Professional and amateur rafters from around the world found relief from the heat last weekend while competing in the International Siouguluan River Rafting Race, which marked the official opening of the whitewater-rafting season in Taiwan.
Some 200 rafts including crews from the US, France, Singapore, Japan and Australia made their way down a 22km stretch of the Siouguluan River (秀姑鑾溪) in Hualien County. Descending 65m over more than 20 sets of rapids, paddlers experienced a more dramatic run this year due to heavy rainfall last month.
According to an East Coast National Scenic Area Administration (ECNSAA) representative, Lin Su-ling (
PHOTO COURTESY OF EAST COAST NATIONAL SCENIC AREA ADMINISTRATION
The longest river in eastern Taiwan, Siouguluan is also the most commercialized rafting site. Offering some of the island's most attractive scenery, the run begins in Rueisuei cutting through the Coastal Mountain range to finish at Changhong (rainbow) Bridge. While the ocean and mountainous region provide for spectacular views, some experienced rafters find the course too easy.
"It has potential but it's not very demanding. It's definitely the scenery that makes it worth it. It's a beautiful trip, with strange rock formations and palm trees," said Mel Visser a South African national who was asked to perform in a Kayak demonstration before the race began on Saturday.
As a seasoned rafter, he said he prefers more challenging routes, such as Fushan in Wulai, but that Siouguluan provides an ideal place for beginners. The rapids at Siouguluan, depending on the amount of water in the river, range from one to three (based on a scale of one to six, with six being the most difficult to navigate).
The rafting season lasts from April through to October in Taiwan, although it is possible to go any time of the year. Trips on the Siouguluan River depart daily from 7am to 12pm and take three to four hours to complete including a rest stop at Chimei. Depending on the rafting company, prices range from NT$600 to NT$1000 per person and include equipment rental, lunch, insurance, and transportation to and from Hualien City.
The second most popular rafting venue after Siouguluan is the shorter 12km Laonung River (
Information on transportation, accommodation, and contact numbers of various rafting companies in Hualien county can be accessed online at http://www.eastcoast-nsa.gov.tw. Information on rafting in Kaosiung county can be obtained by contacting the Maolin National Scenic Area Administration at (07) 6801488. Details on shorter and less commercialized routes in Taipei county are available at http://rafting.hopto.org.
It’s always a pleasure to see something one has long advocated slowly become reality. The late August visit of a delegation to the Philippines led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-ching (黃昭欽), Chair of Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council vice president, Lotta Danielsson, was yet another example of how the two nations are drawing closer together. The security threat from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), along with their complementary economies, is finally fostering growth in ties. Interestingly, officials from both sides often refer to a shared Austronesian heritage when arguing for
The Nuremberg trials have inspired filmmakers before, from Stanley Kramer’s 1961 drama to the 2000 television miniseries with Alec Baldwin and Brian Cox. But for the latest take, Nuremberg, writer-director James Vanderbilt focuses on a lesser-known figure: The US Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley, who after the war was assigned to supervise and evaluate captured Nazi leaders to ensure they were fit for trial (and also keep them alive). But his is a name that had been largely forgotten: He wasn’t even a character in the miniseries. Kelley, portrayed in the film by Rami Malek, was an ambitious sort who saw in
Nov.10 to Nov.16 As he moved a large stone that had fallen from a truck near his field, 65-year-old Lin Yuan (林淵) felt a sudden urge. He fetched his tools and began to carve. The recently retired farmer had been feeling restless after a lifetime of hard labor in Yuchi Township (魚池), Nantou County. His first piece, Stone Fairy Maiden (石仙姑), completed in 1977, was reportedly a representation of his late wife. This version of how Lin began his late-life art career is recorded in Nantou County historian Teng Hsiang-yang’s (鄧相揚) 2009 biography of him. His expressive work eventually caught the attention
Late last month the Executive Yuan approved a proposal from the Ministry of Labor to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers. The industry, surveys said, was short 6,600 laborers. In reality, it is already heavily using illegal foreign workers — foreign wives of foreign residents who cannot work, runaways and illegally moonlighting factory workers. The proposal thus merely legalizes what already exists. The government could generate a similar legal labor supply simply by legalizing moonlighting and permitting spouses of legal residents to work legally on their current visa. But after 30 years of advocating for that reform,
RSS