An aboriginal dance performance (video) in Hualian, during my Taiwan visit in late April. The video quality is rather poor because I was recording using a digital camera and not a viewcam, but it should be pretty cool if you have not witnessed similar stuff before…
There are about a dozen aboriginal tribes recognised in Taiwan, not sure which particular tribal dance it was.
The Taiwanese aborigines’ culture actually shares similarities with the aborigines in South East Asia, including my homeland Malaysia. They are all considered as Austronesian people who shared the same ancestors some thousands of years ago.
In fact, the bamboo-stick-dance in the video can be seen in Philippines and Malaysia-Borneo as well. It’s a small world after all :)
Cisingtan (literally ‘Seven Star Lake’ in Chinese) is a beautiful coastline near the city of Hualian in eastern Taiwan. It got its name from the seven swamps that were scattered like fallen stars throughout the wetland that once covered the area.
What remained these days is just a nice beach with a lovely sea view.
Taroko National Park was supposed to be one of the highlights during my Taiwan tour, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment.
Most of the scenic spots could only be fully viewed via foot trekking… and we didn’t have the luxury to do so due to time constraint. Well, that’s the downside for travelling via an organised tour.
The Eternal Spring Shrine
The Eternal Spring Shrine was one of the very few highlight scenic spots we visited, and this too was under renovation during our visit… it’s not our day obviously
Nan Tian Temple (Nantiangong) in Suao is one of the most famous temples in Taiwan with its 200kg pure gold Mazu figurine as well as another Mazu figurine carved from a piece of huge jade.
The rooftop of Nan Tian Temple and the small port opposite the temple
Jiufen (or Jioufen) is a small town in northern Taiwan famous for its nostalgic old street, food and ocean view. Jiufen was a prosperous gold mining town since 1890s but its popularity faded as the gold resource was depleting since 1950s.
Jiufen was given a new life in 1989 when award winning movie “A City of Sadness” (directed by Hou Hsiao Hsien and starred Tony Leung etc.) was filmed there. Jiufen has become a popular tourist spot since then and a favourite weekend getaway location for Taipei folks.
The most iconic spot in Jiufen, made famous by A City of Sadness
Taipei’s Shilin Night Market is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Taiwan, famous for its abundance of Taiwanese street food. The place was the first stop for my Taiwan trip in late April 2008…
Will be boarding the flight to Taiwan in a few hours. This site will not be updated for the next 7-8 days, and I’ll not be replying to any comments during this period.
Sharing with you here a few videos about Taiwan culture and lifestyle.
First, a promotional vid featuring pop star Jolin Tsai and veteran director Woo Nian Jen for the Welcome 2 Taiwan tourism campaign…
