Videos

Quick to the famous Green Tea Mountain in Yilan's Jiaoxi Township. Was a hot day, but the scenery was picture perfect. 🙂

Who we are
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

Who I am
My name is Johannes (友漢), "Twelli". I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan (2020-11-12)
By Ryan Hevern

Matcha Mountain
The hike up Matcha Mountain rewards you with incredible scenery, and also has an interesting religious component. With a unique Catholic church at the start of the hike and a “Christian” hut below the peak of Mt. Sanjiaolun, hiking the trail has become somewhat of a pilgrimage for hikers of faith.

The Marian Hut was built in 1977 by an Italian monk, Br. Luigi Pavanat, who worked for 20 years in Yilan’s Camillian Saint Mary’s Hospital Luodong and was in love with Taiwan’s mountains. In 1980, a group of hikers met bad weather on a hike to Mt. Sanjiaolun, and took shelter in the hut. Five of the hikers decided to descend the mountain in the dark. On the way down they saw the image of a woman in a long white robe, which they regarded as being an apparition of the Virgin Mary. The church at the start of the hike, known as the Catholic Sanctuary of Our Lady of Wufengqi, was built years later close to the location of the apparition.

The Marian Hiking Trail is suitable for most hikers with moderate fitness, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t strenuous. It takes about five hours to get from the car park in the Wufengqi Waterfall area to the Marian Hut. Just above the hut is a platform with a statue of Jesus on the cross from where you have the best views. The easy-to-follow route has a total length of 5.6km. It consists of a long easy-grade gravel path, a steep-step section through forest, and a dirt path section up along arrow bamboo slopes.

THE HIKE
The hike begins at the Wufengqi Scenic Area car park. You can first walk up to the three-tier Wufengqi Waterfall (look for the signposted stairs on the right side of the main path), or you can follow the winding paved road uphill straight ahead. A path connects the waterfall area with this road just below the Catholic church. At the church you want to look down to the Lanyang Plain to get a first taste of what you will later see from much higher up. You can take a look inside the beautiful round church and view a statue of the Virgin Mary in a man-made cave beside the building.

After this, follow the steep road behind the church, which soon becomes a gravel path that brings you to the proper trailhead at the Tongtian Bridge. The trail first follows a mountain stream through lush forest. During hot weather many hikers will opt to sit by the stream, soaking their feet in the cooling water.
Meandering through the luxuriant forest, the well-maintained path takes you past rich vegetation. It’s a steep climb, with a change in elevation of about 400m. While for the first kilometer or so you can enjoy the tree shade, the higher up you go the more the forest opens up. Along the last few hundred meters before reaching the Marian Hut you’ll be surrounded by arrow bamboo, which blankets the mountainside, and you’ll be rewarded with breathtaking unobstructed views of the Lanyang Plain when looking back.

Just above the Marian Hut lies the main attraction on this hike, the rolling matcha-like slopes of Mt. Sanjiaolun, covered in arrow bamboo and silvergrass. When the silvergrass sways in the wind, this becomes an even more mesmerizing landscape. The hut itself is a welcome shelter during unfavorable weather, a place with running water, toilets, and even benches to lie down on.
A short distance above the hut is the viewing platform at the end of the trail, reached by climbing a set of steep steps. The large Jesus on the cross statue stands in the center of the platform, from where you can enjoy stunning 360 degree views of the surrounding verdant mountains, the Lanyang Plain, and the Pacific Ocean in the far distance.
For those who want an extended and more strenuous hike, another trail section continues further up to the peak of Mt. Sanjiaolun. Add at least another hour to your hike if this is the path you choose.


English and Chinese
Catholic Sanctuary of Our Lady of Wufengqi 五峰旗聖母朝聖地
Marian Hiking Trail 聖母登山步道
Marian Hut 聖母山莊
Matcha Mountain 抹茶山
Mt. Sanjiaolun 三角崙山
Tongtian Bridge 通天橋
Wufengqi Scenic Area 五峰旗風景區
Wufengqi Waterfall 五峰旗瀑布

Short trip to Taichung and Sun Moon Lake with stops at Gaomei Wetland and places around the lake. Great time to travel to Sun Moon Lake.

Who we are
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

Who I am
My name is Johannes (友漢), "Twelli". I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan (2020-09-10)
By Rick Charette

TAICHUNG
Gaomei Wetland
The Gaomei Wetland is in Taichung’s Qingshui District, on the south side of the point where the Dajia River empties into the Taiwan Strait. It is 300ha in area, with a seawall stretching 3.5km that is very popular with cyclists. On the mainland side of the wall is a cluster of tourist-focused businesses, notably food sellers, where bike-rental operations are found.
At the wetland’s south end is a new, large visitor center with exhibits on wetland topics. Gaomei is a sanctuary for birdlife, and an important stopover point for migratory birds. The center’s rooftop provides expansive views in all directions.
Also on the south edge is a pretty biker/pedestrian-only bridge that jumps a stream to bring you over to a giant line of wind turbines that makes for striking photos. Directly in front of the aforementioned tourist-business cluster is an 800m boardwalk that brings you far out into the wetland, just a few feet above the teeming world of busy fiddler crabs, mudskippers, and other tiny local denizens. Off the cluster’s north end is an elegant red-and-white lighthouse, built in 1967, that is open to visitors.
Taichung also offers a number of other dedicated bikeways that are well worth checking out, notably the Dongfeng Bicycle Green Way and Houfeng Bikeway.


SUN MOON LAKE
Come! Bikeday
This is a showcase for the exquisitely beautiful Sun Moon Lake, located in the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area (www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw) in the central mountains. The elevation of the mountain-surrounded lake’s surface is about 750m. The CNN Travel website has described the round-lake bike route as one of the world’s top 10 “cycling routes that’ll take your breath away.”
Come!Bikeday happens over a weekend in late autumn, with different events satisfying the desires of competitive riders, leisure riders, and kids. The center of action is the expansive Xiangshan Visitor Center, located on the lake’s west side. Among these is the 30km round-lake Challenge Ride highway jaunt, for more serious bikers. The start and finish is at the visitor center.
The non-competitive, family-oriented Joy Ride is 10km, and features easy grades. You start at the visitor center, head through the main lakeside village (Shuishe), and turn around just past the Zhaowu Pier to return the same way. A long part of this happy big-gathering excursion is along the popular bikeway (for walkers as well) that runs along the lake’s west side. The Push Bike section is a competition for tots 2~6, who race their push bikes (no-pedal bikes) on a mini-course set up on the visitor center’s grassy grounds.

