⛴{Trip} Taiwan Travel -- Trip to MATSU, Day 1, DONGYIN (馬祖東引)
First day of our recent trip to the islands of Matsu near the mainland China coast. Dongyin and Xiyin are great islands!
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Music by Lee Rosevere (
Gear used for this video
Camera:
Panasonic Lumix GH4:
Lenses:
PANASONIC LUMIX G X Vario Lens, 12-35mm:
PANASONIC LUMIX G Vario Lens, 100-300mm:
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8:
Panasonic DMW-MS2:
Timeline (if you want to go directly to certain parts of the video)
00:20 Keelung Railway Station (基隆火車站)
00:40 West Passenger Terminal (西岸旅客碼頭)
01:30 Keelung Harbor/Tai Ma Ferry (台馬輪)
02:30 Zhongzhu Harbor (中柱港)
03:30 Haijiao Guesthouse on Xiyin Island (西引海角民宿)
04:30 Zhongyi Temple (忠義廟)
05:00 Inside Haijiao Guesthouse
05:50 Breakfast at guesthouse
06:30 Reclining Alligator or Crouching Crocodile Island (靜伏鱷魚)
06:50 Sanshan Stronghold or Stronghold No. 33 (三山據點)
08:20 Dongyin Visitor Center (東引遊客中心)
09:00 Dongyin Lighthouse (東引燈塔)
10:20 Taibai Echo Cliff (太白天聲)
13:50 Suicide Cliff or Lienuyikeng Cliff (烈女義坑)
14:20 Dongyin Distillery (東引酒廠)
15:20 A Thread of Sky or Yixiantian Cliff (一線天)
16:30 Lunch at Dongyin Visitor Center (東引遊客中心)
17:00 Northernmost Frontier (國之北疆)
19:00 Andong Tunnel (安東坑道)
20:10 Indian Head & Puppy Head (印地安人與小狗頭)
23:30 Main village of Dongyin
25:20 Tianhou Temple (天后宮)
25:30 Zhongzheng Gate (忠誠門)
25:50 Yanxiu Tidal Echo (燕秀潮音)
26:30 Rat Sands Stone Forest (老鼠沙石林)
27:10 Dinner at Zhen Shan Mei Restaurant (珍膳美餐廳)
28:10 Dongyin Visitor Center (東引遊客中心)
Info about Keelung-Matsu ferry
(Chinese)
Our guesthouse
Dongyin Haijiao (東引海角民宿)
Tel: 0928-267-242 / 0836-76-268
Add: 137, Zhongliao Village, Dongyin, Lianchiang County (連江縣東引中柳村137號)
(Chinese)
Restaurant where we had dinner
Zhen Shan Mei (珍膳美餐廳)
Tel: 0836-77-289
Add: 93 Lehua Village, Dongyin, Lianchiang County (連江縣東引樂華村93號)
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Also watch the latest video on this channel: {Trip} LALASHAN on the Northern Cross-Island Highway (北橫拉拉山)
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Dongyin
Dongyin is actually two islands, joined by a causeway. Two hours from Nangan by ferry, this is Taiwan’s northernmost point, a windswept outpost of tremendous natural beauty, with Matsu’s most thrilling scenery, a place of lofty granite cliffs and rocky spurs projecting out into the teal-green sea.
The cape-tip is at the northern end of a peninsula called the Reclining Alligator – the resemblance is indeed striking – and atop the alligator’s well-defined snout, at the peninsula’s southern tip, is Stronghold No. 33. The highlight of this abandoned facility is the decommissioned US-made twin-barrel M1 40mm anti-aircraft gun on display, which a signboard tells you “weighs 51,350 pounds, has a range of 11,000 meters, (and can fire) 160 rounds per minute.”
The Andong Tunnel, on the east side of Dongyin Island, is a superlative work of engineering, shooting right through a small mountain and exiting far down below at sea level. The area outside the entrance is protected habitat for the Black-tailed Gull and Black-naped Tern. Inside the tunnel are now-unused barracks, bathrooms, a kitchen, a meeting hall … even a pigsty.
