Nantou, Taiwan

In the Heart of the Other China


Early morning on the lake
Two Taiwanese who previously worked in Taipei enjoy the clear water of Sun Moon Lake.
lacustrine art
Line of boats moored in a small dock on Sun Moon Lake, on a foggy morning.
A Sacred View
Visitors enjoy Sun Moon Lake scenery from an elevated balcony of the Wenwu temple.
sun moon lake
Idyllic setting of Sun Moon Lake, beyond a dense swath of tropical vegetation.
Early morning at Lake II
Taiwanese who previously worked in Taipei enjoy the clear water of Sun Moon Lake.
aboriginal Taiwanese
One of the participants in Formosan Aboriginal Village's Aboriginal-inspired shows.
university bridge
Taiwanese visiting Hsitou cross the University lake on a wooden bridge.
A Divine-Leonine Protection
One of the stone lions guarding the entrance to the Wenwu temple on the shores of Sun Moon Lake.
Taiwanese piggybacks
Boyfriends walk along a small garden boulevard at Formosan Aboriginal Village.
Reading in wood
Visitors to Formosan Aboriginal Village examine a message board posted at the entrance.
Early Morning on Lake III
Taiwanese who previously worked in Taipei enjoy the clear water of Sun Moon Lake.
morning swim
Julia, a teacher who has worked most of her life in Taipei and retired to live on the shores of Sun Moon Lake, in the heart of Nantou province.
among totems
A group of Taiwanese passes among a group of totems that retrieve the originals of the Aboriginal people, in Formosan Aboriginal Village.
divinity of wood
Detail of one of the imitations of the totems used in the animist beliefs of the aboriginal tribes of Taiwan.
Foreman
Formosan Aboriginal Village employee repairs one of the platforms in front of the Formosan Aboriginal Village concert stage.
Nantou Mountains
Lush slopes of Nantou province, Taiwan's only province completely cut off from the Pacific Ocean.

Nantou is Taiwan's only province isolated from the Pacific Ocean. Those who discover the mountainous heart of this region today tend to agree with the Portuguese navigators who named Taiwan Formosa.

One of so many tropical depressions gradually unravels over Taiwan and the weather shows itself, over the island, with gestures and whims that come back to surprise us with every ten kilometers that pass, with a crazy intermittence between thinly cloudy skies. and scorching sun and cumulus nimbus frightening ones that pour out floodwaters.

We have Jack at the wheel. This is the English-speaking version of the name chubby driver who knows little else in English and calls the boss to talk to us whenever he encounters a lack of information or difficulties of other kinds.

"It contains boss!” communicates us for the umpteenth time since we had left the capital Taipei. "Speak, speak!.” And hand us the cell phone.

In conference with the boss, we decided it was time to leave the lush depths of Taroko Gorge and head southwest towards the province's main city, the namesake Nantou and Hsitou. The route takes us around, on its north face, Mount Chilaichushanpei, one of the most imposing in old Formosa.

We are in one of the most seismic domains on Earth. Jack is very present. In his swashbuckling MMA style, he patiently researches a translator of his diminutive smart phone and communicates to us almost in ecstasy: “This road before cabuuum! fall down. "

"Before” It was a while ago but no Taiwanese will ever forget the famous 921 earthquake, so named for having happened on September 21, 1999, with an approximate maximum intensity of 8.0 and epicenter in Jiji, a mere dozen kilometers from where we walked. The earthquake killed nearly 2.500 people and left more than 100.000 homeless.

It was labeled by the local press as the Earthquake of the Century, also due to the dissatisfaction and the economic and political devastation it generated, with the defeat of the Kuomintang party in the 2000 elections.

We pass Wushe and then Puli, along the Central Cross Island Highway and between steep slopes, many of them brimming with one of the good teas of the East.

