chinaadventure (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} chinaadventure) wrote,@ 2006-06-04 00:13:00 |
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Tainan - Dragon Boat Festival and Alishan
Last Wednesday we had a day off from classes in honor of the Dragon Boat Festival, which has two main traditional elements: the dragon boat races and making zongzi (rice dumplings). On the day of the festival I went with two classmates to the river to cheer on my friend Gona, who was a member of the Chinese Language Center's dragon boat racing team. The team, entirely comprised of foreigners, finished third in the races, which prompted one of my classmates to remark, "Wow, Gona's arm is really powerful!"
I, on the other hand, had much less success at making zongzi. The day before the festival, I went to a zongzi-wrapping activity at the language center, where there were a lot of students in attendance and, it turned out, several reporters and photographers as well. Assuming they were from the school newspaper, I readily answered some questions about where I was from, how long I had studied Chinese, and how long it took me to wrap one zongzi. I guessed ten minutes, since I periodically had to rewrap my zongzi (an experienced Taiwanese cook can wrap one in less than thirty seconds). I left the activity and didn't think about it again until the following afternoon when my friend Shawn announced that he saw my picture in the United Daily. I asked if that was the name of the student paper; he said, "Oh no, I think everyone in Tainan reads this paper!" I quickly bought a copy for myself and, sure enough, there was my name and picture under the enormous headline "Wrapping Zongzi: Foreigners are so Confused! It takes some people ten minutes just to wrap one!"
In need of a change of scenery after the zongzi-making, I spent Friday and Saturday with a classmate hiking in Alishan, which is perhaps Taiwan's most famous hiking area. One highlight of a trip to Alishan is a ride on the alpine train, one of very few in the world, which climbs slowly from the flatlands to an altitude of over 2000 meters at the top of the mountain. During the three-hour journey, passengers can watch the scenery change from the tropical zone of the flatlands to the subtropical and finally temperate zone as the train nears the peak. The high point of the trip is the last section of track, where the train is alternately pushed and pulled up the side of the mountain on a series of switchbacks called a "Z-shaped track."
Another of Alishan's highlights is the view of the sunrise from the top of the mountain, which unfortunately we missed because of heavy rain. Still, the abundance of hiking trails more than made up for it. During our stay, my classmate and I were able to visit the site of a 3000-year-old "sacred tree," the magnolia garden, and the Two Sisters Ponds, supposedly named for two sisters from the Tsou aboriginal tribe who dove into the ponds after falling in love with the same man. We also toured the charming town of Fenqihu about an hour's drive down the mountain from Alishan. I left Alishan worn out from hiking but grateful for the opportunity to see another of Taiwan's famous sites.
Photos from the Dragon Boat Festival: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a
Photos from Alishan: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a
Last Wednesday we had a day off from classes in honor of the Dragon Boat Festival, which has two main traditional elements: the dragon boat races and making zongzi (rice dumplings). On the day of the festival I went with two classmates to the river to cheer on my friend Gona, who was a member of the Chinese Language Center's dragon boat racing team. The team, entirely comprised of foreigners, finished third in the races, which prompted one of my classmates to remark, "Wow, Gona's arm is really powerful!"
I, on the other hand, had much less success at making zongzi. The day before the festival, I went to a zongzi-wrapping activity at the language center, where there were a lot of students in attendance and, it turned out, several reporters and photographers as well. Assuming they were from the school newspaper, I readily answered some questions about where I was from, how long I had studied Chinese, and how long it took me to wrap one zongzi. I guessed ten minutes, since I periodically had to rewrap my zongzi (an experienced Taiwanese cook can wrap one in less than thirty seconds). I left the activity and didn't think about it again until the following afternoon when my friend Shawn announced that he saw my picture in the United Daily. I asked if that was the name of the student paper; he said, "Oh no, I think everyone in Tainan reads this paper!" I quickly bought a copy for myself and, sure enough, there was my name and picture under the enormous headline "Wrapping Zongzi: Foreigners are so Confused! It takes some people ten minutes just to wrap one!"
In need of a change of scenery after the zongzi-making, I spent Friday and Saturday with a classmate hiking in Alishan, which is perhaps Taiwan's most famous hiking area. One highlight of a trip to Alishan is a ride on the alpine train, one of very few in the world, which climbs slowly from the flatlands to an altitude of over 2000 meters at the top of the mountain. During the three-hour journey, passengers can watch the scenery change from the tropical zone of the flatlands to the subtropical and finally temperate zone as the train nears the peak. The high point of the trip is the last section of track, where the train is alternately pushed and pulled up the side of the mountain on a series of switchbacks called a "Z-shaped track."
Another of Alishan's highlights is the view of the sunrise from the top of the mountain, which unfortunately we missed because of heavy rain. Still, the abundance of hiking trails more than made up for it. During our stay, my classmate and I were able to visit the site of a 3000-year-old "sacred tree," the magnolia garden, and the Two Sisters Ponds, supposedly named for two sisters from the Tsou aboriginal tribe who dove into the ponds after falling in love with the same man. We also toured the charming town of Fenqihu about an hour's drive down the mountain from Alishan. I left Alishan worn out from hiking but grateful for the opportunity to see another of Taiwan's famous sites.
Photos from the Dragon Boat Festival: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a
Photos from Alishan: http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a
