Going back in time by rail

There's a common misconception that escaping the smog of Taipei is a prolonged hassle if you rely on trains and buses -- but a day trip to Neiwan in Hsinchu County can easily soften even the most persistent public transportation pessimist.

The Neiwan Line is one of three Taiwan Rail Administration lines that reach into the island's interior. Originally serving the mining and timber industries, these "small lines" as they're called now happily shuttle tourists to some of the nation's more quaint locations.

And of these tourist-trod townships, perhaps none are worth a visit more than Neiwan.

While other townships in Taiwan hold festivals centered around kites, rocks and even windsocks to draw tourists, Neiwan's quiet charm suffices. It is this charm that has most famously drawn filmmakers to the township. Neiwan has provided the backdrop for several films, including Black Skin and White Teeth (黑皮與白牙), My Mother's Tea House (春秋茶室) and Wu Nien-jen's Duo-Sang (多桑), about an elderly Taiwanese obasan who retains a strong emotional tie to her Japanese youth.

It's no surprise then that Wu chose to shoot his film in Neiwan, as the town itself retains a strong Japanese feel. During the Japanese occupation when the mountainsides surrounding the township were being pillaged of hardwoods, occupying soldiers found the local climate to be similar to Japan's Kyushu and therefore conducive to growing cherry trees. Not long afterward, enough of the trees were planted to earn Neiwan the moniker "city of cherry blossoms" (櫻花之都), and blanket the township in vivid pink blossoms at the end of winter.

Another floral attraction is found in mid-winter, when you'd least expect to see blossoms. Whole fields turn from green to bright yellow with the blooming of rapeseed flowers planted by farmers to fertilize their fields for spring.

This time of year, however, the main visual attraction is lightning bugs. In the 1970s, when the area became famous for them, huge clouds of the luminescent bugs would light up the forest and river valley at mid-evening. But even as scientists went to work classifying the various types (the area is home to at least six kinds of lightning bug), advances in pesticides and the aforementioned deforestation began decimating their numbers.

Nowadays, while there aren't enough to make the night bright, there are enough to brighten the spirits of young couples, who are happy to stroll hand-in-hand into the evening countryside in search of them.

It's Neiwan's natural beauty that is its biggest draw and this asset has been accentuated by several trails that have been raked across the mountainsides. The Taisan Trail (台三步道), as its name suggests, follows Taiwan's route three before cutting across the valley by way of a harrowing footbridge (攀龍吊橋), suspended hundreds of meters above the riverbed. It then arcs around the hillsides above the township to the Neiwan Footbridge ( 內灣吊橋) and into town.

Other popular -- and well paved -- trails are the Dachidong trail (大旗崠步道), the Chiling trail (騎步道) and the Teahouse trail (茶亭古道), all of which are less than 2km in length and can be walked leisurely within a couple hours. Besides the panoramic vistas, the highlights along each of these trails are waterfalls, bamboo forests and ancient stone structures, including the teahouse, sticky rice bridges (糯米 橋) and Yang family stone house.