The west-side bikeway is itself one of Sun Moon Lake’s most popular attractions, and delivers you to numerous other attractions. The Xiangshan Visitor Center has an info-rich exhibit hall and a fine glass-wall café overlooking a small, quiet bay. Close to it – part of the bikeway – are the poetically lovely Tongxin Bridge and Yongjie Bridge, known as the “wedding photo bridges.” The Xiangshan Scenic Outlook skywalk, also near the center, is reached via a branch boardwalk that seems to float through treetops, high above the aforementioned bay.
South of the center, the bikeway brings you to large, quiet Crescent Bay, one of the lake’s quietest areas, with no powered boats allowed entry. There is a campground and SUP/kayaking center here. North is the aforementioned Shuishe Pier, busy during the day with tour boats, and a great place for people-watching, faced by a line of cafés and eateries with alfresco seating.

We spent a day on the Northeast Coast recently doing snorkeling and stand-up paddle boarding near Longdong and at Fulong. We also checked out Mao'ao fishing village and Sandiao Cape Lighthouse.

Who we are
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

Who I am
My name is Johannes (友漢), "Twelli". I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan (2020-09-10)
By Rick Charette
Longdong Four Seasons Bay
Longdong Four Seasons Bay, is beside the highway immediately south of Longdong Cape. Serving as an outdoor nature-education center combining seaside fun with learning, the visitor center houses an informative exhibit on Northeast Coast geology and marine life. Along the shore are a series of side-by-side natural seawater pools. Three are converted former abalone-cultivation ponds. Coral reefs a little further out keep the waters calm. A great way to get up close and personal with the resident fish, shrimp, crabs, starfish, and sea anemones is a snorkeling experience. Note that instructor-guided diving and stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) experiences are also available . All your snorkeling equipment is provided: snorkel, mask, protective footwear, life jacket. You start at the dock at one of the deeper pools, learn the basics from your instructor, and when ready you’re taken out into water up to 10m deep, by the coral reefs. A session lasts about 90 minutes.
Longdong Four Seasons Bay (龍洞四季灣)
Add: No. 48, Hemei St., Hemei Borough, Gongliao District, New Taipei City
(新北市貢寮區和美里和美街48號)
Tel: (02) 2490-1000
Website: http://www.kivano.com.tw (Chinese)

Fulong Beach
This is widely considered north Taiwan’s best beach. It’s located adjacent to Fulong village, at the placid Shuang River’s mouth, just a short walk from Fulong Railway Station. A variety of water-fun facilities are available. Just upriver is the large Longmen Riverside Camping Resort, which has extensive recreation facilities. One is a kayaking center, offering beginner classes and guided river and sea outings. Each summer the beach is the venue for two large-scale happenings that draw visitors in great numbers, the Fulong International Sand Sculpture Art Festival and the Ho-Hai-Yan Gongliao Rock Festival.

Mao’ao Village
Reward yourself for all your vigorous physical exertion and your intrepid exploring with a leisurely hour or more in the easy-going village of Mao’ao, an old fisherfolk settlement that is now experiencing a tourism renaissance. The coastal highway moves around behind it, on higher ground; a number of narrow roads lead toward its heart, a small open plaza beside the water. In days past this square was used for fishery-related activities such as auctions and the drying and mending of nets. Look past one end of the plaza and you’ll see the small harbor and, beside it, an ornate temple that seems far too large for such a small community. Its size is testament to the wealth hauled ashore during the village’s halcyon days. Look past the plaza’s other end and you’ll see examples of another key Mao’ao tourist attraction – the ruins of century-old stone houses built by the local fishing families. The quality of the stone cuts reveals the relative status of the families; clean cuts with neat fitting for the residences of the local elite, rough cuts with more mortar used for the less successful. The village’s youngest tourist attraction is the line of four eateries/cafés at the back of the plaza. Oldest, most eye-catching, and by far the most popular is the Mao’ao Ocean Service Station. Four years old, it is in a stone building that was originally a fishery warehouse. The signature dish is neritic squid and prawn in vermicelli soup. Another bestseller is the Thai chicken.
Mao’ao Ocean Service Station (卯澳海洋驛站)
Add: No. 1-1, Fuxing St., Gongliao District, New Taipei City
(新北市貢寮區福興街1-1號)
Tel: (02) 2499-1617

Sandiao Cape
The Sandiao Cape Lighthouse is inland off the coastal highway. There is a sign with clear English at the entrance of the narrow road that heads up the hill. The lighthouse was built in 1935 by the Japanese after two Japanese ships were wrecked directly offshore. It houses a small display gallery with old lighthouse equipment, maps, period photos, and other items. There are short, well-maintained pathways around the lighthouse, one leading to a fine lookout with information boards that have English explanations of the immediate area’s geology and history.

We spent a day on the North Coast recently checking out a few coffee places and beaches. The North Coast is a fun area in Taiwan to visit.

Who we are
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

Who I am
My name is Johannes (友漢), "Twelli". I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Check out Uniquefun here: https://uniquefuntw.com/ref/119/

Two weeks ago I was invited by Uniquefun to go on this half-day trip to do a bit of motorbiking in Hualien's Fenglin Township. Was hot and fun.

Who we are
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

Who I am
My name is Johannes (友漢), "Twelli". I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

After a day on Green Island we went up the coast of Taitung and visited a few cool places, like beaches and cafes. Taitung is a great place to visit!

Who we are
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

Who I am
My name is Johannes (友漢), "Twelli". I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/7-8)

Doulan Surf Shop, beside coastal Highway 11 in the village of Dulan, provides surfing lessons, board sales and rentals, sales of other surfing gear, board repair, and surf tour services. It is run by a friendly husband-and-wife team, both refugees from big city life. He is originally from Taipei, and “used to be very white-skinned,” and she is a local Taitung indigenous lass who decided to get back to her roots after a spell in the skies as a flight attendant.
Doulan Surf Shop (都蘭衝浪店)
Add: No. 459-2, Dulan Village, Donghe Township, Taitung County
(台東縣東河鄉都蘭村459-2號)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/doulansurfshop

Dulan Big Yard Barbecue is located beside the coastal highway diagonally across from the Dulan Sugar Factory complex. Entering through the tall gate, you see that you’ve indeed entered a very “big yard.” A wooden open-faced hut that looks like a crab shack you might come across by a Louisiana bayou stands amidst the trees. Order at the counter, then await delivery at one of the alfresco tables. The menu is extensive, displaying much that will make both surf-lovers and turf-lovers happy. Note that it is the seafood selections that most excite the palates of most Asian diners. There are surf/turf options that will be more familiar to BBQ aficionados from Western lands.
Dulan Big Yard Barbecue (都蘭院子大BBQ海鮮燒烤)
Add: No. 40-2, Dulan, Donghe Township, Taitung County
(台東縣東河鄉都蘭40-2號)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/smashing1126/

Jingang (“King Kong”) Boulevard is accessed by taking County Road 13, which starts just north of the coastal highway’s 85km marker. The “boulevard” is a minor road situated between the ocean and the coastal mountains, one of which, Mt. Jingang, is said to resemble the head of a gorilla (hence the name of the road). On both sides of the road are terraced rice fields. Although in recent years this road has become quite popular with Instagrammers and bicyclists, it remains a quiet spot most of the time and you’ll likely enjoy the pristine scenery all by yourself, with the possible exception of a friendly rice farmer or two out in the fields.