Even though practically all the villages in the province were seriously affected, when we arrived in Hsitou we didn't detect any sign of this event. There reigns a verdant peace of mind such as we haven't felt for a long time, preserved in a dense fog that stubbornly refused to rise. We settled in an elegant inn built largely out of bamboo and, as soon as we left to explore the surrounding rainforest, we noticed the almost excessive abundance of that leafy and exotic reedbed.

Like New status quo of pseudo-nation of the Republic of China, the reforestation of the area has been one of the main projects and with great success. Also during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, a forest reserve was established. The National Taiwan University that now runs it grows more than a million trees – cypresses, cedars and pine trees – and bamboo shoots every year in its terraced nurseries. Later, they are distributed around the island, where they can be most needed.

Compared to the pressure cooker atmosphere in which certain areas are surrounded, the climate of Hsitou is refreshing and the place has become very popular as a weekend getaway, also among couples on honeymoon. When Friday arrives, it is invaded by a population of Taipei eager to relax from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in communion with Nature. As we had been worn out from the many hundreds of kilometers already covered by car and on foot, we too indulged in an uncommitted escape, entertained by circling the University Lake and exploring the paths that follow the streams that feed it. At the end of one of them, we came across a cypress tree almost 50 m high, believed to be 2800 years old.

The origin of the lake to which we moved next is much earlier. And, were it not for a hydroelectric project still being developed by the Japanese, instead of just one, there would still be two, side by side. Instead, the dam that the Japanese erected merged into one, the largest in Taiwan, more than 9 km in area. Most of the inhabitants did not resent the move beyond that. In addition to being superlative, the new reservoir of bluish and limpid waters had enormous charm. Accordingly, much more than Hsitou, Sun Moon Lake is the island's main natural attraction. Many Taipei workers are eager to buy houses in the vicinity so that they can retire in harmony in the second half of their lives.

By the time we got there, Jack couldn't find the opposite opportunity. As soon as he hung up the always hyperactive phone, he made a point of expressing displeasure at the time we had already forced him to spend away from his home in the capital. "Wife very angry! Have to go back!"

We are well aware of the duration of the task he had been given and we chose to ignore his outbursts once again. Instead, we asked him to take us to the Wenwu temple, which replaced two much older ones that were submerged by the hydroelectric dam. There, we defeated the guard of two intimidating red stone guard lions and climbed the stairs to explore two distinct wings: one dedicated to the war gods Guan Gong and Yue Fei, and a later one erected in honor of Confucius.

Very distinct deities were worshiped in Taiwan before the massive occupation of the Han ethnic group who migrated to the island from the XNUMXth century, mainly from the Fujian region, on the coast of mainland China.

Several Aboriginal tribes inhabited Taiwan for at least 10.000 years, coming from other islands in the Pacific, in such a way that the original Taiwanese are much more similar to the Filipino people who, for the most part, belong to the Malay ethnic group). Once, the only occupants of Formosa, the aborigines make up, today, only 2% (almost 400.000) of the more than 20 million inhabitants. Even so, they are divided into eleven tribes, each with its own language.

Similar to what happened in several other parts of the world, Taiwanese aborigines also suffered severe discrimination. This situation only improved substantially in the 90s when the government launched a six-year Aboriginal culture promotion program that included medical care, legal support and subsidized loans. Also the improvement of roads linking cities with aboriginal settlements and the marking of reserve territories that could no longer be sold to non-indigenous people.

From then on, Taiwan's indigenous culture has not ceased to gain adherents. All crafts and arts in general became fashionable and entered the homes of Taiwanese, Aboriginal music entered the tops of Formosa and its cuisine in the menus of restaurants in large cities. Many aborigines insisted on getting rid of their Chinese names and recovering the tribals. At the same time, newly married Han couples wear Aboriginal costumes during their wedding photo shoots.

However, the new attitude of the Chinese authorities and population towards the oldest inhabitants of the island does not always have the deserved subtlety and genuineness.

Moved by Jack's proximity and frantic advice, we decided to take a peek at a Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village.

