Taiwan 101: Part 3. Aspects of Taiwan

Museum of Marine Biology, Pingtung County

Guardian at the Zheng Chong-he Tomb , Miaoli County

On the 8-day-long Longde Temple Matsu Pilgrimage

Salt fields at Jingzaijiao, Tainan County

 

While the natural beauty of Taiwan will always be its greatest allure for me personally, the island also has an extraordinary wealth of cultural, historic and industrial attractions. Salt harvesting has been carried out on Taiwan for hundreds of years (with a history of eight centuries on the ROC-controlled island of Kinmen). Today salt production is a very minor industry here, but some of the salt fields (and a pair of unusual salt ‘mountains’) remain; the best have a strange beauty that’s quite unlike anything else on the island. Sugar, one of Taiwan’s biggest industries in the 1950s and 60s is now produced at only two sites on Taiwan, but some of

Taiwan 101: Part 1. The North

The Candleholder Rocks, Jinshan, New Taipei City

Disused logging railway tracks at Taipingshan, Yilan County

The Buddha’s Tongue, Stegosaurus Ridge, New Taipei City

Cave of Foreign Words, Keelung

I’ve started exploring new places again, and should start getting back to regular blog posts in the next couple of week. Meanwhile, I thought I’d make a few posts giving a short overview (in photos) of my latest book, Taiwan 101, which aims to show the incredible variety of sights around Taiwan (and the ROC-controlled islands). It really is an amazing place, and I’ve come to realize this even more during the several years I’ve spent researching and writing the new books (there are two volumes), during which I’ve seen loads of places, attended a number of amazing festivals, and done quite a few things that I’ve never done here before. Hopefully I’ll get out six posts, one for each of the six main sections into which the two volumes of the book are dvivided.

 

First up: the north: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan City, Keelung City and Yilan County. Here’s a taste of the many, many places to

Silver Stream Cave and Four Beasts Mountains: Two Fantastic Walks in the City

Climbing the easiest (!) of the five routes up the Nangang Cliff

The natural cleft known as ‘A Thread of Sky’

Despite the horrible weather, there have been a few breaks in the rain, and since I’ve had an unusual amount of free time (few piano students over the Christmas hols, and no way to practice my own piano, since my right little finger is still too tender to play) there have been a couple of chances to get out hiking – if only in the area around the city.

The Yangmingshan Project V: White Cloud Hill and Banling Trails: the Wilder side of Tianmu

Emerald Mountain Waterfall, just above Tianmu

Both trails are described in detail on pages 109-115.

I find it amazing (although, for selfish reasons, I think it’s also very fortunate!) that almost all of Tianmu’s health-conscious inhabitants (and indeed many residents from elsewhere in Taipei as well) limit their longer walks in the area almost exclusively to that long, dull trudge variously known as the Tianmu Steps, the Pipeline Trail or Tianmu Old Trail. It’s not a bad way to get from Tianmu onto the mountainside, and after the steps the contour path along the steep hillside is admittedly very attractive, with its wide views over the city, but the fact is there are (at least) another three ways to get from Tianmu up onto the Chinese Culture University area of the mountain by footpath or trail, and two of them make for an excellent loop walk, which a couple of us enjoyed the other day, during an expected and welcome break in the long streak of thoroughly grotty weather we’ve been slogging though the last couple of months.

The Yangmingshan Project IV: Jiaokeng Old Trail

Slipping around on the Mudbath Trail

The route is described on pages 265-267, but take care as several new trails have sprung up here, making route finding more tricky in a few places.

I used to consider it a good rule of thumb that even if the weather on the high tops of Yangmingshan National Park was horrible, the Pingdengli (平等里) area in the southeast corner of the National Park was nearly certain to be a good, relatively dry stand-by.  Not true, it seems, this winter; the cold season is only just getting started, but (aside from our amazing good luck on Mount Nanhuda, way down south, a month ago) our last dry hike is fast becoming a dim memory – somewhere back at the end of summer, I think.

The Yangmingshan Project II: Seven Star Mountain and Mount Chigu

Descending from Seven Star Mountain towards Lengshuikeng

The four routes up Seven Star Mountain are described on pages 187-194 and 173-174. The trail up Mount Chigu is described on page 179.

Just as the first hike in our attempt to conquer all the peaks in Yangmingshan in a series of hikes this month reminded me just how fun and rewarding hiking Taipei’s National Park can be, our second installment hammered home the two main reasons I don’t often venture up there any more – the often miserably overcrowed buses up there (and down again), and the bloody awful weather!

The Yangmingshan Project I: The Western Peaks

The very muddy, very steep and veeerry slippery descent of Datun West Peak

The route we took combines routes described on pages 168-170 and 221-226.

It’s so long since I’ve done any serious hiking in Yangmingshan that I’d forgotten how fun it can be!  Despite on-and-off light rain, heavy cloud and the occasional leech bite, the first in a series of trips to (hopefully) bag all the main summits in Yangingshan National park was great fun and – best of all – proof that walking in Yangmingshan doesn’t have to mean a dull plod up steep stone steps or along wide paths of stone slabs.