Duli Beach is located on a small secluded bay southeast of Duli village. Surfers come here to catch the waves, light bonfires, and chill out under the star-filled night sky. It is also attracting increasing numbers of Instagrammers because of a visual effect that has become known in Chinese as “Sky Mirror.” During low tides in daylight hours the wet, flat beach has crystal-clear reflections of blue sky, white clouds, and silhouettes of frolicking people, creating perfect photo ops. One hour before or after the lowest tide is the ideal time for capturing this effect.

O’nok Studio and Café, located on Highway 11 (85km marker), is an establishment where you can witness how traditional Amis tribal culture is preserved in today’s modern world. The wood and stucco building was created by an Amis couple on a mission to share their tribe’s legacy. For the past ten years the couple has been serving homemade food and offering DIY activities inside their café/studio. The freshly baked cakes and desserts are a true delight. In addition to freshly brewed coffee, O’nok Studio and Café also serves up unique cold-brewed teas that provide a glimpse into the Amis way of living.
O’nok Studio and Café (巫驽客木屋)
Add: No. 134-1, Changguang, Changbin Village, Changbin Township, Taitung County (台東縣長濱鄉長濱村長光134-1號)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OnokWoodHouse

Shinlong Garden is a true off-the-beaten-path location that requires a 15-minute drive on a narrow, winding road that starts just south of the coastal highway’s 74km marker. Once there you’ll be rewarded with breathtaking views of Changbin’s beautiful coastline. There is a main building with a dining area inside and a terrace overlooking the ocean. From the building, an elevated wood-plank path leads to a pavilion, and further on you’ll come to a round wooden deck with a star dragon sculpture, a great place to take photos.
Shinlong Garden (星龍花園秘境餐廳)
Add: No. 118-20, Changyuan Village, Changbin Township, Taitung County (台東縣長濱鄉樟原村118-20號)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/shinlong2017

Second day of our quick trip to Green Island in April. My highlight of that days was walking to the Haishenping beach. Awesome scenery. No one else there.

Who we are
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

Who I am
My name is Johannes (友漢), "Twelli". I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/7-8)

Zhaori Hot Springs
One of the best tourist attractions on Green Island is the Zhaori Hot Springs. Located on the southeast coast of the island, from the hot-spring pools you can view the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean. There are three open-air circular baths close to the sea, filled with a mixture of seawater and underground sulfuric water heated by the magma deep under the island.
Apart from the pools by the sea, higher up closer to the entrance there are also five open-air hot-spring pools and the hot-spring area’s other facilities (showers and changing rooms). While the average water temperature of the pools by the sea is 53 degrees Celsius, the temperatures within the pools near the entrance are warmer, as they are closer to the source.
There is also an indoor hot-spring area that is equipped with water jets for relaxing massages. The Zhaori Hot Springs are open almost 24 hours, allowing you to watch the sunrise while soaking, listen to the ocean waves, enjoy a sunset massage, and gaze at the stars after sundown.
Add: No. 167, Wenquan Rd., Gongguan Village, Ludao Township, Taitung County (台東縣綠島鄉公館村溫泉路167號)
Hours: 5am~2am (May~September); 6am~12 midnight (October~April)
Admission: NT$200 (swim caps required)

Little Great Wall
The Little Great Wall Trail is a 300m path with steep steps that takes you to the top of a high promontory. Green foliage lines the winding path, which vaguely resembles China’s Great Wall, hence the name. The short and easy 10-minute walk leads to two pavilions sitting at the edge of a cliff that drops to the sea. There you are presented with breathtaking views of the coast and the azure ocean far below.
Looking south from the pavilions, you can see unique rock formations that sit in a bay known as Haishenping. One is the Pekingese Dog Rock, named after its resemblance to the floppy-eared dog. The rock’s left side, seen in profile, faces the pavilions, with the dog looking out to sea like a puppy lying on its belly. Right next to this is the Sleeping Beauty Rock, named because it resembles a beautiful woman lying on her back.
If you look north from the pavilions you’ll see a bay known as Youzihu, home to an abandoned fishing village and a sea cave. The Little Great Wall Trail is a popular scenic spot during the daytime. In addition, because of the limited light pollution here, it’s also a great location for pondering the star-studded sky after the sun goes down, with the Milky Way clearly visible.

Shilang Beach
Green Island, with its pristine blue waters and rich untouched marine environment, is an extremely popular place for snorkeling and scuba diving. Visibility is often 30m or more, and water temperatures are above 20 degrees Celsius throughout the year. Well-preserved coral reefs, tropical fish, sea turtles, and sometimes even sharks make Green Island a diver’s paradise. Visitors can choose from numerous quality outlets on the island to rent gear, take diving courses, and even get certified.
Shore diving on Green Island is quite convenient. One popular place is Shilang, notable for its picturesque walkway, which allows you to walk from the white coral-stone beach to the deeper water.

Ice Jail
The interior of the Ice Jail is decorated with prison bars and mock-up jail cells. The shop serves traditional Taiwanese shaved-ice treats, with some island-unique toppings. The best-known creation consists of shaved ice topped with seaweed, fresh pineapple, pink and yellow chewy pearls made from cornstarch, seaweed mochi balls (only available in the summer), and condensed milk. All of the ice dishes are served in simple silver bowls to replicate a prisoner’s meal.
Ice Jail (冰獄)
Add: No. 48, Yugang, Nanliao Village, Ludao Township, Taitung County
(台東縣綠島鄉南寮村漁港48號)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/icejail1020

English and Chinese
Haishenping 海蔘坪
Little Great Wall 綠島小長城
Pekingese Dog 哈巴狗岩
Shilang 石朗
Sleeping Beauty 睡美人岩
Youzihu 柚子湖
Zhaori Hot Springs 朝日溫泉

We did a quick trip to Green Island in April. Great weather great scenery. This is the first day showing us visiting some cool places.

Who we are
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

Who I am
My name is Johannes (友漢), "Twelli". I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/7-8)
Text: Francesca Chang

Green Island Lighthouse
The Green Island Lighthouse is a beautiful white tower located in the island’s northwest corner. It was a gift from the United States after the SS President Hoover liner hit a reef off the island and was grounded in 1937. Locals rescued the stranded passengers, and a year later, as an act of gratitude, the U.S. donated the funds to build the original lighthouse. The current lighthouse, built in 1948 after the original was destroyed in WWII, stands at just over 33m in height, and is reached by ascending a 150-step staircase. The lighthouse offers a 360-degree-view of Green Island. Close by is Wuyouku, a beach area with a large pool of saltwater that appears at low tide, teeming with sea creatures.