Erected in an incoherent way, the theme park was designed to bring together a cultural microcosm of ethnic groups recognized by the government, side by side with an inappropriate European castle, a garden and a vast amusement park. It didn't take long to see with the architectural ensemble and that, even though they were colorful and very shaken, the shows staged on a rounded stage in the center of an artificial lake gave the indigenous Formosa an obvious commercial exhibitionism. The locution, only in Mandarin, did little to overcome the problem.

Jack watched the shows for the first time with undisguised delight. We put up with a stoic forty minutes, after which we left the amphitheater to examine the areas that grouped dwellings, traditional ones, totems and other key elements of its culture, with the pity that we are not admiring one of its manifestations in earnest, such as the Festival das Crops or other.

Taroko George

Deep in Taiwan

In 1956, skeptical Taiwanese doubted that the initial 20km of Central Cross-Island Hwy was possible. The marble canyon that challenged it is today the most remarkable natural setting in Formosa.

Taiwan

Formosa but Unsafe

Portuguese navigators could not imagine the imbroglio reserved for the Formosa they baptized. Nearly 500 years later, even though it is uncertain of its future, Taiwan still prospers. Somewhere between independence and integration in greater China.
Huang Shan, China

Huang Shan: The Yellow Mountains of the Floating Peaks

The granitic peaks of the floating yellow mountains of Huang Shan, from which acrobat pines sprout, appear in artistic illustrations from China without count. The real scenery, in addition to being remote, remains hidden above the clouds for over 200 days.
Beijing, China

The Heart of the Great Dragon

It is the incoherent historic center of Maoist-Communist ideology and almost all Chinese aspire to visit it, but Tianamen Square will always be remembered as a macabre epitaph of the nation's aspirations.
Badaling, China

The Sino Invasion of the Great Wall of China

With the arrival of the hot days, hordes of Han visitors take over the Great Wall of China, the largest man-made structure. They go back to the era of imperial dynasties and celebrate the nation's newfound prominence.
Residents walk along the trail that runs through plantations above the UP4
City
Gurué, Mozambique, Part 1

Through the Mozambican Lands of Tea

The Portuguese founded Gurué in the 1930th century and, from XNUMX onwards, flooded it with camellia sinensis the foothills of the Namuli Mountains. Later, they renamed it Vila Junqueiro, in honor of its main promoter. With the independence of Mozambique and the civil war, the town regressed. It continues to stand out for the lush green imposing mountains and teak landscapes.
Host Wezi points out something in the distance
Beaches
Cobue; Nkwichi Lodge, Mozambique

The Hidden Mozambique of the Creaking Sands

During a tour from the bottom to the top of Lake Malawi, we find ourselves on the island of Likoma, an hour by boat from Nkwichi Lodge, the solitary base of this inland coast of Mozambique. On the Mozambican side, the lake is known as Niassa. Whatever its name, there we discover some of the most stunning and unspoilt scenery in south-east Africa.
savuti, botswana, elephant-eating lions
safari
Savuti, Botswana

Savuti's Elephant-Eating Lions

A patch of the Kalahari Desert dries up or is irrigated depending on the region's tectonic whims. In Savuti, lions have become used to depending on themselves and prey on the largest animals in the savannah.
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 5th - Ngawal a BragaNepal

Towards the Nepalese Braga

We spent another morning of glorious weather discovering Ngawal. There is a short journey towards Manang, the main town on the way to the zenith of the Annapurna circuit. We stayed for Braga (Braka). The hamlet would soon prove to be one of its most unforgettable places.
Traditional houses, Bergen, Norway.
Architecture & Design
Bergen, Norway

The Great Hanseatic Port of Norway

Already populated in the early 1830th century, Bergen became the capital, monopolized northern Norwegian commerce and, until XNUMX, remained one of the largest cities in Scandinavia. Today, Oslo leads the nation. Bergen continues to stand out for its architectural, urban and historical exuberance.
The small lighthouse at Kallur, highlighted in the capricious northern relief of the island of Kalsoy.
Aventura
Kalsoy, Faroe Islands

