea to look for
somewhere higher up. The lake can flood
during heavy rain, and we didn’t want to
wake up in the water!
We got the tents set up and then set
off to explore. There’s a small path that
follows the shore of the lake, leading
to the point where the lake empties out
and the waters once again take the form
of a river. As we walked around the
dark clouds seemed to come down low,
settling in amongst the ghosts of the
many dead lakeside trees, making for a
very eerie scene.
Early the next morning we awoke
to find that the gloomy cloud cover had
completely dispersed. The lake is set deep
in the valley, with steep mountains all
around, so there is little wind, meaning
that the flat surface of the water creates
perfect mirror-like reflections of the
surrounding dead trees. We could have
spent hours watching the endlessly
changing lights on the water, but
knowing we had a long hike back out,
we reluctantly packed up and started our
return trip.
HIKING SHUIYANG FOREST
Travel in Taiwan 29
At one time,
bamboo was used to make items as
varied as raincoats, children’s toys, back
scratchers, and pillows. As recently as the
turn of the 20th century, people would
sit on bamboo chairs at bamboo tables,
eating bamboo shoots from bamboo bowls
using bamboo chopsticks, perhaps with a
bamboo hat on their heads and bamboo
sandals on their feet.
Even before the Han Chinese
began immigrating in large numbers to
Taiwan in the 17th century, the island’s
indigenous peoples had themselves
been using bamboo for multifarious
purposes – making fish traps, armor,
musical instruments … the list goes
on. And though not as ubiquitous as it
once was, bamboo pulp is used to this
day to make the ghost money burned to
appease gods and ancestral spirits. The
divination blocks and lots used when
beseeching blessings or counsel from
the gods are also bamboo-made.
And if you’re still unconvinced as
to bamboo’s importance in Chinese
culture, one last fact should do the
trick: Bamboo is an essential element
Text: Owain Mckimm Photos: Maggie Song
It’s difficult to articulate just how important bamboo is in Chinese culture. One could perhaps compare it to the Japanese fondness for paper, or the Korean obsession with kimchi, but neither comparison would express just how thoroughly bamboo has permeated Chinese daily life for several thousands of years. You cannot build a house out of kimchi, nor can you eat paper. Bamboo, however, is both a foodstuff and was once used liberally in both construction and interior design. But there is more – much more – to it than that.
130 Travel in Taiwan
OLD STYLE/NEW IDEAS
An (Almost)
Obsolete Material
Survives in
Modern Times
The Amazing Bamboo
2
3
in the Chinese system of writing, and not
just because it’s used to make calligraphy
brushes. To clarify, Chinese characters are,
generally speaking, made up of two parts: a
radical and a phonetic element. The radical
is the semantic element of the character – it
expresses, if you will, the essence of the thing
that’s being represented. “To cook” (烹 ) for
example, is written with the “fire” radical
( 灬 ); “ant” (螞蟻 ), with the “insect” radical
(虫 ). The characters for “pen” (筆 ), “basket”
(籃 ), “abacus” (算盤 ), and “box” (箱 ), along
with hundreds of others, are formed using the
“bamboo” radical ( ⺮ ). This puts bamboo,
which belongs to the grass family, on a par
with elements such as wood (木 ), stone ( 石 ),
and metal (金 ) in terms of usage as radicals in
other characters.
However,
although bamboo is still
present in some aspects of Taiwanese life, times
have changed. Taiwan once had a flourishing
bamboo economy, with all kinds of different
species grown – from the 50-meter-tall giant
bamboo to the miniscule dwarf white-striped
bamboo, a mere ten centimeters in height.
Zhushan (literally “Bamboo Mountain”), a
town in southwest Nantou County, was once at
the center of this industry, but its hillsides, then
covered in bamboo groves, are now covered
instead in more lucrative plantations of tea bushes
and betel-nut trees. The replacement of traditional
materials with plastics and synthetic composites
has largely killed the bamboo market in Taiwan.
Bamboo, for all intents and purposes, is today an
almost obsolete material – a callback to a bygone
age, like pewter, ebonite, or ivory.
There is at least one man in Zhushan,
however, who is standing in bamboo’s corner.
He has taken this all-purpose material, once
known as “the poor man’s wood,” and is making
it into something chic, modern, and even artistic.
Liu Wen-huang, founder of Bamboola Taiwan,
designs bamboo items for almost every facet of
modern life; perhaps more importantly, he does so
for the modern-day consumer who values style as
much as substance.
After arriving at Liu’s small factory in
Zhushan, we are taken upstairs to the exhibition
hall, where we are seated on bamboo chairs around
a bamboo table and served tea brought in on a
bamboo tea tray. It’s immediately apparent why
Liu’s products are suited to the modern market: the
furniture, the shelves, the wall paneling – none of
it looks like bamboo.
When one thinks of bamboo furniture, for
example, one thinks of hollow segments of
bamboo, perhaps lashed together at right angles
with twine, to make items that are a little
shaky, a little rudimentary. Despite bamboo’s
reputation as being very strong, notably in its
use as a scaffolding material, products made
from bamboo have always, to me at least,
seemed somehow all too rickety, all too likely
to splinter under pressure. But Liu’s wares have
none of this frailty about them. This is because
rather than cobbling together segments of
bamboo stalks to make his large repertoire of
canes, vases, bookshelves, tea sets, chopsticks,
kitchen-knife sheaths, spectacle frames, and so
on, Liu instead has bamboo wood fused into
planks, as one might do with engineered wood
such as MDF or plywood.
1. Bamboo cover for smar tphone2. Tr y ing to open a puz zle box3. Bamboo box designed by Bamboola
Travel in Taiwan 31
BAMBOOOLD STYLE/NEW IDEAS
An (Almost)
Obsolete Material
Survives in
Modern Times
1
English and ChineseLiu Wen-huang 劉文煌Zhushan 竹山
Bamboola Taiwan (大禾竹藝工坊 )Add: 7, Lane 362, Yanxiang Borough, Yanxiang Rd., Zhushan Township, Nantou County (南投縣竹山鎮延祥里延祥路 362巷 7號 )Tel: (049) 263-5206Website: www.bamboola.com.tw Bamboola has branches in several locations around Taiwan, including Taipei, Yilan, Taichung, Kaohsiung, and Tainan. See the website for details on products and store locations.