Green Island Human Rights Culture Park and General Rock
In 1949, toward the end of the Chinese Civil War, a period of martial law was declared in Taiwan that was to last until 1987. Under Kuomintang rule many political dissidents were imprisoned in a facility on Green Island. In 2001, the Green Island Human Rights Culture Park was built to commemorate political prisoners oppressed during the martial law period. Part of this park is the Human Rights Monument, which has a long, descending wall on which former prisoners’ names are inscribed. It leads to a circular structure formed with series of pillars.
The General Rock is a nearby coast-side landmark hard to miss from the park. The unique rock formation gets its name from its resemblance to a military officer wearing a steel helmet.

Youzihu and Wangong Cave
Youzihu is an abandoned fishing village on the east coast of the island. The village played an important role in the island’s early development. Today, you can still see remnants of some of the abandoned stone houses. The scenery surrounding Youzihu has an out-of-this-world feel. One of the natural attractions is the Wangong Cave, accessible via a dirt path. Created by sea erosion, this is a popular spot to take photos. There is also much else to see in the area, including natural pools filled with clear water and interestingly shaped giant rocks.

Slow Island Hostel
Slow Island Hostel is located just 650m from Nanliao Fishing Harbor, where most visitors arrive via ferry. This backpacker hostel emits a laid-back, worry-free vibe. It was founded by a well-tanned young man from Keelung, a port city near Taipei. He left the north and headed down to the southeast with a dream of opening a restaurant on Orchid Island, Green Island’s tropical-paradise neighbor, but chose this paradise instead. The hostel is an ideal choice for those on a budget, with small, basic shared bunkbed rooms sleeping four to nine people.
Slow Island Hostel (綠島緩島旅宿)
Add: No. 110-1, Neighborhood 9, Nanliao Village, Ludao Township, Taitung County (綠島鄉南寮村九鄰110之1號)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/slowislandhostel

Mr. Hot Dog
Across the street from the Slow Island Hostel is Mr. Hot Dog, a restaurant run by the same owner as the hostel. This American-themed restaurant serves yummy burgers, quesadillas, brick oven pizza, and island-inspired cocktails made with Taiwanese liquors.
Mr. Hot Dog (哈狗店)
Add: No. 103, Nanliao Village, Ludao Township, Taitung County
(台東縣綠島鄉南寮村103號)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gimrhotdog/

Green Island Sika Deer Store
The sika deer is revered on the island by locals, including the owner of the Green Island Sika Deer Store. Hailing from the Taiwan mainland, he came to Green Island 13 years ago on a working holiday, fell in love with the place, and has been there ever since. He sells sika deer-themed items, including hand-painted postcards, magnets, stuffed animals and, most famously, delicious sika deer-shaped egg cakes.
Green Island Sika Deer Store (梅花鹿專賣店)
Add: No. 205-1, Nanliao Village, Ludao Township, Taitung County
(台東縣綠島鄉南寮村205-1號)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SikaDeerStore

English and Chinese
General Rock 將軍岩
Green Island Human Rights Culture Park 綠島人權公園
Green Island Lighthouse 綠島燈塔
Nanliao Fishing Harbor 南寮漁港
Human Rights Monument人權紀念碑
Wangong Cave 彎弓洞
Youzihu 柚子湖

In March we went on a quick one-day trip down to the Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County. It's a bit too far for a one-day trip from Taipei, cause it takes a while to get there, but it was fun anyway. The suspension bridge was great.

WHO WE ARE
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

WHO I AM
My name is Johannes (友漢), "Twelli". I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/7-8)
Text: Owain Mckimm

EASY SCENIC TRAILS AOWANDA

Red Maple Leaves and Much More
The Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area in Central Taiwan

TEXT / OWAIN MCKIMM
PHOTOS / SHOYA SONG

Though one of Taiwan's lesser-visited national forest recreation areas Aowanda is certainly no less lovely nor less abundant in its ecological offerings than its more popular counterparts.

Situated deep in the center of the island Aowanda is at its most splendid between late fall and early spring, when the vast forest of maple, Formosan sweet gum, beech, and oak turns from green to russet and the blooming cherry trees daub the deep red swathes of autumn foliage with vibrant bursts of white, puce, and pink. And while it may be at its aesthetic height during the winter months, Aowanda has plenty to merit a visit in other seasons, too. Its size (almost 3,000ha), topography (a series of densely forested terraces and valleys that range between 1,100m and 2,600m above sea level), and location at the confluence of six different rivers ensure a wide range of biodiversity that includes hundreds of species of birds, butterflies, fireflies, and mountain mammals. This fecundity of wildlife, which made the area a prime hunting ground for members of Taiwan's indigenous Atayal, Bunun, and Seediq tribes in the not-too-distant past, today makes Aowanda a prime location for birdwatchers and nature lovers.

Walking in the direction of the park’s eastern reaches, you'll first need to descend the Strongman’s Slope – a steep series of wooden steps that takes you from the upper river terrace down 100m to the alluvial plain below. From here you can follow the Maple Forest Walk adjacent to the riverbed, with sweeping views of the rising river valley, or the Bird-watching Trail through the dense inner forest, where you'll be able to spot members of some of Aowanda’s 120-plus bird species, including the endemic Formosan blue magpie, also known as the “long-tailed mountain lady” in Chinese, and the Taiwan barbet, identifiable by its varicolored feathers and distinctive warble.
Along these trails, encounters with members of some of Aowanda’s 209 butterfly species, which dine on the forest’s many beech and mulberry mistletoe trees, and Taiwanese macaques, which shuffle through the canopy and seem to have as much fun observing you as you do them, are near certainties. Both trails will eventually lead you to the Bird-watching Platform, where you are gifted with an extraordinary view of Aowanda’s main arboreal attraction – the Pure Chinese Sweet Gum Forest.
Located at the confluence of the North River and South River as they become the Wanda River, this gathering of sweet gum specimens (brilliantly scarlet come winter) juts out into the riverbed of this newly formed waterway like the prow of a great ship, bravely pushing into the silt deposited on the plain by successive typhoons. On the terrace above the sweet gum forest lies the park’s easternmost point – the Pine Tree Zone, a forest of Taiwan red pines where the floor is blanketed each year with copper-colored pine needles.
To reach the Pine Tree Zone, visitors must first cross the imposing Aowanda Suspension Bridge, which spans the 180m expanse across the gorge. Built to replace a bridge destroyed in 2007 by Typhoon Sepat, the Aowanda Suspension Bridge is certainly not for those fearful of heights – the 90m drop to the riverbed below being enough to make even the calmest of heads spin. Nonetheless, those who do brave the crossing will be amply rewarded with some truly spectacular views of the North River valley as the waterway sweeps down to meet the South River, as well as an eagle’s eye view of the aforementioned sweet gum forest.

