In 2004, Jasmine Li was river tracing when she discovered a mysterious place as her team reached the source of the southern branch of the Hairaro River. After crossing Mt. Malijianan, they looked down into the distance and saw a broad rolling slope of grassland at the foot of the mountain. The gentle topography and the tranquil river flowing through the valley made for a sight of breathtaking beauty, and Li and her party named this place “Tanxi Valley” (literally “Sighing Valley”). Eighteen years later, Howard Cheng, director of Island of Mountains, invited Li to go with him back to Tanxi Valley, but Li refused, explaining: “Time is limited, so I never go back to places I’ve already visited.”

What they live for

Cheng, who likewise refuses to replicate storylines and lives to make films, finally somehow persuaded Li to go. The team spent seven days trekking into the mountains, three days filming, and four days for their return journey, in what was the longest filming trip yet for Island of Mountains.

But after filming Tanxi Valley, Li said to Cheng: “Howard, for me Tanxi Valley is in the past tense.” Rather than look back at the past, why not focus on the current canyoneering project? The production crew set off again, this time to the Chujian River in Hualien, a place marked by rugged terrain with strangely shaped rocks. Traveling with them were Taiwanese adventurer Chang Yuan-chih and mountaineer Lu Chung-han.

To speed up the journey, Jasmine Li rapidly assessed the topography and boldly asked Chang to attach ropes to a nearly vertical cliff face so that the canyoneering team could rapidly cross the mountain before descending into the deep valley. It was during this experience that Li said to Cheng: “This is the present tense that I live for.”

Season 2 of Island of Mountains focuses on exploring the inner worlds and challenges of the featured mountaineers. (courtesy of PTS)

Documenting mountain journeys

Season 1 of Island of Mountains featured people testing their limits to the extreme and conveyed a spirit of adventure. When it was broadcast, the epic filming technique and penetrating narrative style moved many mountain lovers to tears.

Howard Cheng never expected the show to get the tremendous response that it did. Before filming for Season 1 began, producer Chan Wei-hsiung sought out the scholarly-looking Cheng, who had no mountaineering experience at all, to be the director. The production crew of more than 20 people had to carry all their filming equipment deep into the mountains to record the program’s stories. As filming progressed, Cheng ultimately also felt the appeal of Taiwan’s highlands: “I gradually came to understand this group of adventurers—not only their contributions to Taiwan but also their passion with respect to their own lives.”

The first season of Island of Mountains focused on the mountains themselves, while the second describes the highland stories of five outstanding mountaineers, including Lu Chung-han, who has successfully scaled several peaks over 8,000 meters without oxygen; Taiwan canyoneering pioneer Jasmine Li; Chang Wei-kuo, an expert in mountaineering techniques; Bunun singer Tulbus Mangququ, a Golden Melody Award nominee for indigenous-language music; and the female Bunun mountain guide Umav Balalavi. “I wanted to make something that people have never seen before.” Cheng hopes that Season 2 will be even better than Season 1, and that will surpass his previous work, a desire which in itself demonstrates a spirit of adventure.

Director Howard Cheng (front) went all out in filming the second season, taking on all kinds of difficult climbs with the mountaineers. Besides documenting their stories, he also transcended himself.

Jasmine Li aspires to explore ever-deeper canyons, and is always on her way to the next river valley.

Leading lady of canyoneering

Jasmine Li, known as a pioneer of canyoneering in Taiwan, who features in Season 2, not only explores river valleys herself, but has also introduced systematic instruction in canyoneering from abroad. She previously concentrated on river tracing and only later took up canyoneering. When ascending a river valley during river tracing, if she encountered a slippery rock face or sheer cliff that she couldn’t climb up, she had to make a detour at a higher level, and she says: “When making a detour, I was always curious about what was below and wanted to see it!” This difference caused her to fall in love with canyoneering.

However, she says self-deprecatingly: “Canyoneering is like locked room mystery game: the process is in fact one of putting yourself in desperate situations and then getting yourself out of them.”

Jasmine Li’s return to “Tanxi Valley” was also an exploration of her inner self.

While tracing the Hairaro River, Jasmine Li discovered a mysterious and beautiful setting that was given the name “Tanxi Valley.”

The 8,000 meter man

Lu Chung-han, who has successfully ascended peaks of over 8,000 meters several times, in 2022 reached the world’s third highest peak—the 8,586-meter-tall Kangchenjunga—without oxygen, setting a new record for Taiwanese climbers. However, he paid a huge price for this achievement. “That was the end of my high mountain career.” He holds out his fingers, which have turned black from frostbite, and says firmly: “I don’t want to get frostbite again!”

