Panning for Gold

Typhoons bring fallen trees and flooded streets. Does anyone actually like this kind of weather?

The answer is yes. Although typhoons cause people a lot of trouble, the lure of gold is a powerful thing.

Every time a typhoon passes through Hualien, the banks of the Liwu Stream get crowded with gold panners. After typhoon Nelson went through last August, over 1,000 people covered the banks of the Liwu, their sleeves rolled up, their eyes wide, looking for glittering pieces of gold among the sand.

Hualien has a reputation for two things: precious stones, and gold. According to studies done by the East District Office of the Provincial Mining Bureau, several of the mountains on the upper reaches of the Liwu Stream have gold deposits, from which nuggets are slowly washed downstream and deposited along the stream's banks as it winds its way seaward. Naturally, the largest nuggets are to be found upstream; according to one experienced panner, Lu Shao-lung, many of those at the bottom are hardly worth panning.

If you ask people who Lu Shao-lung is, few will be able to tell you. But mention "Old Lu the gold panner," and everyone knows who you mean. "I've found pieces 350 to 400 grams in weight, enough to live off of for two months," he says. "But in the last few years there haven't been many large typhoons in the Hualien area. Without the extra rain, the flow of the Liwu isn't strong enough to wash many large nuggets downstream."

The 2,700 hectare area at the delta of the stream is the biggest depository of gold on the eastern side of the island. Specialists at the Mining Bureau figure that there must be substantial amounts of gold in the seabed at the stream's mouth. Utilizing hi-tech "panning" techniques could turn this area into a "golden coast."

It is figured that if every cubic meter of sand could yield two to three grams of gold, and the sand itself used for building purposes, the profitability could merit a large-scale operation in the area. This doesn't apply to the stream's banks, though. Nevertheless, panning like old Lu does, for fun and profit, is still a good idea. This is especially true during the period from September to April, when the stream rises, and with it rise dreams of gold.

[Picture Caption]

Grains of gold gleam brightly in the gravel, but prove difficult to pick out.

Don't look down on this "sand" from Liwu Stream; washed clean, it's nearly pure gold!

Don't look down on this "sand" from Liwu Stream; washed clean, it's nearly pure gold!