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Almost from the moment I left Tainan’s Guanmiao District (關廟) and entered Longci District (龍崎), I could hear the distinctive two-note screech of a crested serpent eagle. These reptile-hunters are often heard and just as often seen in Taiwan’s foothills. Pedaling southeast on City Highway 182, I glimpsed one circling in the distance then I kept my head down and devoted myself to maintaining a reasonable speed on an uphill section. I’m not the kind of cyclist who relishes tough climbs, but I’ve always enjoyed Road 182. None of its gradients are brutal, and the scenery is a mix of ....
Thanks to the pre-pandemic tourism boom, much of Taiwan’s tourism infrastructure has been updated in the past decade. Among those who have especially benefited are people who need wheelchairs to get about, and those who struggle when faced with obstacles that the able-bodied can step over or step around. Not every brand-new facility is perfect, but the concept of “universal design” (ensuring that buildings and other environments are accessible to everyone, regardless of age, disability or other factors) is slowly entering the mainstream. This article looks at three tourist destinations where the needs of the infirm and wheelchair-bound have been taken into ....
It’s as if the outside world conspired to rob Yanshuei (鹽水) of its importance and prosperity. As waterways filled with silt, access to the ocean which had made it possible for this little town, several kilometers from the sea in the northern part of Tainan, to become a major entrepot was lost. The north-south railway, a key driver of economic development during the 1895-1945 period of Japanese rule, never arrived. Then, in the 1970s, the sugar industry went into terminal decline. Like Taiwan’s other old settlements, Yanshuei used to be a walled town. The defensive barrier is long ....
As Yunlin County loses humans, it seems to gain birds. The county’s population peaked at just over 800,000 in the late 1970s, since when it’s fallen steadily. So far this year, it’s declined by about 5,000, and now stands below 672,000. There are several reasons for this. When it came to high-speed rail stations and science park extensions, Yunlin was at the end of the queue. What’s more, many Taiwanese prefer to live in major cities where there are more economic and entertainment opportunities and better schools. The county’s biggest settlement has just 108,000 residents. By contrast, Yunlin’s bird population is thriving, at ....
That morning, there was no getting away from food. I was in Kaohsiung’s Yancheng District (鹽埕), trying out some of the neighborhood’s older and more distinctive eateries. Knowing I had to pace myself to seek respite from repasts, if you will I went into a temple I’d not noticed on previous trips to this part of the city. Shaduo Temple (沙多宮) is dedicated to five Wangye (王爺) spirits, or Lords of a Thousand Years (五府千歲). If the baskets of fruit, trays of candy, and packets of cookies on the main offertory table are anything to go by, the deities ....