114 Travel | Taiwan
© Silks Taroko
The road through Taroko Gorge was cut with simple tools by Nationalist soldiers after the retreat to Taiwan from China .
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This tunnel is much more than just a modern bypass for the narrow mountain roads that once hugged the mountain flanks high above ; it ’ s a symbolic link between the island ’ s industrialised west , home to 98 per cent of Taiwan ’ s population , and the wind-whipped , mountainous east , where spirits and legends linger in collective memories .
The tunnel beneath the Snow Mountains has brought much-needed tourism from the big city and beyond to the east , introducing Taiwanese and international visitors to some of Taiwan ’ s most spectacular natural beauty .
“ I love driving through this tunnel ,” says my content driver as he hums along to a Teresa Teng classic from the 1980s . “ It ’ s peaceful , it ’ s fast and it ’ s much safer than the old routes through the mountains .” He smiles and points ahead . “ And here comes my favourite part …”
With that little hint of what is to come , we suddenly burst out into the startling sunshine of northeastern Taiwan . Here , the residential tower blocks , multi-storey shopping malls and highway overpasses have been replaced with a landscape as green as a billiard table , punctuated only by low-rise villages snuggled into undulating fields . In the distance , Turtle Island , a local icon , emerges from banks of morning mist . The contrast from the city couldn ’ t be more extreme .
There ’ s a local saying in Yilan : “ Be careful where you spit your seeds or you ’ ll wake to an orchard .” The soils southeast of the mountains are fertile and rich , and from the risen highway , which cuts across the landscape like a concrete python , visitors are greeted by endless emerald-green rice stalks , their tips swaying with the whims of the wind . In the distance , purple mountains loom ; in their shadows are manicured hamlets and ancient Taoist temples , stained with generations of incense smoke .
Visitors come to Yilan to commune with a sense of nature that ’ s tricky to access in the big smoke . The east coast offers respite from the bustle of life in the capital , a chance to indulge in the unique dishes available in the rural village eateries , and even opportunities to surf at Honeymoon Bay or to spy pods of dolphins and migrating whales in the shallows of the Pacific .
This is the land of the Kavalan , one of Taiwan ’ s aboriginal communities , who are said to have arrived from distant lands by sea . It was their name , which means ‘ flatland people ’, that eventually morphed into ‘ Yilan ’, and their folk culture is celebrated at an annual folklore and cultural festival held in Yilan City .
Perched on the banks of the Lanyang River , Yilan City is home to bustling farmers ’ markets , timeless temples and villages untouched by the surge of modernity . It ’ s a place where the Taiwanese come to remember their past ; each year , thousands attend events like the Dongshan River Water Festival , or visit the National Centre for