Located at the easternmost tip of Dongyin Island, the brilliant-white Dongyong Lighthouse’s physical setting – stark, lonely beauty. The lighthouse is perched, at first glance seemingly quite precariously, on the precipitous-angle flank of a mountain, the great sea looming before, nothing in view. The mountain’s upper half looms behind and above, nothing of human creation in view. On the dizzyingly steep complex walkways, you look straight down into the sea at your feet. Completed in 1877, designed by an Englishman in 18th-century British style, this lighthouse is Taiwan’s northernmost national heritage site.
A stone-step trail behind the lighthouse leads to the Suicide Cliff, where ocean waves have cut deep into a mountainside, sculpting a vertical 100-meter-high wall on one side. The site is so-named because, according to island lore, pirates infested the local waters during much of the imperial Qing dynasty, and during one attack a Dongyin woman, her husband killed, chose to leap from the cliff rather than surrender her chastity.
A Thread of Sky, a deep and exceedingly narrow sea-erosion trench, splices two giant blocks of granite, towering rock walls facing each other just meters apart. The outer block is being cut from the mainland like a slice of birthday cake. Fallen slabs high up actually connect the cliffs in places. From the bottom only a thin, bright-blue ribbon of sky is seen.
Three days in the city of Kaohsiung doing sightseeing and exploring some of the tourist attractions there. Was a good trip. :)
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WHO ARE WE?
Thanks for asking. We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing you to Taiwan as a travel destination. Read it! Lot of useful information. We also have a website with lots of articles about Taiwan. Visit it! We try to make a video or two every week.
Let us know what you think about this channel and what you would like to see about Taiwan. All the best to you!
Music by Blue Dot Sessions (
The Tree House (樹屋旅店)
Add: No. 132, Liuhe 2nd Rd., Qianjin District, Kaohsiung City (高雄市前金區六合二路132號)
Tel: (07) 287-8800
Website: the-tree-house.hotel.com.tw (Chinese)
Just Sleep Kaohsiung Zhongzheng (捷絲旅高雄中正館)
Add: No. 134, Zhongzheng 1st Rd., Lingya District, Kaohsiung City (高雄市苓雅區中正一路134號)
Tel: (07) 972-3568
Website: justsleep.com.tw
Now and Then by N.Y.B.C.
Add: Dayi Warehouse C9-19, Pier-2 Art Center; No. 2, Dayi St., Yancheng District, Kaohsiung City (高雄駁二大義倉庫C9-19; 高雄市鹽埕區大義街2號)
Tel: (07) 531-6999
Website: facebook.com/nowandthenbynybc
Good Day Tea House and Sky Lounge (好好生活館)
Add: No. 78, Kunming St., Qianzhen District, Kaohsiung City (高雄市前鎮區崑明街78號)
Tel: (07) 535-4319
Website: facebook.com/gooddaycafe80
Ice Shop
Ki A Peng Sian (枝仔冰城) (Pier-2 Art Center Branch)
Add: No. 8-2, Dayong Rd., Yancheng District, Kaohsiung City (高雄市鹽埕區大勇路8-2號)
Tel: (07) 521-1149
Website: kaps.com.tw (Chinese)
85 Sky Tower 高雄85大樓
Dadong Arts Center 大東文化藝術中心
Gushan Ferry Pier 鼓山渡輪碼頭
Hongmaogang Cultural Park 紅毛港文化園區
Kaohsiung Exhibition Center 高雄展覽館
Kaohsiung Main Public Library 高雄市立圖書總館
Kaohsiung Martyrs’ Shrine 高雄市忠烈祠
Kevin Lin 林俊昇
Love River 愛河
Pier-2 Art Center 駁二藝術特區
Qijin Island 旗津島
Qihou Battery 旗后砲台
Qihou Lighthouse 旗後燈塔
Rainbow Church 彩虹教堂
Shoushan 壽山
Shoushan Lover’s Observatory 壽山情人觀景
“Star of Qianzhen” 前鎮之星
Tianhou Temple 天后宮
The British Consulate at Takow 打狗英國領事館
Travel in Taiwan (2016, 1/2)
Have your camera ready when boarding the ferry to Qijin Island at Gushan Ferry Pier. Locals stream onto the lower parking-lot deck on scooters (you go to the upper deck, via a separate entrance). The ride across the narrow, ship-packed Kaohsiung Harbor is so quick that many don’t bother to get off their machines. Qijin Island is a 9km-long silt-created giant sandbar that serves as a breakwater and defines the harbor’s form. Its tourist area is on the north end, beyond the ferry pier.
