A short trip to the hardly known coastal area of Miaoli County in western Taiwan. Small towns, small railway station, the sea, quiet countryside, and a strange park.
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Travel in Taiwan 2017, March/April
(By Steven Crook)
YUANLI
Yuanli is an excellent place to enjoy the morning markets which are still a key feature in urban areas on this island. Less than 100m from Yuanli Railway Station, the block bordered by Weigong, Tianxia, Datong, and Jianguo roads is crammed full of vendors.
Some sell vegetables, others fabrics, others prepared food. The range of hot and cold snacks is enticing. One especially popular option is the glutinous pork-filled disks at Jinguang Meatballs (open daily 8am to 9:30pm).
Jinguang Meatballs (金光肉圓)
Add: No. 80, Tianxia Rd., Yuanli Township, Miaoli County
(苗栗縣苑裡鎮天下路80號)
TONGXIAO
One stop and six minutes north of Yuanli is Tongxiao. Stopping here is recommended, as both fresh-air lovers and history buffs can indulge their passions at Hutoushan Park.
First, you’ll come to the remains of a Shinto shrine built in 1937 by the Japanese authorities then ruling Taiwan. After World War II it was preserved by the Chinese Nationalist government, which had reclaimed Taiwan in 1945, but rededicated to heroes of the Republic of China (ROC). Despite post-earthquake modifications since carried out, which reflect postwar political correctness, the site retains considerable elegance.
A little further up, what was once a military lookout post is now shaded by an immense concrete lotus. The lotus flower is a Buddhist symbol of purity, so this is perhaps an attempt to counter the site’s military atmosphere with peaceful sentiments.
At the very top of the hill is a monument that since 1945 has served as a celebration of Taiwan’s return to the Chinese fold, but which was originally erected by the Japanese to mark a crucial moment in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05.
XINPU
Some might think there’s nothing to see at Xinpu but the station itself, a quaint 1922 wooden structure. But they’d be wrong.
Known to rail enthusiasts on the island as the location of one of the stations closest to the sea, Xinpu is a splendid place to stop if you want to feel sea breezes. Here, as at several other spots along Miaoli’s coastline, there are boardwalks and bicycle paths.
There’s also a rather odd park called Qiumao Garden, 350m south of the station. Its garish yet cutesy statues – among them are representations of ROC founder Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Daoist deity Guan Gong, and the entire cast of Journey to the West – are clearly visible from passing trains. Kids will enjoy the slides and concrete animals.
BAISHATUN
Baishatun enjoys island-wide fame of sorts, thanks to Gongtian Temple and the annual pilgrimage that begins and ends here. Like the better-known festival that kicks off down the coast at Dajia Zhenlan Temple, it’s an expression of the Taiwanese people’s adoration of Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea. In 2011, this pilgrimage was declared a national intangible cultural asset by the central government.
ZHUNAN
It’s impossible not to notice the immense statue of a stern-looking, burgundy-skinned man, naked from the waist up. His head is 156m above street level, making this representation of Shennong, the Chinese God of Agriculture and putative inventor of herbal medicine, the largest religious icon in the region.The statue sits atop Wugu Temple, inside which you’ll find other effigies of Shennong. He’s easy to recognize, because he’s invariably depicted holding sprigs of millet in his right hand. Another of his names, Wugushen, means God of the Five Grains.
Getting There:
Taking a train from Taichung Railway Station to Yuanli takes about 70 minutes (NT$79); from Yuanli to Zhunan takes about 45 minutes (NT$61). If you want to get from Zhunan to Miaoli THSR Station, take a train to Fengfu Railway Station (10 min.; NT$16), which is next to the THSR station.
The stations between Yuanli and Zhunan are not far apart from each other, but as the gap between services on this stretch of railroad often exceeds an hour, do carry a schedule of train times. This information can be found on the TRA’s bilingual website, railway.gov.tw.
