Our main purpose in Hualien (花蓮) was to visit Taroko, but it's still a pretty amazing city, with the Pacific Ocean on one side and the Taiwan central mountain ranges on the other. Interestingly enough, diverse cultures in Hualien span from Aborigines, Japanese, Hakka, Hoklo and Mainlanders to local Taiwanese. You could also do river tracing and whitewater rafting here, but December was not the season. :(
Upon arrival, we were picked up by the minsu owner, got upgraded to a bigger room with a bigger bed (but more stairs), introduced to her two sons (one boy, one dog), then we started on our half-day city tour. Our guide-cum-driver definitely knows Hualien inside out and can talk non-stop.
Ching-shiu Temple, built in 1917 by Japanese immigrants, is only Japanese temple in Taiwan to be completely preserved. As it turns out, Japan colonised Taiwan and they shipped Japanese to Hualien and created immigrant villages. Japanese influences in Taiwan remain, from the department stores to names of places, Taiwanese seem to have retained elements which slowly take on a uniquely Taiwanese identity.
As Taiwan was Japan's first overseas colony, Japanese intentions were to turn the island into a showpiece "model colony". - Wikipedia
At Ching-shiu (with 88 Buddhist statues), you could pen your wishes and hang them just like the temples in Japan - cheap thrill! It was a very tranquil place.
Temple inside
Rock with inscription
2 of 88 Buddhist statues
Stamps for collection
Prayers
Time to pen your own
Yes, please
Lotus peace
To the driver's house to get the TOOLS
Amazing View
Carp Lake - Care for some Swan ride?
The lake surrounded by rolling mountains
Then off to pick us some Jade leftover from when Jade mining in Taiwan was still legal. Our guide ran around scouring the river for some jade (Water was cold!) and even gave us some huge-ass pieces of jade he picked from previous trips as our visit was unfruitful. Seriously, it's not easy to tell jade apart from random rocks, so it really takes an expert eye and much more luck. Tip: Rub jade to expose its translucency. I prefer small, petite pieces instead of huge rocks, wasted, I know! We went on to polish some jade and convert them into necklaces and charms at a jade workshop. At the river bed, there were even more tadpoles than jade. One is cute but thousands is plain creepy! Imagine them going into my shoes! Aborgines eat tadpoles, raw! Does look like bubble tea pearls to me~
Polishing her 'cat eye' jade and making it into a necklace
Strange tree in a private orchard
Private lake in private orchard
Then off to some private orchard to see the lacklustre lake / trees, and did some jumpshots amidst the temperate forest (a nice mishmash of orange, red and green), before our last stop, the Culture Ecology Museum (read: boring) where you can see carp fishing's history, catch some random shellfish at a fee.
Half-day tour wasn't cheap, I didn't know exactly where or what I was visiting, but it's best to go around Hualien guided or at least, on a scooter (precisely why I need a bike licence). Still I enjoyed the company, commentary, jokes (vaguely), fresh air and convenience. Time for some gaoliang to pass the night and prepare for Taroko.
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