Qihou Lighthouse, a snow-white 11-meter-high Baroque-style tower erected by the Japanese in 1916, stands at the edge of a sea-facing cliff guarding the harbor’s exceedingly narrow north-end mouth. Enthralling views of the busy harbor can be enjoyed as ships squeeze by below. The old Qihou Battery, on the west side of the hill, was built by a justifiably anxious Qing Dynasty government in the 1870s, fearful of invasion by the Japanese or Western powers.
The young, expansive, and still-growing Pier-2 Art Center (pier-2.khcc.gov.tw), a special zone that is at the heart of the city’s cultural-creative bloom, has become one of its most popular attractions. The numerous old, renovated Kaohsiung Harbor warehouses here, long abandoned, were formerly used to store such goods as fish meal and granulated sugar. Today they are cultural-creative incubator stages for domestic and international exhibitions, festivals, live indoor and outdoor musical, theatrical, and busker performances, and large-scale outdoor installation artworks and graffiti-style/3D murals, many wonderfully quirky and whimsical, some created by artists-in-residence.
The king of Kaohsiung has long been, and remains, the lofty 85 Sky Tower, which looks like a giant spacecraft propped atop two massive booster rockets, ready to launch. Two spanking-new structures, Kaohsiung Exhibition Center (kecc.com.tw) and Kaohsiung Main Public Library (ksml.edu.tw), are within easy walking distance. The park-surrounded harborside exhibition facility looks like a paean to Beijing’s iconic Bird’s Nest. Be sure to visit the green library’s lovely 8F rooftop hanging garden, which has a fine broad view of the harbor and Qijin.
What’s not to love about the Love River? On my first few visits, in the 1990s, it was a brackish “waterway” in which the water moved little, if at all. Today, thanks to dedicated eco-engineering, it is clean, the waters flow freely, and fish have returned. The landscaped banks are lined with benches, bike- and pedestrian-friendly paths, and attractive lamp lighting. The mood is best at night, when the cafés, bars, and small eateries are brightly lit up.
On this trip, we went to the East Coast of Taiwan and saw a lot of ocean. :)
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WHO ARE WE?
Thanks for asking. We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing you to Taiwan as a travel destination. Read it! Lot of useful information. We also have a website with lots of articles about Taiwan. Visit it! We try to make a video or two every week.
Let us know what you think about this channel and what you would like to see about Taiwan. All the best to you!
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Niushan 牛山
Qingshui Cliff 清水斷崖
Qixingtan 七星潭
Sanzhan River 三棧溪
Shitiping 石梯坪
Yuedong (Moon Cave) 月洞
Qixingtan Star Sea Bed & Breakfast (七星潭星海民宿)
Add: 12, Lane 79, Qixing St., Dahan Village, Xincheng Township, Hualien County (花蓮縣新城鄉大漢村七星街79巷12號)
Tel: 0932-307-912
Website: 7starocean.com
Go to Sea Café Homestay (來去海邊咖啡民宿)
Add: 1-2 Yongfeng Rd., Fengbin Village, Fengbin Township, Hualien County (花蓮縣豐濱鄉豐濱村永豐路1-2號); near the 48km marker on Prov. Hwy 11
Tel: (03) 879-1898
Website: goto-sea.com.tw/ (Chinese)
Sawalian (莎娃綠岸)
Add: 2-1, Ward 4, Gangkou Village, Fengbin Township, Hualien County (花蓮縣豐濱鄉港口村4鄰2-1號)
Tel: (03) 842-1224 / 0920-330-842
Website: makutaay.com/page4.php (Chinese)
Kavalan Cuisine Restaurant (噶瑪蘭風味餐廳)
Add: 42 Xinshe Village, Fengbin Township, Hualien County (花蓮縣豐濱鄉新社村42號)
Tel: (03) 871-1339
Hailang Café (海浪 Café)
