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Beyond the Capital
THE NORTH: Keelung has an imposing hilltop statue of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. The northeast coastal road offers a spectacular drive, passing the foothills of the Central Mountain Range and overlooking the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The traveller will pass through many small villages, the lifestyles of which have changed little with the advent of high technology. Other outstanding attractions of the area include Yehliu, noted for its fantastic rock formations (Queen’s Head); Green Bay and Chinshan beaches, with full beach resort facilities; Shihmen Dam; and Wulai, a mountain resort south of Taipei. Wulai is the site of a hilltop park and of a village inhabited by aboriginals who, besides making and selling artefacts, give song and dance performances for tourists. The Northeast Coast National Scenic Area, also with unusual rock formations, is not only good for swimming, diving, surfing, water-skiing and camping, but also the best place for seashore fishing and rock climbing. Window on China at Lungtan, 53km (33 miles) southwest of Taipei, contains reproductions on a scale of 1:25 of historical and other notable Chinese sites.
CENTRAL TAIWAN: The centre of the island has the most varied landscape. The east–west cross-island highway passes through spectacular mountain passes, most notably the Taroko Gorge, a ravine with towering cliffs shot through with extensive marble deposits. Lishan, located 1945m (6381ft) up on Pear Mountain, is a popular mountain resort. Other popular sights in the mountains include the Sun Moon Lake, the Chitou Forest recreation area, Yu Shan (Jade Mountain), and the alpine railway to Alishan.
Throughout the central area, there are numerous temples. The region’s main towns are Taichung, one of the largest ports on the island, and Hualien in the east.
THE SOUTH: Kenting National Park is a popular forest recreation area boasting fine beaches, coral lakes, a bird sanctuary and, more recently, facilities for watersports and golf, all set amidst tropical coastal forest. Kaohsiung is the main industrial centre and has the island’s only other main airport, besides Taipei’s Chiang Kai-shek. Tainan, the oldest city on the island, is known as the ‘City of 100 Temples’; there are in fact 220, amongst them some of the best examples of Confucian temple architecture on the island.
LANYU: Lanyu (Orchid Island), one of the smaller islands off the southeast coast, is the home of the aboriginal Yami, one of the world’s last surviving hunter-gatherer tribes. Lotus Lake in Kaohsiung is the site of the Spring and Autumn pavilions and of the Dragon and Tiger pagodas.
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