Gazing upon fields of fertilizer is not usually considered a tourist activity, but government agencies in Hualien and Taitung counties are trying to make it one with the 2008 Huatung Rift Valley Corridor Through the Ocean of Flowers (2008花東縱谷花海廊道) festival that was officially launched last weekend. In the past, this annual event was prosaically named the Rape Flower Festival (油菜花季) after the predominate flower, and was organized separately by the Hualien and Taitung county governments. This year, under the auspices of the East Rift Valley Scenic Area Administration (花東縱谷國家風景區管理處), the event draws on the resources of both counties to cover an area of 7,000 hectares with rape flowers, chrysanthemums and, to a lesser extent, sun flowers.
Growing rape flowers after the harvest is a normal part of Taiwanese agricultural practice. The plants act as organic fertilizer: After they bloom, they are plowed back into the earth to decompose, producing all kinds of nutrients for the rice crop that follows.
For the month or so when they are in bloom, though, they create a seasonal show with fields of small yellow flowers stretching into the distance. For anyone traveling along the Huatung Rift Valley, especially by Provincial Highway 9 (台9線公路) or the East Coast Line, the flowers are a welcome sight.
PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLOMEW, TAIPEI TIMES
This year's efforts to show off the event have gone further than ever. Many local farmers associations gave out subsidies for planting chrysanthemums to give the scene more color. In some areas, especially around the townships of Chishang (池上) and Kuanshan (關山), the scene can be quite amazing.
"The cost of doing this is substantial," Peng Yang-chang (彭德昌), a volunteer guide with the scenic area administration said, "but it is worth it to have something really spectacular to show tourists."
Unfortunately, relying on local farmers associations to implement the planting means that the ocean of flowers can be a bit patchy, and many areas along the route - especially in Hualien - are marred or completely replaced by quarries, paper factories and unsightly structures required for mechanized, modern agriculture, all of which remain the lifeblood of the area's economy.
PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLOMEW, TAIPEI TIMES
Besides flowers, the Huatung Rift Valley has much to offer, like trekking to hot springs. The rape flowers and chrysanthemums, which were planted in late September, are currently at their peak, and, according to Peng, plowing this rich source of nutrients back into the ground will begin just prior to the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 7. "In some areas, where the farmers will be keeping the fields fallow, the flowers will remain longer," he said.
Some of the farmers associations have gone further than others in buying into the Ocean of Flowers idea. The Fuli Farmers Association (富里農會) in Hualien County has set up a formal, multicolored garden on land leased from local farmers.
Given that the fields of flowers stretch over 100km of road between Hualien and Taitung, transport is an issue for visitors. Many local tour companies have day trips for around NT$1,000 that take in the main sights. Multi-day tours usually feature stays at the area's hot spring hotels. But the best way to really appreciate the scenery is on a bicycle. These can be rented through local bicycle rental shops, or at rental outlets of the Cycling Lifestyle Foundation (財團法人自行車新文化基金會), founded by the Giant bicycle company. A trip from Kuanshan to Chishang is highly recommended, and at a gentle pace will take a day. A 12km ride on the Kuanshan cycle path is also a good choice for less ambitious cyclists.
PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLOMEW, TAIPEI TIMES
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist
A fossil jawbone found by a British girl and her father on a beach in Somerset, England belongs to a gigantic marine reptile dating to 202 million years ago that appears to have been among the largest animals ever on Earth. Researchers said on Wednesday the bone, called a surangular, was from a type of ocean-going reptile called an ichthyosaur. Based on its dimensions compared to the same bone in closely related ichthyosaurs, the researchers estimated that the Triassic Period creature, which they named Ichthyotitan severnensis, was between 22-26 meters long. That would make it perhaps the largest-known marine reptile and would