Pickling transforms the flavor of vegetables, sealing in the flavor of time. By exploring the pickled vegetables of a place, you can not only understand the local terroir, you can hear the stories of the people and their foods. From harvesting to cleaning to seasoning to pickling to sun-drying, there is no room for carelessness in any step of the process, which has become a major part of local people’s lives.
Engaging in diplomacy is a lot like nurturing friendships. Apart from putting one’s best foot forward and making friendly overtures, it also requires a common vocabulary. Drumming, meanwhile, is like a special password for crossing cultures. It should come as no surprise, then, that the Ten Drum Art Percussion Group excels at citizen diplomacy.
People living in coastal areas pickle fresh seafood with salt, and just a single piece of pickled seafood is enough to flavor a whole bowl of rice, traditionally supplying the needs of the simple daily lives of ordinary people. Meanwhile mullet roe, which was once only consumed at banquets or at the Lunar New Year, symbolizes abundance.
Paper artist Hung Hsinfu used a paper lantern themed for the Year of the Dog to rewrite the history of the materials used in Taiwan for Lantern Festival hand lanterns. In recent years he has also used precise and sophisticated lines to produce paper sculptures of Taiwanese endemic species.
In the Taiwan of 40 to 50 years ago, the best-selling summertime treat was “four fruit ice,” which was made by taking a big bowl of shaved ice and covering it with a compote typically consisting of shredded papaya, candied plums and dried carambola. Old folks one and all associate this treat with happy memories. Taiwan produces fruits in huge quantities and bewildering variety.
Everyone loves searching for hidden capsule toys, but did you know that there is also hidden scenery?
We exchanged Instagram accounts with high-school students in Palau and talked about each other’s hobbies. Even after returning to Taiwan, we stayed in touch with them. I think this is the appeal and the core spirit of the International Youth Ambassadors Exchange Program—the dynamism of youth knows no national boundaries!” So says International Youth Ambassador Lawrence Wu.
In the time before refrigeration, preserving food for long periods was no easy task. However, our forebears made good use of natural resources and their own ingenuity to develop what have become lip-smacking nostalgia triggers, including Parma ham, Iberian ham, Jinhua ham, Hunan cured meat, and other such delicacies.
Twenty years ago, a farmer in Sanzhi named Yang Wenshi discovered the rare Taipei frog (Hylarana taipehensis) in his lotus fields. To give this unusual creature a chance of survival, he decided to switch from conventional farming to eco-friendly cultivation. Now, whenever summer comes around, one can hear the clamor of their croaking amid the lotus leaves, in this paradise for Taipei frogs.
From HBO Asia’s The Teenage Psychic, which broke new ground in the Chinese-language market, and The World Between Us, which garnered high ratings both in Taiwan and abroad, to the recently released Shards of Her, which has built an impressive following by word of mouth, Taiwan’s television producers have released a steady stream of shows that have become surprising international hits.