Processing the bamboo involves first
stripping it – he uses four-to-five- year-
old moso bamboo – of its pith, which
leaves about half a centimeter of usable
wood. The bamboo is then cut into
strips, which are glued together under
high pressure into planks or panels.
Back in Liu’s factory, these planks are
cut into shape, sanded, and treated
with several coats of lacquer before
undergoing carbonization – a steaming
process which effectively caramelizes
the sugars in the bamboo, giving it a
deeper, richer color.
Liu brings
a selection
of bamboo boxes over to the table. Their
smooth, seamless look is striking. It’s
almost as if each has been carved from
one solid block of wood. Liu explains that
this is because no nails or screws are used
in the making of his products. Instead, he
makes almost exclusive use of the mortise
and tenon joint – an ancient joining
technique in which a protruding section
on one piece of wood is inserted into a
cavity in another.
“Try to open it,” he says, pointing to
the box I’m examining. I pull at the lid,
but it doesn’t budge. I run my fingers
over the box trying to find a hinge or a
latch of some kind, but there are none.
It seems to be impenetrable. I hand
it to Liu, confused. He takes it in his
hand, tilts it forwards 45 degrees, and
slides off the lid. We now see that set
in the rim is an irregular wheel. When
the box is f lat, the hump of the wheel
blocks the lid from opening. But tilted
at a 45-degree angle, the wheel tilts to
reveal a f lat edge, allowing the lid to
slip over the top.
Of course, the boxes on the table
are no ordinary containers. They are
examples of Lin’s signature product:
puzzle boxes. Liu has designed about
54 of these to date, and plans to finish
with a set numbering 100 in the next
few years. Each box is unique, opening
only on the discovery of a secret panel
or pressure switch. Due to the small
scale of Liu’s operation, only about 300
of each one is ever made.
Liu has achieved a masterly
balance of practicality, craftsmanship,
and novelty in his creations, which
is perhaps what makes his work so
suitable for the 21st century. He shows
us a range of covers for iPhones and
USB sticks, and then a series of egg-
shaped salt and pepper shakers.
Each is beautifully grained, and has
a clean, lacquered finish with Liu’s
name engraved on the back along
with the date of completion. They all
look expensive, well crafted, unique
– exclusive items that do not look at
all out of place in the home or hands
of a fashionable urbanite. And that,
it seems, is Liu’s secret. He has made
bamboo fashionable.
1. Producing bamboo boxes2. Bamboo stand for reading Buddhist scr ipts
2
32 Travel in Taiwan
OLD STYLE - NEW IDEAS
Travel in Taiwan 33
Two easy
to learn and to remember Chinese characters that are useful to know are
上 (shang), meaning “up” or “above/on top,” and 下 (xia), meaning “down” or “below/under.” Two
commonly encountered combinations of these two characters are with another simple character,
車 (che), which means “vehicle,” in 上車 (shang che) and 下車 (xia che). The first means to board a
vehicle (car, bus, etc.) and the second to get out of or off a vehicle. Knowing these combinations is
especially helpful when boarding a bus in Taiwan, because here you sometimes pay when boarding
a bus and sometimes when alighting. Above the driver is usually a sign with the characters 上下
車收票 (shang xia che shou piao), with either the 上 or the 下 highlighted to indicate when to pay.
The characters收票 literally mean “collect ticket.”
Other common combinations with the characters 上 /下 are: 上來 /下來 (shang lai/xia lai ; come up/come down), 上去 /下去 (shang qu/xia qu; go up/go down), 上山 /下山 (shang shan/
xia shan; go up a mountain/go down a mountain), and 上午 /下午 (shang wu/xia wu; morning/
afternoon; lit. above/below noon). The combination 下雨 (xia yu) means “to rain/it is raining,”
but there is of course no combination 上雨 . The name of the city of Shanghai in mainland China
is written 上海 , lit. “on the sea,” indicating the city’s proximity to the coast.
An interesting two-character combination in which one contains 上 and the other 下 is 忐忑
(tan te). Each has been combined with the character 心 (xin), meaning “heart.” Any idea what the
combination could mean? A situation where “something is on your heart and under your heart”?
The answer: Indecisive, apprehensive, perturbed.
FUN WITH CHINESE
Illustration: Fred Cheng
shang
xia
下車 (xia che)
上車 (shang che)
Miao!
Yilan’s KumquatsVisiting an Organic Orchard in Taiwan’s Northeast
Text: Joe Henley Photos: Duncan Longden
Kumquats are like miniature oranges, but are sourer, and you can eat the peel. Rich in vitamin C and organically grown, the fruit produced in Yilan is beloved by
health-conscious consumers.
36 Travel in Taiwan
FOOD JOURNEY
If you're looking for beautiful scenery and quiet relaxation,
but don't want to stray too far from
the big city (Taipei), Yilan County in
Taiwan’s northeast is a great choice as a
getaway destination. Less than an hour
away from downtown Taipei via Freeway
No. 5, Yilan has a wall of mountains as
backdrop, coastal cliffs and beaches where
it faces the Pacific Ocean, and in the town
of Jiaoxi enough hot-spring hotels to take
the tension out of even the most stressed
traveler. But Yilan is also the source of a
quiet revolution taking place in the local
food industry, with one farm in particular
leading the way. The Lanyang Kumquat
Production Cooperative operates
orchards not far from Jiaoxi, in the hills
overlooking the Yilan Plain, produces
organic fruit for the growing number of
health-conscious consumers in Taiwan,
and is steadily paving the way for the
wider adoption of sustainable growing
techniques.
The orchard is run by Lin Ting-cai.
Like many who work the land for a living,
he is quiet but thoughtful. Now in his
early sixties, he has the appearance of a
much younger man, which he attributes
to a lifetime spent working outdoors in
the comparatively clean air of Taiwan's
less populated eastern half. Yilan is
kumquat central in this country, with
over 90 percent of the approximately 300
hectares of kumquat orchards in Taiwan
found within its borders. Mr. Lin works
26 of those hectares in Yilan, and has
been since the age of 18, equipped with
the deep knowledge passed down to him
by his father. Unsurprisingly, the man is
a fountain of information on all things
related to that which he nourishes from
seeding to harvest, and he is only too happy
to share what he has learned over the years.