Gongtian Temple 拱天宮
Houlong 後龍
Hutoushan Park 虎頭山公園
Qiumao Garden 秋茂園
Shennong 神農
Tongxiao 通霄
Wugu Temple 五穀宮
Wugushen 五谷神
Xinpu 新埔
Yuanli 苑裡
Zhunan 竹南
Short trip Sanyi Township in Miaoli County, northwestern Taiwan:
00:50 Sanyi Wood Sculpture Museum 三義木雕博物館
02:50 Sanyi Old Street 三義老街
06:10 Shengxing Railway Station 勝興車站
07:50 Shengxing Kezhan Restaurant 勝興客棧
09:40 Longteng Bridge Ruin 龍騰斷橋
10:50 Zhuo Ye Cottage 卓也小屋
13:30 Tongluo Skywalk 銅鑼天空步道
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Sanyi Wood Sculpture Museum
Add: No. 88, Guangsheng Xincheng, Guangsheng Village, Sanyi Township, Miaoli County (苗栗縣三義鄉廣盛村廣聲新城88號)
Tel: (037) 876-009
Website:
Shengxing Kezhan Restaurant
Add: No. 72, Neighborhood 14, Shengxing Village, Sanyi Township, Miaoli County
(苗栗縣三義鄉勝興村14鄰72號)
Tel: (037) 973-883
Website: (Chinese)
Zhuo Ye Cottage
Add: No. 1-5, Bengshan Xia, Neighborhood 13, Shuangtan Village, Sanyi Township, Miaoli County
(苗栗縣三義鄉雙潭村13鄰崩山下1-5號)
Tel: (037) 879-198
Website: (Chinese)
Taiwan Hakka Museum (Miaoli Hakka Culture Park)
Add: No. 6, Tongke S. Rd., Jiuhu Village, Tongluo Township, Miaoli County
(苗栗縣銅鑼郷九湖村銅科南路6號)
Tel: (037) 985-558
Two day trip to Miaoli County in northern/central Taiwan, visiting hot-spring hotel in Tai'an, a tea factory in Tongluo, and a brick factory in Yuanli. We had fun. :)
00:40 Dahu Wineland Resort 大湖酒莊
02:30 Wenshui Visitor Center 汶水遊客中心
04:25 Xishuikeng Tofu Street洗水坑豆腐街
07:20 Onsen Papawaqa 泰安觀止溫泉會館
08:50 Atayal Cultural Museum 泰雅文物館
10:40 Hushan Suspension Bridge 虎山吊橋
11:30 Onsen Papawaqa
12:40 Shuiyun Suspension Bridge 水雲吊橋
13:25 Onsen Papawaqa
16:05 Tongluo Skywalk 銅鑼天空步道
17:15 Tongluo Tea Factory 銅鑼茶廠
21:50 Jin Liang Shing (JLS) Brick Factory 金良興觀光磚廠
25:55 Yuanli Triangle Rush Exhibition Hall 藺草文化館
28:35 Dongli Jiafeng 東里家風古宅
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Dahu Wineland Resort (大湖酒莊)
Add: No. 2-4, Baliaowan, Fuxing Village, Dahu Township, Miaoli County
(苗栗縣大湖鄉富興村八寮灣2-4號)
Tel: (03) 799-4986
Onsen Papawaqa (泰安觀止溫泉會館)
Add: No. 58, Yuandun, Jinshui Village, Tai’an Township, Miaoli County
(苗栗縣泰安鄉錦水村圓墩58號)
Tel: (037) 941-777
Website:
Atayal Cultural Museum (泰雅文物館)
Add: No. 46-3, Neighborhood 6, Jinshui Village, Tai’an Township, Miaoli County
(苗栗縣泰安鄉錦水村圓墩6鄰46-3號)
Tongluo Tea Factory (銅鑼茶廠)
Add: No. 132-16, Jiuhu, Jiuhu Village, Tongluo Township, Miaoli County
(苗栗縣銅鑼鄉九湖村九湖132-16號)
Tel: (037) 987-358
Website: (Chinese)
Jin Liang Shing (JLS) Brick Factory (金良興觀光磚廠)
Add: No. 71-17, Jinshan, Shanjiao Borough, Yuanli Township, Miaoli County
(苗栗縣苑裡鎮山腳里錦山71-17號)
Tel: (037) 746-368
Website: (Chinese)
Yuanli Triangle Rush Exhibition Hall, (藺草文化館)
Add: No. 65, Weigong Rd., Yuanli Township, Miaoli County
(苗栗縣苑裡鎮為公路65號)
Tel: (037) 862-141
Website: (Chinese)
Dongli Jiafeng (東里家風古宅)
Add: No. 8, Neighborhood 2, Yuankeng Borough, Yuanli Township, Miaoli County
(苗栗縣苑裡鎮苑坑裡2鄰8號)
Tel: (037) 853-158
Website: (Chinese)
Onsen Papawaqa
The Onsen Papawaqa is a forceful work of modernist architecture directly overlooking the Wenshui riverbed. Its grey-hue exposed-concrete exterior walls, proudly and boldly showcased, echo the colors of the exposed cliff rock on the valley’s opposite side. Inside, two additional interior-décor elements are wood and stone, also chosen to echo the surrounding natural environment.
The key attraction here is, of course, the mineral-water soaking. Each room faces the river through floor-to-ceiling glass, with a window-side Japanese-style in-floor stone-slab tub. “The extensive public-area spa facilities are outside the main building; there are separate nude bathing areas for males and females, a non-nude mixed bathing area, and a wonderful cool-temperature narrow swimming pool that runs the entire main building’s length between building and riverside bluff-edge.” The evening starry-sky viewing is scintillating. In the midst of all this is a friendly, breezy thatch-roof open-air bar.