A Lighthouse at the End of the Faroese World

Kalsoy is one of the most isolated islands in the Faroe archipelago. Also known as “the flute” due to its long shape and the many tunnels that serve it, a mere 75 inhabitants inhabit it. Much less than the outsiders who visit it every year, attracted by the boreal wonder of its Kallur lighthouse.
self-flagellation, passion of christ, philippines
Ceremonies and Festivities
Marinduque, Philippines

The Philippine Passion of Christ

No nation around is Catholic but many Filipinos are not intimidated. In Holy Week, they surrender to the belief inherited from the Spanish colonists. Self-flagellation becomes a bloody test of faith
Candia, Tooth of Buddha, Ceylon, lake
Cities
Kandy, Sri Lanka

The Dental Root of Sinhalese Buddhism

Located in the mountainous heart of Sri Lanka, at the end of the XNUMXth century, Kandy became the capital of the last kingdom of old Ceylon and resisted successive colonial conquest attempts. The city also preserved and exhibited a sacred tooth of the Buddha and, thus, became Ceylon's Buddhist center.
Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo, Japan
Lunch time
Tokyo, Japan

The Fish Market That Lost its Freshness

In a year, each Japanese eats more than their weight in fish and shellfish. Since 1935, a considerable part was processed and sold in the largest fish market in the world. Tsukiji was terminated in October 2018, and replaced by Toyosu's.
Culture
Pueblos del Sur, Venezuela

The Pueblos del Sur Locainas, Their Dances and Co.

From the beginning of the XNUMXth century, with Hispanic settlers and, more recently, with Portuguese emigrants, customs and traditions well known in the Iberian Peninsula and, in particular, in northern Portugal, were consolidated in the Pueblos del Sur.
combat arbiter, cockfighting, philippines
Sport
Philippines

When Only Cock Fights Wake Up the Philippines

Banned in much of the First World, cockfighting thrives in the Philippines where they move millions of people and pesos. Despite its eternal problems, it is the sabong that most stimulates the nation.
Mount Lamjung Kailas Himal, Nepal, altitude sickness, mountain prevent treat, travel
Traveling
Annapurna Circuit: 2th - Chame a Upper BananaNepal

(I) Eminent Annapurnas

We woke up in Chame, still below 3000m. There we saw, for the first time, the snowy and highest peaks of the Himalayas. From there, we set off for another walk along the Annapurna Circuit through the foothills and slopes of the great mountain range. towards Upper Banana.
Christmas scene, Shillong, Meghalaya, India
Ethnic
Shillong, India

A Christmas Selfiestan at an India Christian Stronghold

December arrives. With a largely Christian population, the state of Meghalaya synchronizes its Nativity with that of the West and clashes with the overcrowded Hindu and Muslim subcontinent. Shillong, the capital, shines with faith, happiness, jingle bells and bright lighting. To dazzle Indian holidaymakers from other parts and creeds.
Portfolio, Got2Globe, Best Images, Photography, Images, Cleopatra, Dioscorides, Delos, Greece
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

The Earthly and the Celestial

Boat on the Yellow River, Gansu, China
History
Bingling Yes, China

The Canyon of a Thousand Buddhas

For more than a millennium and at least seven dynasties, Chinese devotees have extolled their religious belief with the legacy of sculpture in a remote strait of the Yellow River. If you disembark in the Canyon of Thousand Buddhas, you may not find all the sculptures, but you will find a stunning Buddhist shrine.
Islands
Hailuoto Island, Finland

Fishing for Truly Fresh Fish

Sheltered from unwanted social pressures, the islanders of Hailuoto they know how to sustain themselves. Under the icy sea of ​​Bothnia they capture precious ingredients for the restaurants of Oulu, in mainland Finland.
Masked couple for the Kitacon convention.
Winter White
Kemi, Finland