Add: 73-1 Lide, Fengbin Township, Hualien County (花蓮縣豐濱鄉立德73-1號); near the 58km marker on Prov. Hwy 11
Tel: 0912-935-208
Website: facebook.com/tapalik
Lily Studio (百合工作室)
Add: 15 Guangfeng Rd., Fengbin Village, Fengbin Township, Hualien County (花蓮縣豐濱鄉豐濱村光豐路15號)
Tel: (03) 879-1591
Paterongan (Xinshe) Banana Fiber Workshop (新社香蕉絲工坊)
Add: 42, Ward 2, Xiaohu, Xinshe Village, Fengbin Township, Hualien County (花蓮縣豐濱鄉新社村小湖2鄰42); near 43km marker of Prov. Hwy 11
Tel: (03) 871-1361
Website: pataronang.com (Chinese)
Travel in Taiwan (2015, 7/8)
By Rick Charette
Qixingtan is a landscaped area immediately north of Hualien City. The name means “Seven Star Lake,” but this is in fact a lovely arcing bay of crystalline blue-green Pacific waters, invariably made even more photo-friendly by local fishermen busy on their craft close inshore. The bay’s north end is the north terminus of a breezy seaside bike path stretching 21km to Nanbin Park on Hualien City’s south side. There are bike-rental stations near the bay’s north and south ends. Among the many other facilities are the Stone Sculpture Park, Star Watching Plaza, Sunrise Building (Qixingtan’s sunrises are renowned), children’s playground, and seaside botanical garden. At bikeway-side are signboards explaining the seaside ecology, many with English. Another key draw is the terrific camera-perfect view of distant Qingshui Cliff.
Shitiping. The name means “stone steps.” The dramatically terraced volcanic rock and raised-coral formations here form what looks like a staircase rising out to sea. The sea’s great erosive powers are in visually inspiring evidence here – all about are kettle holes and surging tide pools. The teeming marine life draws fishermen, shellfish collectors, and scuba divers. The distinctive ecology also features such oceanside-adapted plants as screw pine, cactus, and morning glory. There isn’t much shade, so bring water; there’s also ice cream, popsicles, and other cooling goodies available at the visitor center.
Starchasers (as in “movie stars”) will be especially thrilled to learn about the existence of Niushan, where legendary director Martin Scorcese, Irish actor Liam Neeson, and other big names recently did shooting for the movie Silence, scheduled for release in 2016. What you’ll find at the end of a steep, narrow, long-grass-brushed road that leads off the here inland-and-upland coastal highway is a long and dramatically fetching arc beach bracketed by mountains that drop into the sea. The only buildings here are right behind the isolated beach – those of the Niushan Huting, a combination restaurant/café/bar/homestay/campground complex (rainbowiscoming.com/huting; Chinese), owned by members of the Amis tribe, Taiwan’s largest, and beside these a couple of tourist-draw thatch-roof structures from the faux village built for Silence (the rest were being torn down the day we visited). “Niushan” means “cow mountain”; to find the side-road entrance, look for the highway-side “Niushan Huting” sign on a totem pole capped with a steer-head sculpture (26.6km mark).
#Taiwan #Hualien
Three days in the northern part of Alishan, including Ruili and Laiji. Great scenery!
01:30 36 Bends 36彎
02:00 Taiping Village 太平
02:50 Bihu Tea Plantation 碧湖茶園
07:10 Zhukeng River Trail 竹坑溪步道
07:50 Longgong Waterfall 龍宮瀑布
10:40 & 13:40 A-Han's Homestay 阿漢的家民宿
14:10 Green Tunnel 綠色隧道
17:10 Swallows Cliff 燕子崖 & Bat Cave 蝙蝠洞
20:10 Yuntan Waterfall 雲潭瀑布
21:10 Ruitai Visitor Center 瑞太遊客中心
22:50 Lanhou Homestay 蘭后民宿
30:20 Laiji Buluo Chufang 來吉部落廚房
Chiayi 嘉義
Alishan 阿里山
Ruili 瑞里
Laiji 來吉
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WHO ARE WE?