Let's start off with a little kumquat
history. The people of Taiwan were
introduced to the flavorful fruit, which has
a tangy combination of sour and sweet,
in the 19th century when it was imported
from mainland China. A Chinese
government official had the idea of
canning and preserving the fruit to prevent
spoilage. Later, during the Japanese
colonial era (1895-1945), a Chinese-
medicine doctor came up with a better
method of preservation, and started a
company in Yilan, Lao Zeng Shou, which
still exists today. However, the industry
didn't really take off until the 1980s when
the coastal highway was widened and
large numbers of tourists started coming in
2
13
4
1. Kumquat farmer L in T ing- cai2. Oval -shaped kumquats3. Careful handling of the f ruit4. Pick ing the f ruit
Travel in Taiwan 37
KUMQUATFOOD JOURNEY
Yilan is kumquat central in this country, with over 90 percent of the approximately 300 hectares of kumquat orchards in Taiwan
found within its borders
from Taipei. These visitors started snapping
up cans of kumquats to bring back to
their relatives and friends, distributing the
product nationwide. As of the mid-1980s
most farmers in the region were growing
oranges; but with the new kumquat craze,
and the fact that this fruit was easier to
cultivate, they began to switch. The focus
was on production for the processed-
food market, the emphasis on high yields
regardless of how they were achieved.
Priorities changed around 2007, however,
and local producers began to promote
kumquats as a fresh, healthy snack. The
farming methods of old had to be done
away with, and a new organic approach
had to become the industry norm.
That's where
Mr. Lin
came in. He has spearheaded the organic
movement in his home county. It's
better for consumers, better for the land,
and better for farmers as well, he says.
Whereas one kilogram of conventionally
cultivated kumquats sold to a processing
plant can fetch a price of just NT$12 in
the current market, the same amount
of organically cultivated fruit can be
sold for over NT$100 to an organic-food
store. With the farming population of
Yilan aging, Li Nian-yi, an advisor to
other farmers in the area, hopes to see
the day when every farmer can average a
monthly income of around NT$30,000,
which will attract younger people to the
business. If this can be achieved, Mr. Lin
says he may one day ask his own children
to enter the family business.
Until that day arrives, he will continue
to busy himself with every aspect of the
day-to-day operations of his farm. He rises
early each morning, around 6 a.m., and
during the long November~March harvest
season you may find him out picking
fruit with the workers he employs. With
the shift to selling to organic food stores,
appearance and presentation have become
important, and special care must be taken
to avoid damaging the kumquats as they
are plucked from their trees. Before, when
the fruit could simply be yanked off, a
English and ChineseJiaoxi 礁溪Lanyang Kumquat Production Cooperative 蘭陽金柑生產合作社Lao Zeng Shou 老增壽Li Nian-yi 李念宜Lin Ting-cai 林庭財Yilan Plain 宜蘭平原
single worker could harvest about 400
kilograms in a day. Now the process is
done more carefully, with each individual
fruit cut off the branch with a pair of
scissors, and the yield per worker is down
to about a quarter of the amount that was
brought in when the fruit was used in
processed foods.
But it's all about the big picture.
Today, there are no pesticides used
that harm the landscape, no chemicals
that can seep into the groundwater and
damage the surrounding area, and no
heavy, gas-guzzling machinery. What's
good for the land is good for the farmer
and the consumer, and as the only
organic grower in the region that has thus
far been government-certified, Mr. Lin is
working every day to prove that his way
is the right way.
In the later hours each day, you might find Mr. Lin packing
kumquats into boxes in the storage
facility behind his family home. There
are many varieties, and the Lanyang
Kumquat Production Cooperative
specializes in two named after their
shapes, round and oval. In addition to
being sold as food, they are also used in
cosmetics, a relatively new development
made possible only by the shift to organic
growing techniques. They are also used
in Chinese medicine, lauded for their
ability to improve circulation and clear
up respiratory ailments. This may have
something to do with their high vitamin
C content – more than any other citrus
fruit. Maybe the old saying should be
revised to, “A kumquat a day keeps the
doctor away.” The small oval variety
is also the only citrus fruit that can be
enjoyed whole, peel and all, with the peel
providing a sweet contrast to the sourness
of the innards.
Being a farmer is no means an easy
occupation, requiring much hard work. But
there are ways to bring the industry forward,
and people like Mr. Lin are at the forefront
of that movement. Ways must be found to
make agricultural sustainable, both from
an economic and from an environmental
standpoint. Farmers are the people who
feed the world, and are deserving of the
utmost respect. So if you find yourself in
Yilan during your travels through Taiwan,
pick up a box of fresh, organic kumquats,
and support the fine people working in the
orchards day after day, rain or shine. If you
head up into the hills, you may even see
Mr. Lin out in one of his orchards, bringing
in the harvest. This is his favorite part of
the job, when he can see the results of his
months of labor, and even at his advancing
age his passion for the work hasn't dwindled
one bit. He intends to keep at it as long as he
possibly can.
The small oval variety is the only citrus fruit that can be enjoyed
whole, peel and all, with the peel providing a sweet contrast to the
sourness of the innards
1. Sweet peel , sour juice2. Kumquat cakes
1
2
38 Travel in Taiwan
FOOD JOURNEY
Taichung Gancheng Bus Station
Taichung Railway Station
THSR Wuri Station
Newera Art Resort Spa
Jinan University
Tao-Mi Eco-Village
Community Yuchi Sun Moon Lake
Shuishe
Taiwan Tourist Shuttle bus
New Era Ar t Resor t and Spa
Text: Owain Mckimm Photos: Maggie Song
Riding a Taiwan Tourist Shuttle Bus through Nantou County
Sun Moon Lake. Nearly eight square kilometers of mist-dappled water surrounded by thickly forested mountains. Lavish with cherry blossoms in early spring, speckled with sunlight in summer, ethereal in autumn, brooding in winter, giving visitors jaw-dropping panoramas year round. A Taiwan Tourist Shuttle bus will take you from central Taichung to the lake in under two hours and lets you see some of the area’s until-now more inaccessible treasures along the way.
