Trekking in the mountains is a demanding pastime. For some trekkers, those demands are the point. They love that the pursuit requires them to be mutually supportive, to confront their weaknesses, and to become better communicators. A group of just this kind of trekkers founded the Taiwan Wilderness Education Association with the intention of using guided treks to lead people on a journey of self-discovery and personal improvement.
A molded piece of black clay, fired at high temperatures, is transformed into translucent porcelain, amazing the world. When it started, Tatung’s every step represented a breakthrough for chinaware manufacture in Taiwan. In 1963 Tatung Chinaware produced Taiwan’s first domestically made porcelain products, and in 1985 it became the first enterprise in this line of business to acquire the right to use the CNS mark. Tatung’s chinaware is the pride of Taiwan.
Alternative science education fosters scientific understanding through fun experiences. Yet the field’s ample use of dramatic scientific experiments is but a means, for the actual goal is to engender “chemistry” among the participants themselves.
Ke Chih Hung is a technician with the Penghu County Agricultural and Fisheries Bureau. A 2020 recipient of the Examination Yuan’s Civil Service Outstanding Contribution Award, Ke helped create Taiwan’s first manmade marine coral garden. Seeking to restore coral larvae, he developed vibrant coral cultivation barrels that mimic the ecosystem of the South Penghu Marine National Park.
When Ko Hsin-ping entered graduate school in the Department of Entomology at National Taiwan University after taking top marks in the entrance exam, he dreamt of becoming a professor and returning to teach at his alma mater. But after he received his master’s degree he chose to set up in business, breeding insects on a large scale and rejecting the practice of capturing insects from the wild.
Yunlin is Taiwan’s leading agricultural county. The local culture has developed and prospered in little towns surrounded by vast stretches of farmland. Riding between fields, through towns and again into fields, following rivers and streams, Yunlin offers cyclists the fragrance of fresh vegetables mingled with the scent of the soil, as well as more than 100 cultural and historic sites worth exploring.
The different ethnic communities living throughout the island of Taiwan once spoke their various tongues and practiced their diverse cultures. Gradually, no matter where they hailed from, by learning from the same textbooks and speaking the same language, they shed their local color. Fortunately, some people realized that language loss is accompanied by a cultural disconnect. By mastering your mother tongue and knowing your origins, you gain the confidence to stand proudly in the world.
Co-coism—a creative collective established by talented young performing artists—has attracted much attention in recent years. In order to open up more creative possibilities, it has been working to dissolve the boundaries between stage and audience, focusing on an immersive, participatory, and responsive approach to performance art.
How do you gaze upon a raw block of wood and see through to the soul within? Chen Chi-tsun has the extraordinary gift of being able to see the sculpture within the wood as he skillfully captures the spirit of his subjects.
The homes of “zero waste” practitioners really aren’t so very different from those of everybody else: they just tend to be cozier and tidier. But the self-confidence and sense of abundance with which they view life can help the rest of us appreciate how wonderful life is.