Thanks for asking. We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing you to Taiwan as a travel destination. Read it! Lot of useful information. We also have a website with lots of articles about Taiwan. Visit it! We try to make a video or two every week.
Let us know what you think about this channel and what you would like to see about Taiwan. All the best to you!
Music by Doctor Turtle (
A-Han's Homestay (阿漢的家民宿)
Add: No. 79, Ruili Village, Meishan Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣梅山鄉瑞里村79號)
Tel: 0911-037-729
Website: (Chinese)
Lanhou Homestay (蘭后民宿)
Add: No. 11, Neighborhood 1, Laiji Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣阿里山鄉來吉村一鄰11號)
Tel: (05) 266-1172, 0934-179-197
Website: (Chinese)
Bihu Tea Plantation (碧湖茶園)
Add: No. 38-9, Bihu Village, Meishan Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣梅山鄉碧湖村38之9號)
Tel: (05) 257-1569
Website:
Laiji Buluo Chufang (來吉部落廚房)
Add: Sancha Rd., Laiji Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County (嘉義縣阿里山鄉來吉村三叉路)
Tel: 0975-117-154, 0971-225-687
Website:
Travel in Taiwan (2016, 3-4)
Alishan is renowned for high-quality high-mountain tea, and Bihushan Tourist Tea Garden is a photophile’s dream come true. The entire rounded mountain-head on which it is planted is sculpted with tight rows of Camellia sinensis, as neat as topiary, cut through with boardwalk trails. The sweeping panorama taken in from the trails or viewing platform before the open-front visitor center/restaurant is powerful. The waters of the rough river far below churn this way and that, on their short, impatient journey to the sea. Renowned Mt. Jade and Mt. Hehuan make cameos on clear days far off in the distance, as can a high slope-hugging arcade section of the gravity-defying Alishan Forest Railway. This tea-plantation mountaintop, often shrouded in cloud and mist, is a popular platform for watching Alishan’s celebrated sunrises, sunsets, and “sea of clouds” phenomenon – dense clouds roll into the abyss-like valleys like ocean tides, savored by tourists from eagle-eye vantage points.
The 3.3km Zhukeng Stream Trail has a trailhead at each end on Highway 162A, west of Ruifeng village. Formerly called the “Old Charcoal Way” – early residents used it to take charcoal off the mountain to trade – it passes over 12 bridges, each of different design. There are a number of cataracts, hikers’ grand prize the 120m-high Longgong (“Dragon Palace”) Waterfall, reached via a dead-end side trail about mid-way along the main trail. This is a “hanging valley waterfall,” and as it shoots out into space the waters do indeed seem to hang momentarily in mid-air before making their way to the bottom of the deep gorge here. Behind the lofty natural artwork is Water Curtain Cave, through which the side trail runs.
Next morning, we hit the trails right after breakfast – and stayed on them most of the day. First on our to-do list was the charming, long Green Tunnel, accessed via a short side road that begins right at sleepy Ruili village. You’re immersed in a lush forest of tall bamboo, walking along what is in fact a narrow road, not a trail. Paved and gentle-graded, this spot is also popular with local folk, who come here for their daily constitutionals.
Then we launched ourselves on the challenging, visually thrilling 2km Youth Ridge Trail at the highway-side trailhead in Ruili village, across from Ruili Elementary School. The 1,000-meter-long Haohan (“Hero”) Slope has an average grade of 60 degrees – yes, 60.
The countless bat-roost holes in the Bat Cave were formed over millions of years by river erosion. The deep grooves in the mesmerizingly striated Swallow Cliff are also erosion-etched, the softer sandstone levels wearing away faster than the harder shale.
A few kilometers further west along highway 166 is the entrance to the steep 600-meter Yuntan Waterfall boardwalk path and, just before it, Yuantan Natural Eco Park. The two-tiered cascade is 26.3m high; the terrain features alternating thick sandstone strata sandwiching thin shale layers, twisted in a wild jumble of folds and faults.