BACKPACK BUS TRIP
40 Travel in Taiwan
Travel in Taiwan 41
Paper Dome
The Paper Dome is a memorial to Taiwan's 921 Earthquake
and the Great Hanshin Earthquake that ravaged the
city of Kobe in Japan
BACKPACK BUS TRIP SUN MOON LAKE
Antique Assam Tea Farm
Taomi Eco -V i l lage
As we wander around the village’s allotments, plant
nurseries, streams, and lotus ponds, Pen fills us in on the
area’s fecund wildlife. There are about 370 butterf ly species in
Taiwan; roughly 220 can be found in Puli Township, and up
to 180 can be seen in Taomi Village. According to Pen, a part
of the village’s eco-transformation has been to plant f lowers
with nectar-rich blooms to attract butterf lies to the area, as
well as to cultivate host plants on which butterf lies can lay
their eggs. Frog-watching is also popular with visitors to
Taomi, and many guesthouses offer after-dark frog-watching
excursions, during which participants can see up to 23 of
Taiwan’s 29 native species. Unfortunately, time is against us
on this day, and we must make a dash for the next shuttle bus.
Alas, the grey skies of the morning have now released a
persistent and biting afternoon drizzle, and I could murder a cup
of tea. As luck would have it, tea is not in short supply at our next
destination, the Antique Assam Tea Farm in Yuchi Township.
Huang Guo-ci, who manages the farm’s 10 hectares of tea fields,
greets us at the entrance to the factory and immediately sits us
down on the veranda for a chat over a pot of hot black tea.
He pours us each a cup of the rich amber liquid, which he
identifies as Taiwan Tea No. 18, one of several cultivars grown at
the farm. The black tea grown in Yuchi was originally Assam tea
(C. sinensis var. assamica) imported from India by the Japanese
during the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945). The warm,
rainy climate of Nantou County was deemed perfect for black
tea cultivation, and over the years the Yuchi Tea Research and
Extension Station has tweaked the original Assam tea to create
new cultivars. The most popular of these is the No. 18 – in fact
a cross-breed of C. sinensis var. assamica and wild Taiwanese
mountain tea (C. sinensis f. formosensis) – which has a distinctive
cinnamon scent underlain with a subtle hint of mint.
BACKPACK BUS TRIP
42 Travel in Taiwan
Sun Moon Lake
Antique Assam Tea Farm
A delicate mist floats above the water; low clouds entangle the surrounding
mountains; the last boats of the day dock at the piers. The lake is still and silent
After we finish our tea, Huang takes us on a tour of the factory.
Upstairs, the tea leaves are laid out to dry for up to 18 hours, then
poured through a hatch in the f loor into rolling machines, where
the juices are gently squeezed out and the leaves begin to ferment.
Following that is a stint in the perpetually moist fermenting room. The
leaves are then dried and a team of workers painstakingly strips them
from the twigs by hand. Eager to try some of the other varieties, I pick
up a box of Taiwan Tea No. 8 on our way out – No. 8 has a stronger,
more robust f lavor than the other cultivars, but won’t be overpowering
if you take your tea English-style, with milk, as I do.
It’s late afternoon when we finally arrive at Sun Moon Lake. We
had originally planned to take a twilit cycle along the western, “moon”-
shaped side of the lake, but the drizzle now colors the idea of a tour de lac, once anticipated with pleasure, as a damp and uncomfortable
ordeal. We instead board a bus and head to the small settlement of Ita
Thao, where we plan to stay the night, and take in the lake from the
wharf. A delicate mist f loats above the water; low clouds entangle the
surrounding mountains; the last boats of the day dock at the piers. The
lake is still and silent.
Travel in Taiwan 43
BACKPACK BUS TRIP SUN MOON LAKE
When
CNN Go, The New York Times, and The Guardian speak, people
listen. They are in the business of telling
people “where to go” – travel-wise –
and of late these three, among the most
highly respected voices in global travel
reporting, have been trumpeting Taiwan
as one of the world’s hottest places to
spend your travel dollars in 2014.
Travel in Taiwan is, of course, in
agreement – but we’ll let them do all
the talking here.
What is it
that CNN Go
likes best about the island? In its report
‘10 things that Taiwan does better than
anywhere else,’ among the 10 (in order
of appearance) are the night markets,
themed restaurants, Chinese artifacts,
mock meat (great vegetarian food), and
little dumplings.
Night markets – “Taiwan’s 300-
plus night markets await your midnight
cravings … These open-air bazaars are
particularly loved for street food, referred
to locally as … ‘small eats.’ Perennial
favorites are oyster omelets, stinky tofu
and an assortment of snacks on a stick
straight from the grill.”
Themed restaurants – “Taiwan is
home to the world's first Barbie-themed
restaurant, with Mattel-approved
smotherings of pink plastic and frilly
tutus. [Other] themed restaurants in
Taiwan have included a café based on an
Airbus A380, complete with trolly dollies
serving food and drinks from a cart, as
well as restaurants with jail, hospital and
school-inspired themes.”
Chinese artifacts – “… the National
Palace Museum in Taipei houses
the largest collection of Chinese
artifacts and artwork in the world.
The impressive permanent collection
comprises more than 650,000 items.
Taiwan’s Year of the Horse,Your Year for Taiwan Travel2014
SPECIAL REPORT
44 Travel in Taiwan
Text: Editorial Department Photos: Vision Int’l
Travel in Taiwan 45
Chinese history is told through bronze
statues, jade carvings, calligraphy,
lacquerware and other historical pieces
– many of which belonged to Chinese
imperial families …”
Mock meat/vegetarian food – “One
of the world's most vegetarian-friendly
destinations, Taiwan offers 6,000 or
so restaurants serving an impressive
variety of delicious vegetarian fare to
feed the 10% of the country that shuns
meat … Taiwan is the best place to hit
when you're craving meat but don't
actually want to eat any … Taiwan's fake
meat – usually made of soy protein or
wheat gluten – can fool even hardcore
carnivores.”
Little dumplings – “… Taiwan is
slowly taking over the dumpling world,
one broth-filled bite at a time. Din Tai
Fung now serves its famed xiaolongbao
in destinations as far f lung as Australia,
Thailand and the United States. CNN put
Din Tai Fung at number two on its list of
best franchises for travelers.”
