THE BEST ROUTES
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S
Riding the
A Trip through the Southeast Following Highway No. 9
From the mountains of Yangmingshan to the rocky cliffs along the north and northeastern coast, there
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are many fine road trips within just an hour or two of downtown Taipei. But for those with a little more time to spare, a truly sublime journey is to travel along the 170-kilometer stretch of Provincial Highway No. 9 between Hualien and Taitung cities in eastern Taiwan. By Mark Caltonhill
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of a pair of arteries connecting the two county capitals (the other, Hwy No. 11, follows the coast), No. 9’s tranquility and rural beauty derive from the relative economic underdevelopment of the long north-south rif t valley it traverses. This does not mean there are not plenty of things to see and do, however, and the following is merely a brief introduction to a few of them. As the region has been inhabited – perhaps continuously, perhaps on and off – since around 6,000 years ago, the logical place to start (or f inish for those traveling north to south) is the National Museum of Prehistory (www.nmp.gov.tw) in the southern suburbs of Taitung City. Location of this important and interesting institution so far from the nation’s capital stems from the discovery of ancient graves during construction of Taitung’s new railway station in the Beinan area, for which the culture was named. A ticket gives entry to both museum (which, with sections introducing all of Taiwan’s major archaeological sites, its current indigenous ethnicities, and its natural environment, deserves at least a day) and the burial site in the Beinan Cultural Park. If spending a night in Taitung City, one evening hotspot is the Tiehua Music Village (26, Lane 135, Xinsheng Rd., Taitung) near the now-disused railway station in the old city
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Travel in Taiwan
center. Performances by local artists start at 8 pm Thursdays through Saturdays and 4 pm on Sundays, with an open-mike session starting at 8 pm on Wednesdays. Foreigners with their passports and students with IDs get a discount on their f irst drink. In good weather people stage picnics on the lawn, and local-produce and handicraf t stalls are set up around the edge.
HEADING
north from the city, and before formally starting your journey on
Hwy 9, those with a liking for weird geology can visit the Liji Moonscape World near Liji Village, of ten referred to in English
as the Liji Badlands, created by tectonic movements and erosion. (To reach Liji, follow Taitung County Road No. 45 north from Taitung). Those still not surfeited on matters pertaining to prehistory can stop at the Beinan Site near Taitung Railway Station to take a look at the crescent-shaped stone pillar that points – like the feet of the skeletons in the ancient graves – in the direction of the dominating 1,190-meter-high Dulan Mountain. As one enters the East Rif t Valley National Scenic Area on Hwy 9, local seasonal produce is sold at roadside: custard apples (“Buddha heads”) in autumn, for example, or pineapples