English and Chinese
Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area 奧萬大國家森林遊樂區
Aowanda Suspension Bridge 奧萬大吊橋
Green Resort Village 綠野山莊
North River 北溪
Pine Tree Zone 松林區
Pure Sweet Gum Forest 楓香林
Red Resort Village 楓紅山莊
South River 南溪
Strongman’s Slope 好漢坡
Wanda River 萬大溪

Last video from our Alishan trip. We visited three more places in the Shizhuo area. On this trip we met so many friendly people, I highly recommend traveling to the greater Alishan area, always so much fun!

WHO WE ARE
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

WHO I AM
My name is Johannes (友漢). I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/5-6)
Text: Rick Charette

YuYuPas
YuYuPas is a cultural park, opened in 2010, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tsou Tribe culture. It’s easy to spend a whole day here, taking in the stupendous mountain landscape while: enjoying a Tsou song-and-dance show; exploring the Tsou-culture museum; sitting down to café and teahouse experiences mulling YuYuPas self-produced coffees and teas; dining on traditional indigenous fare and dishes inspired by traditional Alishan foods and ingredients; and joining group DIY coffee-production fun.
The park is set up like a tribal village, with a central cluster of large thatched-roof buildings running downhill, surrounded by walkways lined with richly flowering plants that attract butterflies of exquisite design. Plots of coffee bushes are found between some, and running up the slope above the cluster is a large swathe of neat tiered-row tea bushes.
The song-and-dance program is staged in a wood-built complex that overlooks the central cluster. It has one high open side, which faces Rainbow Valley and the Yushan Mountain Range off in the distance. Shows are put on daily, featuring traditional Tsou songs and dances as well as modern pop songs with indigenous themes. Taiwan’s indigenous peoples are famed for their melodic singing, and have had a big impact on the modern pop scene.
YuYuPas (優遊巴斯鄒族文化部落)
Add: No. 127-2, Neighborhood 4, Leye Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣阿里山鄉樂野村4鄰127-2號)
Tel: (05) 256-2788
Website: http://yuyupas.com (Chinese)

Ajang Home
This magical “village” is on the slopes directly below YuYuPas. This is the realized dream of Ajang, a member of the Tsou Tribe who wanted to recreate the look of the traditional-architecture Tsou village of his childhood. The buildings and other structures are made of a combination of stone, wood, and thatch.
This is a family-run business, and Ajang, a man good with his hands who worked in the shipbuilding industry in the Taipei area for decades, has crafted everything himself, from buildings to chair and table sets to the whimsical industrial-parts robot-statue artworks that adorn the complex. His self-declared masterworks are the Tsou “warrior prince” and “princess” that stand outside the 23 Coffee house.
Ajang’s wife serves up superb hand-drip coffee, using Alishan beans she sources and roasts on-site herself. She also makes dense, toothsome oven-baked breads, in a large European-style stone oven Ajang built for her. Her most unusual selection features magao (“mountain pepper,” a traditional indigenous spice) and Tsou-style roast pork chunks. Bread-sampling platters are served, and whole loaves sold. DIY experiences are also available, with advance notice, including sessions on making mochi and glutinous-rice muffins.
Ajang Home (阿將的家)
Add: No. 129-6, Neighborhood 4, Leye Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County (阿里山鄉樂野村四鄰一二九號之6)
Tel: (05) 256-1930
Website: http://facebook.com/ajanghome (Chinese)

FKUO Tea
This welcoming tea-retail and indigenous-cuisine operation is the pride and joy of a Tsou Tribe warrior on a mission – to demonstrate to young Tsou members that they can succeed if they believe in themselves and show entrepreneurial spirit; that they can be the masters of their own destiny.
Directly across the highway from the open-front facility is his tea farm, spread out on high slopes. His, he proudly proclaims, is the only Tsou-owned tea farm/business operation along Highway 18.
He loves to lead tea samplings in the retail area. The restaurant is run by his wife, a member of the Paiwan Tribe, most of whom live in the southern central mountains. The menu thus features a delicious Alishan/Paiwan mix.
FKUO Tea (山芙蓉茶業)
Add: No. 280, Neighborhood 9, Leye Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣阿里山鄉樂野村9鄰280號)
Tel: (05) 256-1483
Website: http://www.facebook.com/fkuoo

The second homestay we stayed at on our three-day Alishan trip back in February was this place, a fine guesthouse with outstanding views.

WHO WE ARE
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

WHO I AM
My name is Johannes (友漢). I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/5-6)
Text: Rick Charette

Tea Garden Homestay
This homestay/inn is located a short distance up a steep side road just before the 58km mark of Highway 18. This is another fine accommodation option with a tea-family background. The two interconnected buildings were originally the courtyard-style home and tea factory of the young owner-operator’s grandparents. Their tea fields are on the hillside behind.
As with SunSweetHouse, there has been a complete transformation, with a bright-colored destination emerging that has the look of a California mission-style home. The roof is covered with terracotta tiles. Interior floors are surfaced with clay tiling, as is the large outdoor terrace, where breakfast is taken on friendly days. At one end of the terrace is a white steel-frame portal in the shape of a church door, leading to a short downhill pathway, from which hangs a small church bell. Far down at the other end, the reading/leisure section of the complex has a tall gable roof, a façade dominated by large window panes, and a chimney deliberately made to look like a steeple, giving it the distinctive look of a mission church.
Inside this section, the wood-framing décor and mountain-view windows give it more the character of a Swiss ski chalet. This is accentuated by the cozy faux fireplace in one corner – once a real fireplace, hence the chimney.

The owner grew up watching his grandparents host ever more Alishan visitors here, a friendliness that over time gave rise to a modest homestay. While working in Taipei the mountains kept calling him home, and he decided to return to maintain his grandparents’ legacy of hospitality, celebrating their beloved Alishan homeland and helping both homestay and area flourish.
In online reviews, happy customers consistently applaud the Tea Garden Homestay sunrises. A short 5-minute walk up the hillside behind brings above all building, power line, and other obstructions for a heavenly unfettered view of the great golden orb appearing over the Yushan range.
Rates for the immaculate rooms start at NT$2,800. A complimentary breakfast is served either on the terrace or in the lobby dining area, and features sausage, scrambled eggs with bacon, and garden-fresh salad.
Tea Garden Homestay (茶香花園民宿)
Add: No. 9, Longtou, Gongtian Village, Fanlu Township, Chiayi County
(嘉義縣番路鄉公田村龍頭9號)
Tel: 0988-514-789
Website: http://alishan-home.com.tw (Chinese)

On our trip to Alishan this February we walked a few easy trails in the Xiding and Shizhuo area, including Eryanping Trail, Mist Trail, and Tea Trail. The trails go by awesome tea plantations and also very nice bamboo groves.

