Ilan & Hualian

This weekend we visited Ilan and Hualian, which are two cities in the Northern part of Taiwan. In order to get to Ilan and Hualian, we had to travel across and through the mountains. Before getting to Ilan we had to go through a long tunnel that cut through a mountain. The tunnel is about 13 km and takes about 10 min to drive through. It was really amazing how the Taiwanese built the tunnel because they started digging at each end and then met each other in the middle. In order to get to Hualian we had to travel across mountains on a small and winding road the Taiwanese had built that swerved up and around the mountain. It was kind of scary making such sharp turns on a large tour bus when the road was so small. I also found it strange that most of the vehicles driving on this road were large trucks or other tour buses. Only a few of the vehicles were small, personal cars. I am assuming this has to do with the fact that there is no highway on the east side of Taiwan where Hualian is located and so they must travel on this small road in order to get back and forth.

Even through traveling on this road was scary, there were some incredibly breathtaking views of the mountain and the sea. The road we traveled on was built along the side of Taiwan’s mountains and so we were traveling right next to the sea and could see the Pacific Ocean. The ocean was incredibly blue here and as we drove, we could see fishing boats far out in the distance. As we traveled along the mountain, I was surprised by how many factories I saw. There were many factories along the foot of the mountain with one side facing the mountain and the other side facing the sea. It made me wonder how they were able to transport enough materials and machinery in order to build these factories, considering the only road through the mountains is incredibly small and definitely couldn’t fit any large semi-trucks full of building materials. I was also surprised to see this many factories so close to some of Taiwan’s most environmentally diverse habitats because I know that Taiwan is very environmentally conscious and having factories this close to the mountain seemed like it would be detrimental to the environment.

Ilan and Hualian were both very different from Taipei. Taipei is a very modern and metropolitan city, whereas Ilan and Hualian seemed much more rural. When we drove into Ilan, we could see many open fields that looked like they were used for farming and there were no tall buildings like in Taipei. Hualian was more city-like, however it didn’t seem as modern as Taipei and also did not really have any tall skyscrapers. As we driving into Hualian, we also passed some very poor parts of Taiwan. There were some very small towns built around the mountain, which looked had houses that were made of mismatched parts and looked like shacks. Most of the people working outside were very old and it didn’t seem like there were many young people in these towns. The standard of living also seemed a lot lower in these rural towns and it looked like they didn’t have the same modern amenities that were available in Taipei. During my time in Taipei, I have yet to see extremely poor areas like this and it was incredibly interesting to see the contrast between city life and rural life in Taiwan.

 

On our first night, we stayed at Toucheng Leisure Farm, which was a farm on a mountain that focused on agriculture and the environment. They also had DIY classes (do it yourself) in order to teach people how they could use nature in order to make things. The farm was quite large and we went on a tour through the mountain and saw some of the vegetables they grew as well as some of their livestock. They grew and took care of many different things from cumquats to pigs and much of the food we ate there was actually grown on the farm. We also did a couple of DIY activities at the farm such as decorating a T-shirt or a bag with leaves and making a sky lantern. I really liked staying at the farm because it felt like we were very close to nature and I liked how it emphasized using natural products and making things for yourself instead of buying them. Being on the farm was like taking a breather from city life because it felt much more relaxed and there weren’t as many distractions. 

In Hualian we visited 慈濟(Tzu Chi) temple, which is one of the four schools of Buddhism. The慈濟are a very altruistic branch of Buddhism and have pursued many philanthropic endeavors, such as creating the first free hospital in Taiwan. They are also always one of the first people to provide aid during crises all around the world. Their main school is located at the foot of the mountains and includes the temple, 慈濟Hospital and慈濟University. There was an incredibly stark contrast between the way the慈濟followers designed their buildings in this area and the Buddha Memorial Center we saw earlier. All of the慈濟buildings were incredibly modest and understated. There were no bright colors or carvings, just very simple buildings. Even the temple, which looked very impressive, was still very modest. The慈濟seemed to make their buildings compliment the nature around them. When walking up to the temple, it didn’t feel like we were walking into a man-made building. Instead, it felt like the temple was simply another part of its surroundings. On the other hand, the Buddha Memorial Center was almost like an intrusion into nature and stood apart from the forest around it. In my opinion, I think the慈濟did a better job designing their buildings and making the design fit in line with the practices of Buddhism. Instead of trying to attract people with gimmicks and flash, the慈濟seem to be more concerned with their actions and making sure they continue to uphold their philanthropic practices.