Lu experienced blackouts due to lack of oxygen, because he had neglected to acclimate himself to high altitudes before climbing to the peak. After descending to 8,000 meters he began ascending again and suffered a complete blackout. Throughout the night he was only vaguely conscious, like an out-of-body experience: “For more than eight hours I had no idea what I was doing.”

For the segment featuring this man seen as a mountaineering legend in Taiwan, Island of Mountains faithfully recorded Lu’s confessions about his oxygen-free climbs over 8,000 meters and his ideas about adventure education. Howard Cheng reveals some behind-the-scenes information: “The trek along the Northeast Ridge, leading to Yushan East Peak, later became an important axis of the narrative.” The production crew took on the challenge of the East Peak, one of the “Harsh Ten” subgroup of Taiwan’s famous “100 Peaks,” and the director personally took part, scrambling hand over foot along a narrow ridge line with precipitous drops on both sides. Cheng admits: “This was the most terrifying experience in my life.”

Lu Chung-han led director Howard Cheng along the ridge leading to Yushan’s East Peak. Cheng said it was the most terrifying experience of his life.

Cinematic production values

Season 2 of Island of Mountains was made to movie-standard production values, with top people chosen for the production team, lighting, and soundtrack. Cheng hired a different film score composer for each of the four episodes, and gave them complete freedom to interpret the episode as they wished. He says: “For this season we tried a different approach and had a lot of fun with the soundtrack.”

Cheng also took great pains to get the featured individuals to reveal their inner worlds. “In the past when filming in the lowlands I would get extremely anxious if I saw rain clouds, but when making Island of Mountains when I saw banks of clouds I seized the opportunity to get these adventurers to talk about what was on their minds.” Before filming Cheng always got the featured individuals to take a few drinks before talking about their real inner feelings. “Up in the mountains I always carried my own supply of liquor, and for this second season I even brought two bottles, so no doubt my interview technique improved compared to the first season,” he quips.

Lu Chung-han is one of the small number of Taiwanese in the 8,000-meter club.

What drives them?

By taking on the challenge of an 8,000-meter mountain or rappelling deep into a river valley, these adventurers test their own limits as they pursue the philosophy of “this is what I live for.” Many people wonder what drives them to do what they do. Jasmine Li says: “I always want to find an even deeper canyon. Such places are like another world and offer sights you can’t see in normal life. I want to make this scenery accessible to everyone.” Since having such a close brush with death, Lu Chung-han’s worldview has undergone a dramatic change, and he celebrates having been able to return home alive and aims to strengthen adventure education in Taiwan.

The profiles of the people featured in Island of Mountains aim to fill in the blank spaces in Taiwan’s adventure culture and risk-taking capacity building. Jasmine Li avers that outdoor sports are an expression of a country’s power and economic capability, so we should not be complacent.

In recent years Li has been working to develop Taiwan’s canyoneering ecosystem. “Taiwan has great canyoneering routes. For instance, Kaohsiung’s Malishan River is a fantastic place. Also, Taiji Canyon [in Nantou County] is like a movie set, and even foreigners are dumbstruck when they see it.” Canyoneering is possible in Taiwan year-round and travel is convenient, so already a complete set of canyoneering routes have been developed. “When these routes are well developed and enjoyable, people will keep coming back, the routes will receive certification, and the infrastructure in the river valleys will become increasingly complete,” says Li.

Before airing Season 2 of Island of Mountains, PTS held an exhibition at which documents about mountaineering were displayed and leading personalities from the show gave lectures and held workshops. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)

Beyond adventure

Whenever there is an accident in the mountains, doubts are raised about mountaineering in Taiwanese society. Howard Cheng says: “A lot of the differing opinions are based on misunderstanding. In fact, adventure activities are very normal in Europe and North America. A lot of people in the UK engage in mountaineering, and once many people are involved, the search and rescue system naturally becomes more extensive.” When Cheng was filming Island of Mountains, the production crew joined the adventurers in testing their own limits and they did everything that the featured individuals did. Through personal experience, Cheng gradually came to understand what these people are doing, and what they want to do for Taiwan. “People who are not involved think it’s dangerous, but these people have evaluated their own abilities, undertaken meticulous planning, and carry all the right equipment, and they know that they will come back alive.”

Filming Island of Mountains has created greater understanding between people and introduced fascinating adventure culture. Cheng hopes that through this program the public will come to better understand these adventurers. “They are helping Taiwan to push the envelope of adventure and are making an enormous contribution to Taiwan’s society. I have been very lucky to be able to film these people and the mountains of Taiwan.”

The program’s two seasons offer viewers moving stories of Taiwan’s highlands and adventurers, enabling us to appreciate the wonders of nature and understand why these people “live for mountaineering.”

Taiwan is an island of mountains, with beautiful high-altitude scenery that captivates mountain lovers. (photo by Kao Chi-shun, courtesy of PTS)