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WHO ARE WE?
Thanks for asking. We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing you to Taiwan as a travel destination. Read it! Lot of useful information. We also have a website with lots of articles about Taiwan. Visit it! We try to make a video or two every week.
Let us know what you think about this channel and what you would like to see about Taiwan. All the best to you!
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Music by Blue Dot Sessions (
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Also watch the latest video on this channel: {Trip} LALASHAN on the Northern Cross-Island Highway (北橫拉拉山)
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Video of our latest trip to the islands of Penghu in Taiwan.
Website:
Travel in Taiwan:
Facebook:
Instagram:
WHO ARE WE?
Thanks for asking. We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing you to Taiwan as a travel destination. Read it! Lot of useful information. We also have a website with lots of articles about Taiwan. Visit it! We try to make a video or two every week.
Let us know what you think about this channel and what you would like to see about Taiwan. All the best to you!
Music by Cold Beat:
We visited places on the main island and the smaller islands of Qimei and Wang'an. Unfortunately an approaching typhoon messed up our original plan of visiting another island, Jibei. We rented scooters which is the best way to get around. The double heart stone weir was indeed beautiful, the whale cave was impressive too. There was less people on the fine sand beach than we expected. Overall a nice trip.
Migrator Intertidal Homestay (候鳥潮間帶民宿)
Add: 34-3, Chengqian Village, Baisha Township, Penghu County (澎湖縣白沙鄉城前村34-3號)
Tel: 0921-292-029
Website: migrator.com.tw
“Old-Time Tianjin Xialongbao” (回味天津小籠包)
Add: 43, Juguang New Village, Magong City (馬公市莒光新村43號)
Tel: 0919-872-143
Aimen Beach 隘門沙灘
Baisha 白沙
Erkan Village 二崁村
Four-Eyed Well 四眼井
Lintou Beach 林投沙灘
Magong 馬公
Magong Cultural Center 媽宮文化城
Mazu 媽祖
Penghu 澎湖
Qimei 七美
Qingwan Cactus Park 青灣仙人掌公園,
Shanshui Beach 山水沙灘
Shili Beach 時裡沙灘
Taiwan Strait 台灣海峽
Tianhou Temple天后宮主
Tiantai Hill 天台山
Twin Hearts Stone Weir雙心石滬;
Wang’an望安
Xiyu 西嶼
Yuwengdao Lighthouse漁翁島燈塔
Zhongshe中社聚落群
Zhongyang Street中央街
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Also watch the latest video on this channel: {Trip} LALASHAN on the Northern Cross-Island Highway (北橫拉拉山)
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Travel in Taiwan (2015, 9/10)
By Rick Charette
We woke up bright and early this day to catch an early-morning ferry to Qimei, the southernmost South Sea island. Hopping on scooters right at the pier (rental included in ferry-ticket price), we headed out on the very quiet coastal road – more goats than cars. Qimei’s iconic symbol is the Twin Hearts Stone Weir, made of stones piled laboriously, which fills at high tide and leaves fish stranded at low. The Tomb of the Seven Beauties – “Qimei” means “Seven Beauties” – is built around a well down which seven chaste Ming Dynasty maidens are said to have thrown themselves on the approach of nasty-intent Japanese pirates. Among the other must-visit Qimei attractions we checked off our to-do list were the picturesque Little Taiwan and Waiting for Husband Rock, two coastal rock formations viewed from above.
Rather than traveling straight back to Magong, we stopped off at Wang’an for a few hours’ exploration of this island. The highlights of our meander along the sleepy round-island coastal road? Tiantai Hill and the village of Zhongshe. Your walk up Tiantai Hill, the island’s highest point, leads to wonderful panoramic views over Wang’an and its numerous nearby islands. Wonderful Zhongshe is an old narrow-lane fishing village, almost all homes stone/coral-built. Be sure to stop in for the homemade ice-cream at the shop – shade is at a premium in the village – under the huge Penghu-renowned “Wang’an Township Tree,” an Indian almond tree planted by the shop owner’s mother in 1928.
