Cultural diversity on the East Coast
There is a historic path in Manzhou Township, called the Mancha Ancient Trail because it runs between Manzhou and Chashan. In days gone by Seqalu indigenous people would use this trail to go to the coast to catch fish, and in the era of Japanese rule, young students attending classes to learn Japanese also followed this path, so it is also called the “Fishing Road” or the “Student Road.”
The Manzhou Japanese language school was the first of 14 such schools set up around Taiwan during the era of Japanese rule. Also, at that time the head of Kōshon Chō (as the local Hengchun government was known in Japanese) was Sagara Nagatsuna, former president of Okinawa Teacher Training College. These facts reveal how determined the Japanese government was to indoctrinate the indigenous peoples of the area.
Bearing down on the pedals of our bikes, we press on northward to the indigenous community of Macaran (Chinese name Xuhai) to explore local indigenous culture.
Pan Chengqing, the head of the Xuhai Community Development Association, says: “In the winter a lot of cyclists come here to soak in the hot springs. At only NT$150 per visit, it’s very cheap.” In 1887, Jagarushi Guri Bunkiet, a Seqalu chief, took the British adventurer George Taylor to Taitung, and along the route they stumbled upon the Xuhai Hot Spring emerging from gaps in the rock. Later on residents put up a structure here and a hot spring area took shape. Pan Chengqing recalls that because the hot spring was located near the primary school, mothers would always tell their children to wash up there before coming home. Some students would rub shampoo into their hair before leaving home in the mornings so they could jump into the water to wash themselves right after school.
For our last stop we head to the Alangyi Historic Trail. Guided by local resident Rang Rang, we enter the trail at Daren Township in Taitung. Before heading up into the mountains, we first must traverse a 750-meter-long shingle beach, with waves from the Pacific Ocean continually slapping against the shore and their booming sounds filling the air. Rang Rang says that depending on the season, the waves will shape the rocks in different ways, and the trash floating in the sea will be carried onto different places along the beach.
After about an hour on the uphill trail, we finally reach the peak. Looking down, we see two sea turtles floating in the azure ocean, and Rang Rang quips: “It’s pretty hard to take an ugly photo from here!”
Looking out over the magnificent ocean, we think of the history and stories we have heard over the past few days. We suddenly realize that the Hengchun Peninsula is beautiful not only because of its mountains and sea, but also because of the collective memories left behind by the interactions between multiple ethnic groups. It is these precious cultures that have created the unique charm of this piece of land.
Lishan Eco Company has recently started an English class for community guides in order to handle visits from foreign travelers in the future. First at left in the photo is Lai Yongyuan, a guide in the Sheding Nature Park.
Because of the proximity to the Pacific Ocean and exposure to the northeasterly monsoon winds, only drought-resistant shrubs and grasses can grow along the stretch of Provincial Highway 26 from Eluanbi to Jialeshui.
Along the section of Provincial Highway 26 from Gangzai to Xuhai, there were often landslides when water washed down soil and stone from the mountainside. But thanks to the efforts of the Fenggang Public Works Section, native chaste trees, and cobblestones from the local coastline, have been used to build a blind drain, so that now the road is both scenic and safe.
There are few settlements around Jialeshui beach and little light pollution, so it is a great place to gaze up at the stars.
The Alangyi Historic Trail runs from Daren in Taitung County to Xuhai in Pingtung. It follows one of the few sections of coast in Taiwan where there has been no highway development. (photo by Kent Chuang)
You can admire the majestic scenery of the Pacific Ocean at close range from the Alangyi Historic Trail.