Both restaurants, on the 5th and 6th floors (the top floors), have eyrie-like views of the river before and mountain behind. The complimentary Chinese/Western buffet breakfast is taken in the 5th-floor Running Water Restaurant, which has a laddered spatial design evoking the river’s cascading waters. Lunch and dinner are served in the 6th-floor Flying Cloud Restaurant; the cuisine is Chinese, with strong Hakka and indigenous infusions, along with Western elements. Locally sourced ingredients are stressed. The Dongpo pork and sesame-oil chicken are especially good. (Rooms start at NT$7,500)
Gazing east from the Taiwan Hakka Museum, you can look down into the valley below and out over the hills toward the central mountains beyond. Just to the south, you’ll see row upon row of neatly spaced tea bushes. This is part of the 30ha tourist-oriented Tongluo Tea Factory operation. It’s centered on a factory/retail building of eye-catching modern design that offers a picture-perfect panorama of the valley through its east-side glass wall. Trains regularly run through the valley, through what looks like a model-train set. Patrons are helped in their train-spotting via a large signboard with run-through times and train types.
The main type of tea grown here is Dongfang Meiren (Oriental Beauty), which is primarily grown in Hakka areas in the hills of the northwest at lower altitudes (300~800m). Visitors can enjoy tea-tasting sessions, tours of the processing facilities and fields (in one interesting section, each row is dedicated to a single type of Taiwan-grown tea, with English signage), DIY picking for tour groups, and a meal. The latter consists of a traditional type of biandang (boxed lunch) eaten by Hakka tea-pickers and railroad workers. This comes wrapped in a gratis traditional bright-color Hakka-style head kerchief worn by female tea-pickers (separate payment for each option).
#Miaoli #Taiwan #Taiwaneverything
A day in Taiwan Miaoli County
I was in Taiwan Miaoli producing for a documentary. A thought of showing the life in Miaoli came across my mind when I am listening to Not Alone a track from Linkin Park album. The moment of what I saw through my journey from place to place for filming just happens to match the music that I'm listening to. So I just grab my camera and try to capture down whenever i can to piece up a video portraying A day in Taiwan Miaoli County. Travelling period: 14th-20th Feb. Video shot on Canon 5D Mark2, 24-70mm lens. Feature: Taiwan Lantern Festival and Bombing of Dragon Festival 2011
Miaoli, Hsinchu, & Yongheshan Reservoir 永和山水庫 (Travel Taiwan Series Day 18)
Day 18 of the ✈️ Travel Taiwan Series. Be part of the journey:
(Timestamps are below.)
0:38 Heading to Miaoli & Hsinchu
1:35 Breakfast at a small dumpling shop in Hsinchu. 3 TWD per dumpling — good or bad?
2:28 A Visit to Ten Ren Tea (天仁茶業)
3:30 An interesting place where you walk along the rocks with your bare feet, or at least with socks on, and you feel the pain of the rocks.
4:25 Exploring the awesome Yongheshan Reservoir 永和山水庫
6:30 Home made Taiwanese food right before the Chinese New Year
8:18 Preview of Day 17 of the Travel Taiwan Series:
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✈️
Son of Man Communal Village, Sanyi District, Miaoli County, Taiwan
The Coolidge family spent a wonderful 3 days/2 nights at the Son of Man Communal Village in Sanyi District of Miaoli County, Taiwan. This is not a normal village or farm. This is a center for communal living, where different families live together and raise their children by home schooling them and giving them a life full of purpose, experiences, and activities. During our time with this friendly community, we enjoyed generous hospitality, kindness and positive energy. Our kids were taught many skills and given various tasks around the farm. They have many opportunities to learn and play, and made new friends quickly. Every night, everyone spent time talking, expressing themselves, and enjoying meaningful conversations.
I met someone from Hong Kong, who said he was visiting for the first time. He said he was there to find his purpose in life.
My kids were very happy, and my youngest didn't want to leave. They all want to come back. My dog lived freely there, without a leash, and was given constant love and attention.
It was one of the most memorable weekends we have had as a family, and we recommend this experience to anyone who wants a new, alternative, wholesome experience, or a lifestyle that can inspire one to find their purpose in life.
Rainbow village / Caihongjuan Village( Tai Chung, Taiwan ) 台中彩虹眷村
Rainbow Village also known as Caihongjuan Village, is a settlement for military dependents with colorfully painted lanes and houses. The bold red colored paintings of portraits, animals and texts are the works of Huang Yong-pu who began to paint simply because he was bored. The childlike graffiti has turned this small walled village into a scenic spot in Tai Chung city.
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The Rock And Roll Stitching Method / 搖滾針法
Have you ever heard of an embroidery technique called “rock n’ roll stitching method?” Invented by Chen Su-an, an embroidery artist hailing from Tongxiao Township in Miaoli County, the new method provides an easier and efficient way for machine embroidery. The short video will also reveal the special occasion where the method was created.
An Adventure for Senior Australians in Taiwan (Summer, 2009)
What a holiday! The highlights must include the magnificent unspoilt beauty of the mountains, the enormous pleasure we had in sharing the holiday with younger members of our family, the wonderful meals and cultural experiences that we enjoyed together and the friendliness of the Taiwanese people.
Life
This video was taken in Anping Beach, Tainan City, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Edited in Final Cut Pro X
Taken with Nikon D7000 50mm f1.8