Taipei County's mountains, rivers and coastline are dotted with small towns and villages that are in the process of preserving (or reinventing) their distinctive parochial identities for the consumption of tourists from the big smoke on short weekend getaways. In the hope of further boosting this process, the Taipei County Government has launched an ambitious project comprising 19 cultural festivals running through the year to give these locations center stage in Taiwan's tourism calendar.
Following popular events such as Wulai's (烏來) hot spring and cherry blossom festival and Pinghsi's (平溪) sky lantern festival, weekend tourists can now look forward to Sanhsia's (三峽) indigo-dye and Shihmen's (石門) kite festivals for the coming summer holiday season. Next month, tea lovers are invited to explore picturesque tea plantations and gain first-hand experience on tea-making in Pinglin (坪林) and Shihding (石碇), famed for their paochung (包種) and eastern beauty (東方美人) teas respectively. Ecological guided tours will further take visitors deep into the areas' natural treasures on non-polluting bike rides.
The next festivity in line is the drum festival at Sinjhuang (新莊) starting this weekend, which looks back to the ancient artistry and craftsmanship preserved by the Hsiang Ren He drum factory (?仁和鐘鼓廠), and is also the occasion for musical performances by local percussion groups.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TAIPEI COUNTY GOVERNMENT
The month-long bamboo and stone art festival at Pali (八里竹石藝術節) will also get started next month at the Shihsanhang Museum of Archeology (十三行博物館) where Pali's tradition of bamboo and stone sculpture art will be joined by Campo's touring art carnival featuring a outdoor fair sporting handmade novelties and indie music concerts starring sitar outfit Siyu Sitar (西尤), KbN (凱比鳥), The Hakka Band (好客樂團) and a troupe of DJs.
A one-day tour will give a comprehensive view of the area's natural and cultural heritage to participants who can enjoy the quasi-countryside fun of harvesting bamboo shoots, tracing the history of local stone trade developed around Guanyin Mountain (觀音山) since the Qing Dynasty and gain first-hand knowledge of the ecological system of the wetland reserve Watzuwei (挖子尾).
For more free-spirited holiday-goers, the 15km-long bike trail along the left bank of Tamsui River (淡水河) from Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋) to the Eight Immortals Theme Park (八仙樂園) provides both weekend exercises and uninterrupted vistas of river scenes and mountains. Cyclists can take a rest and relax in the natural comfort of the Watzuwei conservation area with its protected Kandelia candel mangrove habitat and migratory birds or watch the sun go down from riverside cafes. Sporty bikers can venture across the Guandu Bridge for another 15km-long bike ride from Guandu, to Tanhai (淡海).
For more information visit www.culture.tpc.gov.tw.
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