For the full report, visit: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/15/travel/10-things-taiwan/index.html
In its
report ‘52 Places to Go in
2014,’ The New York Times highlights
Taiwan’s “urban and outdoor pursuits
in one (reasonably) compact package,”
declaring that the “traveler who wants to
do it all should consider Taiwan” because
of “its easy-to-navigate public transport
network that links a cosmopolitan capital
with a bounty of natural and man-made
wonders.” Taking special note of Taipei’s
thriving art scene, 2016 World Design
Capital designation, web of bike trails,
and vibrant street-food scene, as well as
Kenting National Park’s wetlands, white
sands, and fishing villages, it notes “And it
all becomes cheaper to get to later this year,
with the launch of budget carriers from
China Airlines and TransAsia Airways.”
For the full report , visit: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/01/10/travel/2014-places-to-go.html?hp&_r=2
In
‘Holiday hotspots: where to go in
2014,’ The Guardian asks “Ever tried
gua bao, the Taiwanese dish of pork belly
in a steamed bun? … (It’s won) accolades
from Young British Foodies and the
British Street Food Awards (people's
choice award).” You learn about a new
Taiwan foodies tour, are advised to visit
the southern city of Tainan, “the true
capital of street food – and definitely not
made for tourists,” and informed that
“From oyster omelettes in Taipei's night
markets to tea in a Maokong plantation,
Taiwan is a fascinating place to eat and
drink your way around.”
For the full report , visit: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jan/03/holiday-hotspots-where-to-go-in-2014
Yes, the powers that be in the travel
world have spoken – this is your year
for Taiwan travel. When shall we be
expecting you?
Taiwan’s Year of the Horse,Your Year for Taiwan Travel
SPECIAL REPORT TAIWAN TOURISM
In recent years, the people of Taiwan have come to embrace the sport of cycling. Head for any of the riverside cycling paths in the Taipei area on the weekend, and you'll see people on bikes everywhere; couples out for a leisurely ride, families enjoying an outing, and senior citizens getting the most out of their golden years. Sure, Taiwan has a long way to go to catch up with the deeply ingrained cycling culture of many European nations, but the country is off to a solid start. It has even become a popular challenge to bike all around Taiwan's main island, a near 1,000-kilometer journey. If that sounds like too daunting a trip to undertake on your own, the Formosa 900 could be exactly what you're looking for.
The Formosa 900 is a bicycle adventure in which teams
of participants circumnavigate Taiwan
in nine days, taking both inland and
coastal roads to complete the loop.
It's organized by the Cycling Lifestyle
Foundation (www.cycling-lifestyle.org.tw), homegrown bike manufacturer
Giant Bicycles (www.giant-bicycles.com), and the Taiwan Tourism Bureau
(eng.taiwan.net.tw). Everything from
food and lodging to the stops along the
way is coordinated down to the most
minute detail for the riders, with a full
support team following the groups from
start to finish. The event takes place in
early November each year; teams depart
from different cities around the island,
with some going all the way around and
others doing shorter trips. People from
their early twenties to seniors embrace
the challenge with equal vigor and
enthusiasm. As for myself, let's just say I
wasn't quite so prepared.
When the Formosa 900 assignment
came down from Travel in Taiwan, I
jumped at it without really thinking
things through. Only after I had
accepted did I remember the fact that
I hadn't spent any significant amount
of time on a bike in about a decade.
Sure, there might have been adequate
time to train, a few weekends between
my acceptance and the ride, to do a
few practice runs around my adopted
home of Taipei. But I thought it would
be better to go into it as a complete
amateur, utterly unprepared. That way,
I reasoned, I could truly say by the end
that “If I can do it, anyone can.”
The Formosa 900Around Taiwan on a Bicycle
SPLENDID FESTIVALS
46 Travel in Taiwan
Text: Joe Henley Photos: Cycling Lifestyle Foundation
Travel in Taiwan 47
And so it was
with no
small amount of trepidation that I set off
for Taipei City Hall bright and early on
the morning of November 9, the date of
embarkation for myself and the team I
had joined. Bikes, helmets, head buffs,
water bottles, and a couple of jerseys were
provided by the organizers, while we were
responsible for supplying our own cycling
shorts, gloves, shoes, and anything else we
might need. Luckily, the people in charge
had provided us with a handy checklist of
necessary items beforehand.
The most useful piece of gear on the
list, in my opinion? The MP3 player. But
do yourself a favor and leave the mopey,
introspective music at home. Hard-
driving motivational tunes are essential
for the intimidating uphill stretches on
the mountain roads of the east side of
the island, and the long expanses of f lat
highway on the west.
The second-most useful item on
the list? The canister of muscle-pain
relief spray, which proved to be a daily
requirement for me.
The first test
of the
trip came in the form of the Xueshan
Mountain Range’s northern reaches,
standing between us and our first
stop, the hot-spring town of Jiaoxi, in
Yilan County on the east coast, 70-
some kilometers from Taipei City.
Distance-wise, this would actually be
our shortest day, but the initial climb, a
gradual ascent of nearly 1,000 meters,
was murder on my long untested leg
muscles. My progress slowed to a
virtual crawl, to the point where it
literally would have been faster for me
to get off the bike and walk, but I made
it up and over the highest point without
succumbing to the near overwhelming
urge to dismount for a breather.
The payoff, a euphoric glide down a
switchback road with the sun shining
down and the Pacific’s whitecap waves
beating against beaches in the distance.
The next morning was not an easy
one. Every muscle south of my belt line
was in a mutinous uproar due to the
previous day's unprecedented outburst
The canister of muscle-pain
relief spray proved to be a daily
requirement for me
The Formosa 900
SPLENDID FESTIVALS TAIWAN CYCLING FESTIVAL
of exertion, and my neck and shoulders
felt like they had been worked over with
a baseball bat. Clearly the Formosa 900
was proving to be a cut above my usual
workout routine. Still, I wasn't about to
back out. The only option was to press
on, and that we did, rising at 6 a.m. for
breakfast, followed by a thorough and
thoroughly painful stretch. We hit the
road just after the hour of 7.