Penghu is home to many long, fine-sand beaches. Four of the most popular are on the island of Penghu’s south side – Lintou, Aimen, Shanshui, and Shili. On the morn of this day we visited each in turn. I especially like Lintou and Shanshui. Lintou and Aimen are connected by a long beach-edge boardwalk; behind Lintou Beach is Lintou Park, a shady, aesthetically laid-out tree park in which you can sit yourself down to alfresco coffee at a bright and breezy café. At Shanshui’s entrance is a bustling cluster of beach-bum-style eateries and cafés, and backing its west side is an attractive protected lagoon area traversed in part by a long boardwalk. This leads to a high promontory that drops into the surf at the beach’s west end. Topped with a large lookout, formerly part of an off-limits military zone, the promontory is dotted with abandoned camouflaged bunkers, pillboxes, and other facilities, one outfitted with heritage photos and information boards (Chinese) on this spot’s military and ecological past.
Near Shili, pretty much at Penghu’s southwest tip, is the compelling, still-being-developed Qingwan Cactus Park. There are two foci. Cacti, yes – the archipelago’s dry, flattish, windswept environment is perfect for cactus growth. And military history – the park site is a former Japanese military base rich in ruins, notably hidden big-gun emplacements, bunker barracks, and command posts.
Dezhou
Dezhou is abundant with tourism resources. Imperial Garden of Sulu King is the only foreign king's tomb in China. In China solar valley you can experience the charm and brightness of the sun. Forest Park on old track of Yellow River in Xiajin has plenty of ancient trees. Haidao Jinshan Temple in Qingyun, the largest temple in North China, is a dazzling pearl in Buddhist architecture.
On the third day of our Kaohsiung trip we visited the E-Da World theme park in Kaohsiung.
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Thanks for asking. We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing you to Taiwan as a travel destination. Read it! Lot of useful information. We also have a website with lots of articles about Taiwan. Visit it! We try to make a video or two every week.
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E-Da World (義大世界)
Add: No. 12, Sec. 1, Xuecheng Rd., Dashu District, Kaohsiung City (高雄市大樹區學城路一段12號)
Tel: 0800-656-077
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Also watch the latest video on this channel: {Trip} LALASHAN on the Northern Cross-Island Highway (北橫拉拉山)
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Travel in Taiwan (2016, Jan/Feb)
By Rick Charette
We finished up our southern inspection tour with an afternoon of rollicking good fun at the wildly successful E-Da World (edaworld.com.tw), located close to the city core in the Kaohsiung countryside. The young park, according to Kevin Lin, GM of EDA Development Co., was brought into existence with two foundation ideas in mind: to serve as a benchmark model of international standards and sophistication for Taiwan’s rebranding Kaohsiung/Tainan region, and to provide a destination for families, with all members’ wide-ranging needs and desires catered to.
The theme-park area has rides, games, and all sorts of other entertainment. The adjoining mall has scores of upscale brand-name outlets and a moderately-priced youth-oriented section. The large upscale hotel has numerous superb restaurants, spa facilities, and many other attractions. There’s also a baseball driving range, a golf range, and many other recreational facilities. We spent our afternoon (give yourself a full day if at all possible) riding the giant rooftop ferris wheel, thrilling 55-meter-high rollercoaster, and scenic monorail, enjoying a skate on the mall’s ice rink, watching the Halloween-theme parade and show with players costumed, incongruously, a la Mad Max and The Nutcracker, snacking way too much … and much, much else that I just don’t have time to tell you about.
