Visiting the palace of the gods in Taiwan

Visiting the palace of the gods in Taiwan

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Taipei

For many of us, high-tech Taiwan is simply a world famous
producer of manufactured goods. We know the label all too well,
and some of us younger souls are now familiar with it as the land
of Asian boy band F4, but our thoughts do not exactly turn to it
as a place to visit and see the sights.

Not that we would know what to look for anyway.

My own narrow impression of this island changed thanks to a
week spent touring Taiwan's tourist destinations.

It turned out to be a beautiful island, rich in scenic
panoramas and wonderful attractions which should be part of any
travel itinerary in Asia.

Along with 18 other reporters from Indonesia, I took my seat
on Taiwan-based airliner China Airlines on the trip from Jakarta
to Taipei. We were part of tour sponsored by the government of
Taiwan to show the island's recovery after the outbreak of Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) earlier this year.

Taiwan was classified as free from the disease on July, 5,
when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak
contained worldwide.

Although tourism is not the prime mover economic mover in the
country, the government shouldered a hefty US$10 million campaign
to help its tourism industry recuperate from the ravages of SARS.

In Taipei, we were welcomed at our eye-catching hotel, painted
in red and built in the style of an old wooden Chinese temple.

A giant welcome board in front of the hotel assured us that we
were receiving first-class treatment, as it proclaimed the visit
of the president of Panama.

We then got to eat lunch at a prestigious restaurant in the
small town of Hualien, reportedly a favorite dining spot for
Taiwan president Chen Shui-bian.

But all this surfeit of royal treatment was no comparison to
getting to see the beauty of Taiwan for myself.

High mountains, deep gorges, rushing streams, tranquil
coastlines and lakes make this a majestic palace of the gods, a
perfect place for poets to recite their awe to wonderful and
breath-taking beauty of the nature.

Taiwan is a relatively young island, created about four
million years ago by a collision of tectonic plates. It hosts two
of the world's largest continental plates, the Eurasian plate and
largest oceanic plate, the Philippine plate, fostering that
special geographic environment and a string of peaks along the
central mountain range.

Locals say that such beauty inspired ancient Portuguese
mariners who, spying Taiwan's mountainous landscape with an
apparent paucity of flatlands, sighed in awe and utter the name
by which it was known for centuries, "Ihla Formosa" (beautiful
island).

Mountains occupy 65 percent of its land area of 36,000 square
kilometers and more than 200 peaks soar above 3,000 meters due to
the ever-changing tectonic activities. The highest of these
mountains is Yushan, or Mount Jade, which reaches up to 3,952
meters, the highest in northeast Asia, and is also considered the
symbol of Taiwan's indomitable spirit.

With a population of 21.8 million, it has six national parks:
Kenting, Yushan, Yangmingshan, Taroko, Shei-Pa and Kinmen.

We had the opportunity to visit Taroko and Kenting. Taroko
Gorge, which is located in eastern central Taiwan, near the city
of Hualien, is one of the best-known natural attractions in
Taiwan, boasting vast colorful marble layers and a V-shaped
gorge.

The scenery of the gorge is dominated by sheer cliff walls
that are about a thousand meters high and just 10 meters apart at
the narrowest point, with the gushing crystal waters of the Liwu
River far below.

The tourist guide said such spectacular scenery resulted fromn
counteracting natural forces: the uprising of the sea floor 70
million years ago, followed by further uplifting caused by
tectonic activities some two million years ago. Combined with
this was the erosive power of the Liwu River cutting through the
rising marble to create the V-shaped narrow Taroko Gorge.

It was not only the natural wonders that stunned us. The hard-
working people of Taiwan have carved a remarkable 20 kilometers
of road into the side of the gorge. They have even bored several
kilometers of tunnels into the gorge to make it more accessible
to tourists.

Tour guide Sandra said that Taiwan soldiers had built the road
and tunnels with explosives following the end of war to free
Taiwan from Japan in 1947.

Zipping through the roads and tunnels while enjoying the
scenery of the deep gorge and colorful marble walls was a truly
awesome experience, showing the harmony of blending natural
wonders with human ingenuity and determination.

"Such colorful, pristine walls won't be safe in Indonesia
because they will be vandalized by idiots who will immediately
litter the place with garbage," one of our group murmured.

It's true that many Indonesians, so accustomed to treating
their own natural wonders with contempt, would be surprised by
the example of Taiwan's people, confined to a small island and
learning to give it respect.

Kenting National Park, on the country's southernmost tip, is
a mix of natural wonders, ecological preservation, pasturelands
and points of historical interest.

Tour guide John said that the park was not only dedicated to
recreational purposes, drawing from 4,000 to 10,000 visitors a
day, but also environmental research.

"The park hosts 300 species of bird, 18 species of mammals,
300 species of coral reef, 800 species of tropical fish, and
there are strictly preserved," he said.

A noticeboard placed on the beach of a coral islet --
nicknamed Nixon's head for its resemblance to the craggy visage
of the former U.S. president -- testifies to the importance of
natural resources to the people of Taiwan.

"Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures," it
warns.

The enduring lesson for us visitors was that, unlike back
home, the local population actually takes the words to heart.