The destination for the day was the
township of Ruisui in Hualien County,
and as would be the norm for the rest
of the trip, we had to cover over 100
kilometers of ground. Another daunting
ascent – 800 meters in total – was on the
menu. Thankfully, the day was broken
up by our only train ride of the trip, a
short but welcome journey by rail from
Suao to Hualien City. The breathtaking
coastal highway south of Suao, known as
the Suhua Highway, is one of Taiwan’s
most spectacular roads, but because of
numerous tunnels, heavy traffic, and
occasional rockfalls, it is not considered
a very safe road for bicyclists and is
therefore not part of the Formosa 900.
My ride that day ended in darkness,
with my head down, my neck, back, and
legs aching, and a feeling that I might
not be able to continue. More than one
experienced rider told me the next day
that if you can survive the first three
days of a long-term cycling trip, the days
that follow will be smooth pedaling.
Fortunately for me, they were right.
At the end of the third day we were at
Zhiben, in Taitung County, checked into
yet another high-end international hotel.
With my body finally getting used to the
daily grind, I awoke to a far greater level
of comfort on the morning of the fourth
day, with the longest and toughest climbs
of the Formosa 900 laid out before me on
the road between Zhiben and Checheng,
in Pingtung County.
There were four separate climbs
across the tail end of the Central
Mountain Range, the last of which was
a steep, continuous ascent of around 500
meters; but the conditioning of the past
few days paid off, and the quiet solitude
of the hills, the low-hanging clouds over
the peaks, and the boundless views to the
coastline tens of kilometers away were
ample reward for the demanding physical
effort required. Our team stopped at
the highest point on the route to pose
for a victory photo and bask in the post-
workout afterglow before enjoying the
roll down the other side, through isolated
mountain towns, past undisturbed
marshes and the imposing Mudan
Reservoir, and on to the township of
Checheng for a blissful night's rest.
The next couple
of days took us through the southern
port city of Kaohsiung, a key industrial
hub, then up the west coast to the city
of Chiayi. The rolling mountain roads
were replaced by largely f lat terrain and
much urban development – less visually
appealing than the eastern side of the
island but interesting in its own way.
From Chiayi the kilometers melted
away as we continued on to the cities
of Taichung and then Hsinchu. During
our two days in the area we found out
why Hsinchu is known as Taiwan's
“Windy City”; headwinds approaching
30 kilometers an hour blew relentlessly,
but by that point we were a well-oiled
cycling machine, and our pace barely
slowed. On the ninth and final day, each
and every one of the cyclists on our team
that had set out on November 9 rolled
up triumphantly at Taipei City Hall, our
starting point. Mission accomplished.
The Formosa 900 is a challenge, no
doubt. The first few days, if you're a
novice cyclist, are trying both mentally
and physically, and overall the journey
is something of a grind. Though there is
sightseeing to be done along the way, the
focus is mostly on completion and getting
from one stop to the next before nightfall
each day. But over the course of the trip,
you build friendships with your riding
mates, and share an experience unlike
any other. Is it difficult? Definitely, as
is anything worth doing. Is it worth it?
Most certainly.
For more information, and to sign
up for next year, check out http://formosa900.giant.com.tw.
Our team stopped at the highest
point on the route to pose for a
victory photo and bask in the
post-workout afterglow
Dapu Bike Cosplay
Sun Moon Lake Come! Bikeday
SPLENDID FESTIVALS
48 Travel in Taiwan
Smoothie House Chang'an Branch ~ Breakfast ShopAdd: 55 Chang'an W. Rd., Taipei City Tel: +886-2-2552-3250
Groups are welcome. Looking for cooperating travel agencies and representatives Contact: [email protected]
The ice treats of Smoothie House are made with fragrant aiwen mango cultivated in Taiwan. This type of mango has a firm texture and is very juicy. The fruit meat melts in your mouth and creates an amazing sweet and sour sensation. No one seems to be able to resist this unbelievable treat.
For many tourists coming to Taiwan, visiting
Smoothie House is a must. Eating mango ice
simply is a joy and makes everyone happy.Mango ice is one of the most popular refreshing foods during the summer months in Taiwan. Try the mixed mango shaved ice, made with fresh mango, strawberry, and kiwi, a sublime combination of ice and superb fruit flavor! This is the best-selling item on the menu.
1F, 15 Yongkang St., Taipei City2F, 15 Yongkang St., Da'an District, Taipei CityLongmen Shop: 52 Guo’ai St., Sanchong District, New Taipei City
Tel: +886-2-2972-0758
Beitou Shop: 294 Zhonghe St., Beitou District, Taipei City
Tel: +886-2-2894-5511
Tel: +886-2-2341-8555Tel: +886-2-2395-8770
On the second floor there are private rooms where coffee, ice treats, and desserts are served.
English and ChineseBike Fun Siraya – Dapu Bike Cosplay 騎趣西拉雅 –大埔瘋單車 Central Mountain Range 中央山脈Checheng 車城Cycling Lifestyle Foundation 自行車新文化基金會Formosa 900 騎遇福爾摩沙Giant Bicycles 捷安特Jiaoxi 礁溪Mudan Reservoir 牡丹水庫Ruisui 瑞穗Suao 蘇澳Suhua Highway 蘇花公路Sun Moon Lake Come! Bikeday 日月潭 Come! BikedayTaiwan KOM Challenge 臺灣自行車登山王挑戰Wenwu Temple 文武廟Wuling 武嶺Xiangshan Visitor Center 向山遊客中心Xuanguang Temple 玄光寺Xueshan Mountain Range 雪山山脈Zhiben 知本
Taiwan Cycling FestivalThe Formosa 900 is part of the annual Taiwan Cycling Festival (http://taiwanbike.tw/event/2013/en/index.html ), which has three other main events, the Taiwan KOM Challenge, the Sun Moon Lake Come! Bikeday, and the Bike Fun Siraya – Dapu Bike Cosplay event.
Taiwan KOM ChallengeWhile the Formosa 900 is a ride that can be completed by any regular bicycle rider with some stamina and a liking for long bike outings, the Taiwan KOM Challenge is a race for professional athletes and highly trained amateurs, notably experienced riders who like to climb steep mountain roads. “KOM” is short for “King of the Mountains,” and simply by completing the race riders earn the right to call themselves just that. The race starts close to the coast in Hualien at sea level and ends at Wuling, at 3,275m above sea level, the highest point of any highway in Taiwan. During the race riders will climb more than 3km in altitude over a stretch of just 105km.