WHO WE ARE
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

WHO I AM
My name is Johannes (友漢). I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/5-6)
Text: Rick Charette

Eryanping Trail
Another recommended area trail, not part of the Shizhuo group, is the Eryanping Trail, which is informally called the Tea Fragrance Trail. It starts beside Highway 18 at the 53.5km mark in the Xiding village area, a few kilometers below Shizhuo. “Xiding” means “top of the crevice,” indicating the pass/crevice used by early settlers when heading to Mt. Eryanping. The trail is a 1,500m jaunt up the side of the mountain, and takes about 45 minutes one way. There are steep grades in sections, with many rail-tie steps and wood-built staircases to ensure good footing. The pathway winds through bamboo stands and tea fields, with viewing decks along the way. The tea-terrace walls are made of stones dug from the fields; have a close look and you’ll spot shellfish and other fossils.
The multiple adjoining viewing decks at the very top of the trail are busy most every day, assuming good weather, because of the terrific views of the Jianan Plain far off to the west, the often riveting sunsets, and the prime positioning over a deep valley for viewing of two other natural phenomena that are intrinsic elements in the Alishan brand mosaic, “seas of clouds” and “cloud falls.” Note that both of these are more prevalent on winter mornings and evenings, dependent on propitious combinations of cool nights and bright, clear days (or vice versa).

Mist Trail
The steep, stepped Mist Trail, which heads straight uphill through terraced tea fields, is 800m long. This was originally opened by local farm folk as a pathway, in pre-motor vehicle and pre-tea cultivation days, to transport sweet potato, Chinese fan palm, bamboo shoots, and other crops down to Shizhuo. The vista to the east is unfettered, with a long stretch of the Yushan Mountain Range in awesome view. The tea fields on the lower section are dotted with farmhouses, a number of which are homestays; Alishan’s homestays are almost invariably run by local denizens. The tableaux on sunny and wet days are a world apart, with thick mists often rolling in. The trail’s upper section is through dense bamboo, along a farm road and then wood-plank stairs, offering cool shade and rich bird and insect music.

Tea Trail
The Mist Trail ends in tall secondary coniferous forest and connects directly with the Tea Trail, which continues up the mountainside. Here you are beyond the highest-placed farmhouses. The first section is through dense bamboo forest, with the wide dirt pathway soft-carpeted with fallen bamboo leaves. You then emerge among tea fields that are close-surrounded on three sides by either walls of bamboo or, higher, coniferous trees. The fourth side is open, the mountainside here falling away to the northeast, with views down to the highway area beyond Shizhuo and to the close mountains beyond. The Mist/Tea trail combo takes about an hour to conquer, one way.
Taiwan’s coveted gaoshan oolong cha, or high-mountain oolong tea, was developed in the Alishan region, which when experimentation commenced was colder and higher than the island’s established tea-cultivation areas. Today the term High Mountain Tea refers to leaf grown at 1,000m or higher. Such altitudes produce hardier teas that possess a greater concentration of flavor-producing elements.

On our trip to Alishan this February we stopped by Zengin Café on Highway 18 (Shizhuo area). They have great locally grown coffee, cool cakes, and a very friendly owner, who took us to his coffee trees. 🙂

WHO WE ARE
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

WHO I AM
My name is Johannes (友漢). I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/5-6)
Text: Rick Charette

ZENGIN Café

This business, beside Highway 18 before Shizhuo just past the 61km mark, has the look of a big-city operation somehow mistakenly plunked down in highland country. Whereas most enterprises selling tea and/or coffee in the Alishan region have a rustic décor, the façade and interior design here is industrial chic. The façade walls on the two floors are almost all glass, the panes framed by steel girders. Inside on the main level, concrete walls dominate the senses, the ceiling is exposed, and the stylish coffee bar area is defined by cool blonde-wood slats and a girder-frame overhang decorated with visually soothing leafy plants.

The young owner is a local fellow, an aesthete at heart who is a refugee from the Taipei world of finance. The premises were, until not long ago – ZENGIN opened in May 2019 – the tea-retail outlet and home for his parents, who have been growing tea for 40 years now and took up coffee cultivation in the past decade. Their fields are further along the highway, past Shizhuo, near FKUO Tea. The coffees and teas brewed and sold at ZENGIN all come from the family farm. The owner created ZENGIN for his parents to operate in their senior years, giving them a new path, then decided he wanted Alishan living again full-time for himself. Parents and son run the enterprise as a trio. The ZENGIN design was decided on after a family “café exploration” trip to the western United States.

Two types of hand-drip coffees are on the menu: Natural Process and Washed Process. The former has a clear hint of tea, because the beans are grown in terroir long used for tea cultivation. The latter has a distinctive silky, wine-like taste and texture. The owner also has a passion for things culinary, expressed in sweet form with ZENGIN’s pastel-color array of confection treats, all made in-house. Most delectable among the many ambrosial artworks is the Alishan Oolong Mousse Cake, the Tie Guanyin Tea Opera Cake, a tiramisu featuring Taiwan Tie Guanyin tea and sesame paste, and the Matcha Planet, made with premium-quality Japanese matcha.

ZENGIN Café (然井茗露)
Add: No. 123-18, Neighborhood 4, Leye Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County
(嘉義縣阿里山鄉樂野村4鄰123-18號)
Tel: (05) 256-2257
Website: http://zengin.mmweb.tw (Chinese)

First video of our Alishan trip back in February. The first night we stayed in this lovely homestay. Highly recommended!

WHO WE ARE
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

WHO I AM
My name is Johannes (友漢). I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/5-6)
Text: Rick Charette

SunSweetHouse

Does the idea of overnighting in a tea factory strike your fancy? SunSweetHouse awaits.

Well, maybe not quite. What is today an attractive family-run inn/homestay was until not very long ago the same family’s tea-processing facility. It has undergone a thorough do-over, reemerging as a hacienda-style abode with a shining white exterior and bright-red roofing. It’s run by a gracious and exceptionally hospitable sister team (along with the husband of one) that so much resemble each other that most every visitor initially believes they are twins.
The homestay is just off Highway 18, immediately before the 54km mark. It sits atop a small mountain spur, looking across a valley at the village of Xiding, which straddles the highway. The Yushan Mountain Range is in clear and glorious view off to the east – the SunSweetHouse sunrises are a spirit-soaring thrill. The family’s tea fields are down on one side of the spur.

Rooms are simply elegant, and spartan clean. Most have a small, comfy outdoor deck with views of Xiding and the Yushan range. The sisters have added lovely artistic touches everywhere, public and private, that lend great personality. The largest and most unusual of the guestrooms is the VIP room. This room is in the octagonal tower, which is at the front of the building and is the building’s most conspicuous architectural element. In tea-factory days this housed a leaf-sorting area on the first level and a worker dorm room on the second, replaced by today’s guest-dining area on the first, off the lobby area, and the VIP room on the second, which has a delightful, sweeping mountain view spanning over 180 degrees.
Room rates start at NT$3,180. A complimentary breakfast is served, either Western or Chinese. The former features items such as croissant sandwiches and yogurt with fresh fruit, while the latter includes a fried egg, tofu, and congee.
SunSweetHouse (十方山水民宿)
Add: No. 66-10, Xiding, Fanlu Township, Chiayi County
(嘉義縣番路鄉隙頂66-10號)
Tel: 0911-562-295
Website: http://sunsweethouse.com (Chinese)

Last part of our Taichung video series. We went bicycling on the Dongfeng Bicycle Green Way in Shigang District. We also visited a couple of other places in the area.