The Yangmingshan Project

Mount Datun, from Mount Xiao Guanyin West Peak

With three high mountain trips coming up, it’s seriously time I got back in shape and get trained in carrying a heavy backpack, get the hiking boots trodden in again and check if my other gear is up to the job. With that in mind I came up with this slightly ambitious project to ‘bag’ all the main peaks (and a number of the lesser summits) in Yangmingshan National Park before setting off on the first of the trips, in the third week in November. The list I’ve drawn up includes the 22 main peaks in the Datun range, plus a couple in the smaller neighbouring Wuzhishan range. I’ve been up all of them before, but the idea of climbing them all in a short space of time seems pretty cool for some reason, and a good spur to get fittened up for the high peaks further south.

Hiking Plans for the the Year of the Rabbit

Statuary at Panther Mountain, Four Beasts Mountains, Taipei City

Just two weeks back from England, and I’ve been hiking five days a week (before class, all-day at the weekends) trying to get these darned books completed. Nearly there, with just eight hikes to go.

   The weather didn’t cooperate the two weekends I was back for organising a group hike, but I’ve saved four great hikes for  definite group outings in February and March, so hope some of you can make them! I’m off to the airport in, er, two hours to fly to Bangkok en route to the mystical kingdom of Bhutan (yeeeeh!) for a couple of weeks , but will be back mid February, ready for at least four more hikes in Taiwan.

Dragon Phoenix Waterfall, Xiaowulai

Meanwhile, here are just a couple of the places I’ve been visiting (all in the new books, so buy them if you wanna go too!!) this last two busy, busy weeks.

Church at Sanmin

Temple rock carving between Elephant and Panther Mountains, Four Beasts Mountains, Taipei City

Above Silver Stream Cave, Xindian

Fuxing Suspension Bridge, North Cross-island Highway

Xiaowulai Waterfall (incidentally the same waterfall that appears on the cover of Taipei Day Trips book 2)

Statues in the cliff face below Panther Mountain, Four Beasts Mountains, Taipei City

Doll Valley Waterfall, Neidong Forest, Wulai

The ‘Little White House’, Danshui

Gorge between Wulai and Neidong

Luofu Bridge, North Cross-island Highway

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and a few Hike Plans for 2011

The wonderful Cloud Forest Waterfall, Full Moon Mountain, Sanxia (TDT book 1, walk 30)

At the highest point of the Caoling Trail (with few other walkers on the trail – a rare and wonderful phenomenon at this over-popular place!)

I’m off to England tomorrow (26th) first thing to see my family (which will be great, but it’ll be a sedentary two or three weeks, with few chances to get out except a trip or two up to London for the Sales.)  At least I can pick up a new camera there (bought cheap on Amazon), to replace my poor present one which has suffered from many months of knocks and wettings and now refuses to focus properly in anything less than full sunlight. I’ll be back mid January (maybe a little earlier, if I can change my flight ), and look forward to getting out again regularly, if the weather allows.

Strange shrine in natural rocky outcrop above Xinbeitou (TDT book 1, walk 2)

View from the summit of White Chicken Mountain (TDT book 2, walk 17)

On the trail to Cloud Forest Waterfall, Sanxia (TDT book 1, walk 30)

I’ve been hiking nearly every day this last week or two (since most of my piano students left for Christmas about 10 days ago, these photos are from those trips and the last two weekend hikes), and the two books are well on their way towards revision. Hoping then to change my focus towards multi-day trips to the offshore islands in the early summer.

Between Mount Jhan and Guanyin Mountain (new hike for next edition)

The scenery along the branch path between Caoling Historic Trail and Taoyuan (Paradise) Valley is far more impressive than anything seen along the much more popular Caoling Trail nearby

There are still six or seven choice hikes being reserved for the group on Saturdays and Sundays in the New Year, before we go back to the usual one or two a month from April or so.

Lovers’ Temple, Xinbeitou (TDT book 1, walk 2)

On a bike, about to be run over by a crazy cycle gang going in the opposite direction, on the ridiculously popular Caoling Tunnel bike path – a far more dangerous place than any of the craggy trails I’ve hiked in recent months

Forest Mountain Waterfall, near Full Moon Mountain, Sanxia (TDT book 1, walk 30)

Definitely hikes planned for January 22nd and 23rd, and maybe two for 15th and 16th as well if the jet lag and weather permit.  More details about them later….

Carp Mountain from Dahu (TDT book 1, walk 4)

Dragon Boat Rock, above Neihu (TDT book 1, walk 4)

On top of Guanyin Mountain: fantastic weather!

Gem, perhaps the most energetic and insatiably curious dog I’ve ever known

Here’s hoping for more great weather in 2011;meanwhile wishing everyone best wishes for Christmas and  a Happy New year!