An Unconventional Finland

The authorities themselves describe Kemi as “a small, slightly crazy town in northern Finland”. When you visit, you find yourself in a Lapland that is not in keeping with the traditional ways of the region.
José Saramago in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, Glorieta de Saramago
Literature
Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain

José Saramago's Basalt Raft

In 1993, frustrated by the Portuguese government's disregard for his work “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ”, Saramago moved with his wife Pilar del Río to Lanzarote. Back on this somewhat extraterrestrial Canary Island, we visited his home. And the refuge from the portuguese censorship that haunted the writer.
Nature
Cascades and Waterfalls

Waterfalls of the World: Stunning Vertical Rivers

From the almost 1000 meters high of Angel's dancing jump to the fulminating power of Iguaçu or Victoria after torrential rains, cascades of all kinds fall over the Earth.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Autumn
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
Cahuita, Costa Rica, Caribbean, beach
Natural Parks
Cahuita, Costa Rica

An Adult Return to Cahuita

During a backpacking tour of Costa Rica in 2003, the Caribbean warmth of Cahuita delights us. In 2021, after 18 years, we return. In addition to an expected, but contained modernization and hispanization of the town, little else had changed.
Entrance to Dunhuang Sand City, China
UNESCO World Heritage
Dunhuang, China

An Oasis in the China of the Sands

Thousands of kilometers west of Beijing, the Great Wall has its western end and the China and other. An unexpected splash of vegetable green breaks up the arid expanse all around. Announces Dunhuang, formerly crucial outpost on the Silk Road, today an intriguing city at the base of Asia's largest sand dunes.
View from the top of Mount Vaea and the tomb, Vailima village, Robert Louis Stevenson, Upolu, Samoa
Characters
Upolu, Samoa

Stevenson's Treasure Island

At age 30, the Scottish writer began looking for a place to save him from his cursed body. In Upolu and the Samoans, he found a welcoming refuge to which he gave his heart and soul.
Beaches
Gizo, Solomon Islands

A Saeraghi Young Singers Gala

In Gizo, the damage caused by the tsunami that hit the Solomon Islands is still very visible. On the coast of Saeraghi, children's bathing happiness contrasts with their heritage of desolation.
Maksim, Sami people, Inari, Finland-2
Religion
Inari, Finland

The Guardians of Boreal Europe

Long discriminated against by Scandinavian, Finnish and Russian settlers, the Sami people regain their autonomy and pride themselves on their nationality.
Serra do Mar train, Paraná, airy view
On Rails
Curitiba a Morretes, Paraná, Brazil

Down Paraná, on Board the Train Serra do Mar

For more than two centuries, only a winding and narrow road connected Curitiba to the coast. Until, in 1885, a French company opened a 110 km railway. We walked along it to Morretes, the final station for passengers today. 40km from the original coastal terminus of Paranaguá.
Tombola, street bingo-Campeche, Mexico
Society
Campeche, Mexico

A Bingo so playful that you play with puppets

On Friday nights, a group of ladies occupy tables at Independencia Park and bet on trifles. The tiniest prizes come out to them in combinations of cats, hearts, comets, maracas and other icons.
Women with long hair from Huang Luo, Guangxi, China
Daily life
Longsheng, China

Huang Luo: the Chinese Village of the Longest Hairs

In a multi-ethnic region covered with terraced rice paddies, the women of Huang Luo have surrendered to the same hairy obsession. They let the longest hair in the world grow, years on end, to an average length of 170 to 200 cm. Oddly enough, to keep them beautiful and shiny, they only use water and rice.
PN Tortuguero, Costa Rica, public boat
Wildlife
Tortuguero NP, Costa Rica

The Flooded Costa Rica of Tortuguero

The Caribbean Sea and the basins of several rivers bathe the northeast of the Tica nation, one of the wettest and richest areas in flora and fauna in Central America. Named after the green turtles nest in its black sands, Tortuguero stretches inland for 312 km.2 of stunning aquatic jungle.
Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii Wrinkles
Scenic Flights
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.