WHO WE ARE
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

WHO I AM
My name is Johannes (友漢). I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/3-4)
Text: Owain Mckimm

The Dongfeng Bicycle Green Way stretches for 12.4 kilometers through leafy, gently undulating avenues from Dongshi District in the east to Fengyuan District in the west, running parallel to the Dajia River. The bikeway follows what was once the route of the Dongshi Line, a railway built in 1958 to transport timber from the rich cypress, cedar, and fir forests of the Dongshi area to the town of Fengyuan, at the time one of Taiwan's busiest economic centers due to its convenient location on the island's west coast trunk line. The railway line was decommissioned in 1991. The bikeway, following the original line, was opened in 2000; this was Taiwan's first railway-to-bikeway conversion.

Tian Yuan Bike Rental (田原租車)
Add: No. 1166, Fengshi Rd., Shigang Dist., Taichung City
(台中市石岡區豐勢路1166號)
Website: http://bike.mmmtravel.com.tw (Chinese)
Tel: 0912-975-061, 0955-861-286
Hours: 9am~5pm (weekdays); 8am~6pm (weekends)

At the Zero Egg Platform you come across two abandoned-but-intact train carriages. The platform’s unusual name comes from the fact that after nearby Shigang Station was abandoned, this platform became a temporary gathering place for vendors. The word for this kind of makeshift market in Taiwanese is a homophone for the phrase meaning “zero egg” in Mandarin, which due to its quirkiness appears to have stuck.
One of the most charming attractions along the bikeway, the Lovers’ Bridge, requires a slight detour from the main path over an imposing steel overpass adorned with bas-relief scenes from the Garden of Eden. The Lovers' Bridge itself is a quaint wooden structure that crosses a tributary of the Dajia River and brings you to a romantic small plaza and park, lovingly landscaped with flowers, lemon trees, and heart-shaped sculptures draped in wisteria.
Leaving the bike paths and moving further upriver, you can make a brief stop to soak up some of the local culture at the Tuniu Hakka Cultural Hall– a stately collection of buildings that provides both serene garden surroundings and an insight into the bygone lives of Taichung's Hakka population.
The Tuniu Hakka Cultural Hall originally served as the residence of the Shigang area’s prosperous Liu family, but was ruined during the 1999 earthquake and later rebuilt and repurposed as a cultural museum. Stories of the area’s villages and their Hakka settlers are told on the museum’s

Tuniu Hakka Cultural Hall (土牛客家文化館)
Add: No.10, Decheng L., Fengshi R., Tuniu Bor., Shigang Dist., Taichung City
(台中市石岡區土牛里豐勢路德成巷10號)
Tel: (04) 2582-5312
Hours: 9am~5pm (closed on Monday)

Visiting A-Liang's Mushroom Garden is highly recommended. It is divided into two parts: A shop and eatery, where all sorts of dried-mushroom products and freshly prepared mushroom cuisine are available, and a mushroom nursery, a vast cavern at the back of the shop where guests can pick shiitake, wood ear, and several species of oyster mushrooms for just NT$110 per jin (500g). Here, bags of mushroom-impregnated sawdust are laid out in beds and stacked on shelves, each one erupting with fungal fruit, saturating the air with that earthy, umami aroma of a damp forest floor.

A-Liang's Mushroom Garden (阿亮香菇園)
Add: No. 131, Xiezhong St., Xinshe Dist., Taichung City
(台中市新社區協中街131號)
Website: http://0425810893.emmm.tw (Chinese)
Tel: (04) 2581-0893
Hours: 9:30am~5pm daily

For a more up-market meal with a view, head to The Pines, located in the hilly northern end of the district overlooking a picturesque lake. The owner, Steven Chang, explains that his intent in developing the restaurant was to create something with a beauty that would last and, indeed, increase over time (as opposed to aging poorly). The restaurant, which commands a front-seat view of the cypress trees, serves seasonal French-inspired cuisine made using Xinshe’s abundant fresh produce. Prices are moderate to high.
The Pines (松之戀)
Add: No. 6-7, Shishuike, Xinshe Dist., Taichung City
(台中市新社區食水嵙6-7號)
Website: http://www.facebook.com/tpl988
Tel: (04) 2581-4888
Hours: 11am~8pm daily

Guguan is a well-known hot-spring village in central Taiwan. It sits in a narrow gorge on the banks of Dajia River. We visited the hot-spring park and the upscale Hoshinoya Resort hotel.

WHO WE ARE
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

WHO I AM
My name is Johannes (友漢). I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/3-4)
Text: Owain Mckimm

Guguan
Following Provincial Highway 8 from Xinshe up the Dajia River valley brings you in less than an hour to the village of Guguan. In 1907 hot springs were discovered in the area by local natives (the area is home to members of Taiwan’s indigenous Atayal tribe), and Guguan has been a popular recreation area ever since. The sodium bicarbonate hot springs effuse a mildly alkaline, murky-white water that is smooth to the touch, with a strong aroma of sulfur, at an average temperature of 48 degrees Celsius.
Forming the center of the main visitor area is the Guguan Hot Springs Park – a pleasant garden dotted with cherry trees, at the far end of which you can experience a free foot spa (skin-nibbling fish included) at the publicly accessible footbaths.
The park once served as a garden for a Taiwan Power Company employee dormitory (where workers could bed down when posted to this remote area). The dormitory building still exists, but is now home to an iced-desserts shop, its specialty being pine-flavored popsicles, a curious delicacy made by extracting the essence from the needles of Japanese white pines.
At the northwest end of the park, the Shaolai Suspension Bridge (one of three gorge-spanning suspension bridges in Guguan) provides access to the opposite side of the river and the Shaolai Trail, which takes you up through copses of camphor, pine, and cinnamon trees, then down again, emerging at the far end of the village (about one hour). A longer and more challenging hike up Mt. Bojinjia branches off from the Shaolai Trail and is part of the “Seven Heroes of Guguan” – a collection of seven day-hikes in the area.
The eastern end of the village, where many of the hot-spring resort hotels are located, can be reached on foot via the Guguan Suspension Bridge, from which you get a fine view of the hot-spring hotels jostling for position on the steep riverbank.