Sun Moon Lake Come! BikedayIf the round-the-island Formosa 900 challenge strikes you as perhaps too tough, this bike-ride event might be more to your liking. Each year, in the early-morning hours on a set weekend day, around 3,000 bicylists, old and young, gather at the Xiangshan Visitor Center on the western shore of Sun Moon Lake in central Taiwan. They hit the road together and circle the lake in a clockwise direction. The total length is about 30 kilometers, and many complete the loop in less than an hour. The route has flat sections on the western side of the lake, close to and sometimes actually above the waters of the lake, and a few climbs on the eastern side.
Bike Fun Siraya – Dapu Bike CosplayThe Dapu Bike Cosplay event is held in November in Chiayi County’s Dapu Township in southern Taiwan. This is not a bicycle race but a street parade where bicyclists are invited to dress up and ride in creative and colorful costumes. The participants with the most attractive and imaginative costumes are awarded with cash prizes. Organized for the first time last year by the Siraya National Scenic Area administration, this is the first bike-themed cosplay event in Taiwan. If you want to take part in the event this year, visit www.siraya-nsa.gov.tw.
Apart from these three major events, the Taiwan Cycling Festival also features a number of other bicycle rides organized by various local governments. For more information, visit http://taiwanbike.tw/bike/.
SPLENDID FESTIVALS TAIWAN CYCLING FESTIVAL
One of Taiwan’s Sweetest Things
Traditional
cakes and
pastries are characterized by flaky crusts,
innards fluffy and outside coverings often a bit
crispy and/or crumbly, with heavy use of items
associated with farm living such as egg yolks,
taro, adzuki beans, mung beans, and so on. The
taro and beans will be made into a paste and
lightly sweetened, most often with cane sugar
or maltose, but the taste of the good earth is still
there, and both customers and bakers place great
emphasis on getting the ingredients from the field
to your palate as quickly as possible and with as
little adulteration as possible.
Today’s consumers in Taiwan enjoy variety
– younger ones, confectioners aver, demand it
– and sellers endlessly roll out new treats, but
you’ll find many of these are based on traditional
varieties with some tailoring done to suit current
tastes and lifestyles. The “new” consumer
still looks for his/her cakes and pastries to be
handmade, and whether officially “traditional”
or “new,” these days all are almost invariably
lighter, with less cholesterol, less fat, and less
sugar used in their creation.
Many of the country’s most venerable cake
and pastry shops started business providing
the traditional sweet handmade things used
as sacrificial offerings by devotees at nearby
temples. While continuing to do so, the
proprietors of the most successful names in
today’s market have understood that they must
expand their clientele base by offering new-
style variations of classic treats as well as all-
new taste adventures. Following we visit the
f lagship outlets of three celebrated confectioners
that have discovered the secret recipe of modern
Taiwan cake-culture enterprise, each expanding
into chains, each offering a long and proud
history as a primary ingredient, and each very
much still “all in the family.”
N N N
Jiu Zhen Nan Lee Cake Yu Jan Shin
1 4
82
5
3 6 7
50 Travel in Taiwan
SPECIAL REPORT
The people of Taiwan are fascinated with eating, and revel in ingredients and tastes as close to the field as possible. Snacking is a passion, and every place, down to each little village and town, lays claim it seems to unique contributions to the culinary world – its own “famous foods.” Sweet cakes and pastries are favorite gourmand items, the “cakes” most often created in bite-sized (or multi-bite-sized) morsels rather than the family-sized creations of the West.
Text: Rick Charette Photos: Maggie Song
1. Xibing 喜餅2 . Naiyou subing 奶油酥餅3. Daj ia “block s” 大甲積木4. R ice cake 米香餅5. Nougat candy 牛軋糖6. Xiaogelei tar t 小葛蕾鬆塔
7. Taro cake 紫玉酥8 . Mung-bean cake 綠豆椪9. Bubu cake 步步糕10. Hesheng pineapple cake 和生鳳梨酥11. Mung-bean cake, “cold”
cake, and salt y cake 糕點 (綠豆糕 , 涼糕 , 鹹糕)12 . Ruyi peanut cake 如意糖13. Or iginal f lavor pingxi cake 原味平西餅14. Curr y pingxi cake 咖哩平西餅
15. Ping’an tur t le cake molds 平安龜餅模16. Classic- f lavor puf fs 經典原味小泡芙17. Ping’an tur t le cakes 平安龜
11
15
16 17
12 13
9
1410
Travel in Taiwan 51
CAKE SHOPSSPECIAL REPORT
Jiu Zhen NanJiu Zhen Nan is perhaps Taiwan’s
best-known name when it comes to
Chinese-style xibing or engagement cakes
– literally “happiness cakes.” Established
in 1890 in Taiwan’s oldest city, Tainan,
the business originally made only rice-
based traditional treats because wheat
f lour was nigh impossible to come by
in Taiwan. The shop was moved to the
port city of Kaohsiung in 1945 because
while Tainan was becoming something
of a sleepy backwater, Kaohsiung’s port
facilities had been systematically built
up by the Japanese when they controlled
Taiwan 1895-1945, and the city was
burgeoning. Wheat f lour became readily
available as a result of U.S. aid after the
Second World War, and the shop began
making engagement cakes. These have
long been the confectioner’s best-selling
offering, today accounting for 40% of
overall sales.
President Eric Lee took over
operations in 1996. He sees the chain’s
mission as preserving and enhancing
Taiwan’s traditional cake and pastry
culture, and has carried out progressive
changes. Ingredients are key, only
premium-grade items are used, and
the brand has been brought upscale.
“Middle-aged and older customers want
tradition, but the younger customer wants
change. We specially target modern
consumers from age 28 to 37, who have
the disposable income and willingness
to pay more for premium products. We
open outlets in upscale environments
where such people go, such as high-level
malls/department stores and High Speed
Rail stations. While continuing to make
traditional Chinese items, we also offer
variations that suit our target customers.
