Around the World in Many Days, IV: Taiwan
Jiji is not a particularly attractive town. Its sad claim to fame rests in that it was the epicentre of the 21 September 1999 earthquake (locally known as the "921 Earthquake"), the second-deadliest earthquake in all of Taiwan's recorded history, with more than 2,000 fatalities.
R S
10 chapters
16 Apr 2020
[Taiwan] Chapter XLVI: In which the sun and moon and sky and rainbow prove propitious to our designs
January 03, 2018
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Around Jiji, Taiwan, 3-7 January 2018
Jiji is not a particularly attractive town. Its sad claim to fame rests in that it was the epicentre of the 21 September 1999 earthquake (locally known as the "921 Earthquake"), the second-deadliest earthquake in all of Taiwan's recorded history, with more than 2,000 fatalities.
The town has since been rebuilt, but in doing so, the townspeople decided to leave one memento of the earthquake in place --- the Wuchang Temple, which had collapsed in a rather curious manner, with all of its walls and columns completely gone, but its roof left almost intact (see the photos below).
We used Jiji as a base to explore two attractions that lie within an hour's bus ride from it:
- Sun Moon Lake: A largish (8 square km) placid lake ringed by forests both tropical and temperate --- bamboo groves and palm trees, as well as a great variety of deciduous and evergreen trees --- and on the day we visited also enshrouded in mists and clouds, giving it a most tranquil and ethereal feel. We were planning to ride a cable car at the lake, said to offer spectacular views of the lake from above, but unfortunately it just so happened that the cable car was closed for maintenance on the day we came, so instead we just strolled a bit along the lake's shore, and then hired bicycles and partly circled it.
- Xitou Forest: A grand forest with a huge diversity of plants and trees. As it showered and drizzled constantly that day, we were slightly surprised by the large number of elderly Taiwanese hiking the forest, all armed with umbrellas and quite unphased by the rain. But even so, the park did not feel in the least crowded. Two highlights we came upon were the Skywalk (a 200m-long walkway erected on 20m-tall poles, allowing one to walk at the level of the canopy among the tall cedar trees) and the Rainbow Bridge (a colourfully painted bridge that seemed to be a favourite nesting ground for spiders).
Accommodations:
- Alston's Airbnb room at 17 Fomiao Lane, Jiji (4 nights; very nice)
Photo captions: (a-f) Sun Moon Lake; (g-x) Xitou Forest; (y-z) the collapsed Wuchang Temple, Jiji
1.
[Taiwan] Chapter XXXIX: In which we are hopeful that we may have at last found our optimal
2.
[Taiwan] Chapter XL: In which conversations take place which seem likely not to be understood
3.
[Taiwan] Chapter XLI: In which the Taiwanese hospitality overwhelms us
4.
[Taiwan] Chapter XLII: In which a new species of transportation, unknown to us, appears in Taroko
5.
[Taiwan] Chapter XLIII: In which Taiwan betrays a very jingly tune
6.
[Taiwan] Chapter XLIV: Which once more demonstrates the usefulness of calendars as aids to booking
7.
[Taiwan] Chapter XLV: In which the sun rises rather earlier, perhaps, than is convenient
8.
[Taiwan] Chapter XLVI: In which the sun and moon and sky and rainbow prove propitious to our designs
9.
[Taiwan] Chapter XLVII: In which we are glad to return to Taipei
10.
Summary of Part IV and Onwards to Part V
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