HOSHINOYA Guguan
While there are plenty of hotels to choose from in Guguan, the HOSHINOYA Guguan certainly stands out among the crowd, both physically (the building towers over the other hotels from a hilltop plateau) and in terms of the level of luxury on offer.
Developed by the resort company Hoshino Resorts Inc. from Japan, the HOSHINOYA Guguan is the company’s first luxury hot-spring resort hotel outside of Japan. The hotel offers 50 spacious and tastefully decorated rooms, most of which are laid out in a maisonette style. All come with a private hot-spring bath with views over Guguan's wooded mountain scenery.
The hotel’s crowning glory, however, is its water garden – a serene forest grove threaded by a babbling stream – which also contains the hotel pool and several half-hidden gazebos tucked into the pine canopy. And at the far end of the pool you'll find indoor and outdoor hot springs, designed in a wabi-sabi style that mimics the natural textures of rock and wood, with plenty of private nooks in which self-conscious bathers (like many Japanese baths, no clothing is allowed while bathing) can enjoy some alone time.
Rates begin at NT$18,000 per night.
HOSHINOYA Guguan (虹夕諾雅)
Add: No.16, Wenquan Ln., Sec. 1, Dongguan Rd., Heping Dist., Taichung City
(台中市和平區東關路一段溫泉巷16號)
Tel: (04) 2595-0008
Website: http://hoshinoya.com/guguan/en/

Last video from our Taichung visit, including the Kong-Ke Musuem, the Botanical Garden of the National Museum of Natural Science, and the for Farm Burger restaurant, all quite nice places to visit.

WHO WE ARE
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

WHO I AM
My name is Johannes (友漢). I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/3-4)
Text: Rick Charette

The sprawling National Museum of Natural Science was Taiwan’s first science museum. This world-class facility has halls with space, science, life sciences, human cultures, and global environment as theme. The museum’s adjoining Botanical Garden is a mini-forest of endemic Taiwan plants interlaced with cool, shady walkways.

A transparent glass structure with exposed steel-pipe framing that resembles a giant vat soars above the treetops in the forest’s center – the Tropical Rainforest Conservatory. Here, step into a lush simulated tropical rainforest complete with lofty waterfall, orchid wall, and intermittent “rain” (i.e., a moisture-spray system). Over 300 species of flowering plants are on display. Two startling curiosities are the 14m-long aquarium filled with giant Amazon fish species, most unnervingly the incredible, massive arapaima. Another, smaller aquarium is home to a nasty-looking piranha squadron, separated from their smaller, colorful tropical neighbors by an unseen glass pane.
National Museum of Natural Science
Add: No. 1, Guanqian Rd., North District, Taichung City
(台中市北區館前路一號)
Tel: (04) 2322-6940
Website: http://www.nmns.edu.tw

for Farm Burger
It has to be said – for Farm Burger has done everything backwards.

No, wait. That’s a great thing. Trust me.

The owners have taken a heritage shophouse and reversed it, to dramatic effect. The front is now the back, and the back the front. The simple act of restaurant entry is thus quite an adventure. First, locate the tiny-mouth “back alley” entranceway amidst a line of busy shops and restaurants. It’s then up to the original shophouse rear, on the second floor, via narrow wooden stairs and an iron-railing catwalk. Here you find the service counter.
Directly below, on the first floor, is the original kitchen space, now a cozy dining area. The original flooring of Majolica tiles, for which the region was once renowned, remains in place, as does an original back door and, as seen elsewhere throughout, original-brick wall sections. Back upstairs, past the counter, is a narrow passageway leading past the original sky well, now glassed in and tall-tree-beautified. The main dining area then opens up – once the shophouse front, now the eatery rear. Original terrazzo flooring is showcased, and eye-catching additional “floor space” is available along another catwalk attached high on one wall.

The signature culinary lure at for Farm Burger is – yes, you guessed it. The owner-operator couple offers Japanese-theme burgers using self-created recipes. In Taiwan, they say, burgers are too often overwhelmed with ketchup or BBQ, black pepper, and mushroom sauce. Their “Japanese” approach emphasizes lighter, subtler flavor combinations. Use of “for Farm” references their preferred use of highest-quality ingredients from individual regional farms, preferably organic. They specially recommend two burger selections: the (Australian) beef burger with sunny-side-up egg and Japanese teriyaki sauce, and the tofu burger with Japanese miso sauce. Their tofu comes from a Taichung maker, 90 years in the business, that uses classical Chinese methods. Also available are pork-chop, shrimp, and mackerel burgers.
for Farm Burger (田楽漢堡公正小巷店)
Add: No. 128, Gongzheng Rd., West District, Taichung City
(台中市西區公正路128號)
Tel: (04) 2305-0507
Website: http://forfarmburger.blogspot.com (Chinese)

Early-morning walk around the Museum of Fine Arts, then a short visit to the nearby The Place Taichung Hotel.

WHO WE ARE
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing readers to Taiwan as a travel destination.

WHO I AM
My name is Johannes (友漢). I love creating videos about places in Taiwan and I try to post a few videos every week (well, more like twice a month). Please let me know what you think about this channel and feel free to ask me any question. Thanks for your support!

Website: http://taiwaneverything.cc
Travel in Taiwan: https://issuu.com/travelintaiwan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taiwaneverything.cc

Travel in Taiwan magazine (2020/3-4)
Text: Rick Charette

The Place Taichung
The Place Taichung is beside the Calligraphy Greenway’s south end (see article on page 12), facing the superlative National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. So take a wild guess – what is its design theme?

Take your time.

This is the only chain outlet among this article’s subjects. Each The Place location around Taiwan is one-of-a-kind, with a design theme celebrating a key attraction or element from its local-neighborhood culture. The Place Taichung is presented as an art gallery.
The building itself is a work of art. The façade looks like a giant’s pile of stacked LEGO blocks, those on the top floor all askew and featuring bright pastel colors. The interior features a powerful black-and-white minimalist theme with impeccably clean lines. Spaces are highlighted, emulating an art gallery, with black ironwork and swank track lighting.
As you move up through the building, the wall on each floor opposite the elevators is graced with a gallery-style art display commissioned from a local artist, centered on such themes as local scenic highlights, culinary icons, green spaces, etc.

The ZEBRA? This is the first-floor restaurant, black and white all over – get it? – with various strategically placed décor splashes of crayon-character color. Here, traditional Taiwanese cuisine is paired with contemporary Italian.
Guestrooms are visually quiet and understated, predominantly white, which is harmoniously contrasted with iron latticework subtly incorporating the character zhong (中), the second character in the Chinese for “Taichung.” The secret of the hotel’s pastel LEGO-block centers is revealed in the top-floor guestrooms – the bright-color curtains, which open at quirky angles to let big, broad views of the city stream in.
The hotel’s capstone artwork is, appropriately, on the roof – the gym, or Pain & Gain Area. The machines are spread in a line along the long, thin room before floor-to-ceiling windows, entertainingly framing the almost 180-degree city panorama as mural art.

The Place Taichung (台中大毅老爺行旅)
Add: No. 601, Yingcai Rd., West District, Taichung City
(台中市西區英才路601號)
Tel: (04) 2376-6732
Website: http://hotelroyal.com.tw/taichung