For example, the items traditionally
used in the sweet and salty engagement-
cake fillings have been adzuki-bean
paste, nuts, meat stewed with soy sauce,
a thin layer of dried egg yolk, etc. We
have broadened their appeal by offering
fillings of pineapple paste, coconut paste,
mung-bean paste, and so on. Engagement
cakes have traditionally been very large,
and we have shrunk their size so you can
eat one in a single sitting. All our items
are now also light in calories.”
Eric was originally a real-estate
developer, and has an eye for elegant
design. Jiu Zhen Nan’s beautiful gift
packaging has brought it a prestigious
iF Design Award, and each of its shop
interiors is a cool, alluring statement in
understated elegance.
Lee CakeThe Lee Cake shop is on Dihua Street,
the key artery in one of Taipei’s most
important heritage quarters, a wholesale-
shop street for traditional-style regional
goods that has been thriving since the
latter half of the 19th century. The oldest
building on the street went up in the
1850s. Lee Cake was opened in the 1890s,
and the fifth-generation proprietors, like
the owners of many local businesses, have
in recent years thoroughly refurbished
their traditional-style shophouse (long and
narrow, with two/three floors, and with a
retail outlet in front at street level for walk-
in business). The long street’s facades have
once again become attractive works of art.
Lee Cake started as a retail store
selling the cakes and pastries used in
temple worship and festivals. The Lee
family thereafter progressed into making
all items on its own. Sales manager Rita
Lee, from the fifth generation, says that
“We still make all the same ‘traditional’
goods, but with modern twists in order
to meet the different tastes and needs of
modern consumers.” A prime example of
this is the company’s best-selling treat,
the ping’an turtle, a cake shaped like a
turtle, a traditional symbol of longevity,
and stamped with the characters ping’an (平安 ), meaning “peace and safety.”
“These are traditionally made with
flour,” says Lee, “which molds easily
even when refrigerated. So we instead
make our turtles using peanut powder for
the shell and maltose with black-sesame
paste for the filling, creating a treat that’s
just mildly sweet and is not sticky like
the traditional version. These make them
easier to eat for older folk. We’ve also
reduced the size so you can eat them in
a single bite – an especially big hit with
kids, and an effective way to introduce
traditional Taiwan religious culture to the
younger generation.” These changes have
made the cakes popular year-round, not
just when religious festivals come around.
Another good example of how
new approaches are brought to old-
time favorites is Lee Cake’s traditional
pingxi cakes, the shop’s no. 2 seller. The
standard filling is mung-bean paste,
but Lee Cake instead uses butter-bean
paste, thus eliminating the stickiness and
allowing seniors to continue eating them.
Yu Jan ShinYu Jan Shin was founded in Dajia, a
country town in central Taiwan, in 1966.
Its origins are decidedly unusual. Dajia’s
iconic attraction is Zhenlan Temple,
one of the country’s best-known temples
dedicated to Mazu, Goddess of the Sea.
The founder ran a small sundry-goods
shop near the temple, and according to
Alan Chen, a manager who is a member
of the third generation in the family-run
enterprise, “My grandfather was told by
Mazu when communicating with her
through divination blocks at the temple
that he should go into the traditional
52 Travel in Taiwan
SPECIAL REPORTSPECIAL REPORT
English and ChineseAlan Chen 陳穎政Dajia 大甲Dajia Three Treasures Museum 大甲三寶文化館Eric H. C. Lee 李雄慶Lee Rong-huan 李榮煥Mazu 媽祖naiyou subing 奶油酥餅ping'an turtle 平安龜pingxi cakes 平西餅Rita Lee 李佳憓xibing 喜餅Zhenlan Temple 鎮瀾宮
Jiu Zhen Nan (舊振南 )Add: (Zhongzheng main store) 84, Zhongzheng 4th Rd., Qianjin Dist., Kaohsiung City ( 高雄市前金區中正四路 84號 ) Tel: (07) 288-8202Website: www.jzn.com.tw
Lee Cake (李亭香 )Add: (Main store) 309, Sec. 1, Dihua St., Datong District, Taipei City (台北市大同區迪化街一段 309 號 )Tel: (02) 2557-8716Website: www.lee-cake.com (Chinese)
Yu Jan Shin (裕珍馨 )Add: (Main store) 67, Guangming St., Dajia District, Taichung City (台中市大甲區光明路67號 ) Tel: (04) 2687-2559Website: www.yjs.com.tw (Chinese)
cake and pastry business. Though he
knew nothing about the trade, he did
as advised. His first effort at traditional
bridal cakes produced ‘edibles’ so hard
that his customers complained that even
smashing them against a wall couldn’t
break them.
“Things have gone much better
since then.”
Yu Jan Shin’s flagship outlet is in one
of Dajia’s most attractive and important
heritage buildings, a tourist attraction in
itself. The striking Baroque-style work
of architecture is embellished with finely
wrought wall and column carvings of Mazu
and Dajia’s most famous products. On the
second floor is the Dajia Three Treasures
Museum, which has displays on Zhenlan
Temple/Mazu, Dajia’s woven handicrafts,
and Yu Jan Shin’s signature product.
That product is the naiyou subing
or “butter crispy cake.” According to
Alan Chen, in Taiwan’s Qing Dynasty
pioneering days Da’an Port near Dajia
was an important port of entry for
immigrants from China. Many carried
traditional subing or crispy cakes on the
cross-strait voyage, and their safe arrival,
plus the name of the port – da’an means
“great peace” – eventually lent positive
symbolism to the cakes made in Dajia,
which became a popular choice in the
region for the pastry gifts traditionally
given to announce engagements and for
offerings to deities. In 1983 the naiyou
or butter version was born when Yu
Jan Shin began using all-natural butter
instead of the traditionally used lard, and
made the cakes smaller. The butter crispy
cake has since become a Dajia specialty
product with an island-wide reputation,
and a popular gift item. Crispy on the
outside, it has a filling that is elegantly
soft, creamy, rich, and aromatic.
1
2
3
1. Er ic H. C . Lee, presi -dent of J iu Zhen Nan
2. Lee Cake master baker Lee Rong-huan and his
daughter Rita Lee
3. Alan Chen, Yu Jan Shin manager
CAKE SHOPSSPECIAL REPORTSPECIAL REPORT
Travel in Taiwan 53