東引傳奇-Legends of Donying
東引偏處馬祖列島的東北端，也是台澎金馬最北端的領土，以東引及西引兩大島為主，總面積4.4平方公里，位處台灣基隆西北方約100海浬。全鄉地勢高聳陡峭，是馬祖唯一沒有沙灘的島嶼，海蝕地質景觀豐富，漁產貝類資源豐沛，生態植物繁多，更是黑尾鷗繁殖世界紀錄的最南端。東引及西引兩島已因國軍築路造堤而連為一體，島上軍事哨點密集，至今東引仍鎮守馬祖列島北疆，具重要戰略地位，戰地色彩仍濃。
東引昔稱東湧，因島周水深，急流洶湧，故而得名；民國45年更名為東引，並正式設鄉。據民間傳說，很早以前，福州東北方海面，一夜之間湧現一座小島，無以為名，遂名之「東湧島」。其實，在馬祖列島中，東引海域最深，船隻從南竿駛向東引，過了亮島（俗稱浪島），湧浪便轉大，因此，古人才以「湧」來稱呼。
東引「水深潮暢、群礁拱抱」是磯釣者的天堂，即便寒冬釣魚也甘之如飴，此外也是保育鳥類黑尾鷗的故鄉。而國定古蹟東湧燈塔則是人文愛好者懸念的景點，一線天、燕秀潮音等自然天險令人讚嘆大自然的巧奪天工，安東坑道及處處可見的軍營、碉堡、哨站，還有著迷彩服的阿兵哥，則為東引增添特殊的戰地風情。
Dongyin Township, located at the Northeastern end of the Matsu Islands, is the northernmost territory of the Taiwan region, about 100 nautical miles northwest of Keelung on the main island of Taiwan. Comprised mainly of the two major islands of Dongyin and Xiyin, it has a total land area of 4.4 square kilometers. The entire township is atop precipitous cliffs, and is the only one of the Matsu Islands without a beach. It boasts beautiful scenery formed by ocean erosion, abundant fish and shellfish, numerous species of flora and fauna, and is the southernmost recorded mating ground of the black-tailed gull. The two islands of Dongyin and Xiyin are connected by an embankment constructed by the Armed Forces of the ROC, and the islands have a large number of military outposts. Dongyin's important military role of protecting the northern frontier of the Matsu Islands gives it a strong battlefield character that remains to this day.
Dongyin was formerly known as Dongyong, literally Eastern surge, for the deep, turbulent waters that surround it; the name was changed to Dongyin in 1956, and a township formally established. According to local legend, the small island was thrust up from the sea off the northwestern coast of Fujian, explaining where the original name Dongyong came from. But the actual origin of this name should be credited to sailors. Because the waters around Dongyin are the deepest among the Matsu Islands, as ships sailed East from Nangan towards Dongyan, they encountered larger waves after passing Liang Island. Hence, “eastern surge.”
Dongyin’s deep waters and flowing tides encircled by reefs are a paradise for rock fishermen, providing good fishing even in winter. It is also home to the protected black-tailed Gull; Dongyin Lighthouse, a third class protected historical site, is a fascinating site for those with an interest in culture and history; the Thread of Sky, Yanxiu Echoing Tidal Cave and other natural features are awe-inspiring testimony to the power and majesty of nature. Andong Tunnel, the numerous military camps, forts, and outposts and the camouflaged soldiers give Dongyin a unique military character.
東引旅遊資訊 Donying Information
A Trip To Taiwan - A Journey Into Asia (45 min. film)
During my summer school in Chinese Mandarin at Taiwan's National Central University NCU I decided to embark as a student and also part-time filmer to demonstrate the power of human collaboration from different cultural backgrounds.
This project led to the creation of a 45 minutes short documentary about a 3 weeks adventure of a group of aspiring engineers going through a life changing events. This project has been made possible with the help of professional music artists, teachers and collaborators who gave life to this amazing experience.
CREDITS
David Chuang - Additionnal Photography
All the teachers, friends and family who supported me during this project. Love you a zillion!
MUSIC
Corey Smith - First Dance
Billie the Vision & the Dancers - Ask for More
Jeff Pianki - Buried in Winter
Weekend - Coma Summer
Frankie Rose - Know Me
Blackbird Blackbird - Hawaii (Niva Remix)
Fanfarlo - I'm a pilot
Work Drugs - License to Drive
Onze20 - Meu Lugar
Pompeya - 90
Koji - Matches
Derek Clegg - Half of me
Keston Cobbler's Club - You Go
The Echelon Effect - You first light my Eventide
I am waiting for you last summer - Away from here
The Cancel - Wake up
Kim Boekbinder - Anyone at all
Ben Coast - The only place
SICKIDS - In Love
Starfucker - Bury us alive