Two-hundred-plus years ago, Lukang was one of Taiwan’s major trading ports. Local prosperity led to the rise of rich and influential families, and some important businesspeople got their start in this town. No one foresaw that one day the harbor would be closed by siltation, that large numbers of people would move away, and that even the mansions of the wealthy would go to rack and ruin.

What is your idea of an indigenous community? Tjimur Dance Theatre, a troupe that hails from the Timur community in Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township, invites you to “Go Paiwan”—to see how authentic Paiwan culture differs from your impression of this branch of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples.

Born into a farming family, Jan Feng-chun, whose father was a university gardener, has had a connection with trees all her life.
Jan, who has a PhD in environmental design from the University of Tokyo, not only holds a Japanese license as a tree surgeon, but is also licensed in ­Japan to work as a “nature restoration promoter” and to perform soil assessment and amelioration. She is Taiwan’s first fully qualified female arbor­ist.

Chen Fang-ming: Scholar of Taiwanese literary history, chaired professor at National Chengchi University.
Ken Worker: Online trend tracker, blogger, international tour leader/guide.
Wang Pitsu: Parenting author, home cooking expert.
Lai Peixia: Singer, TV and radio host, artist, and spiritual mentor.

Nose-flute master Pairang Pavavaljung, a “living national treasure” who represents the Ravar group of the Northern Paiwan people, uses the music of the nose flute to tell the legends and stories of Taiwanese indigenous people. The art of playing the unique twin-pipe polyphonic nose flute was on the verge of being lost, but today it is being taught to five students, allowing this music to continue to survive.

In this world of ours, countless sound waves are moving rapidly and intangibly, endlessly coming, going, and reson­ating. In the air, in the water, in the countryside and cities, in seemingly quiet spaces, life-forms use a variety of vocabularies to continually interact with each other.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Donggang Township in Southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County? The Burning of the Wangye Boat, a religious festival held every three years? The three treasures of Donggang: bluefin tuna, sakura shrimp, and roes of escolar and oilfish?

In the 1980s there was a film library tucked away inside an unpretentious office building on Qingdao East Road in Taipei City. This mecca for Taiwanese film buffs offered access to the works of internationally acclaimed directors such as François Truffaut, Alain Resnais, Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Michelangelo Antonioni.

Taiwan Acrobatic Troupe turns 30 this year. Sponsored by National Taiwan College of Performing Arts (NTCPA), it is Taiwan’s sole professional acrobatic performance team. Over the course of three decades, the troupe has upheld and developed a performing tradition, nurturing a bevy of talent. In step with the times, it is actively internationalizing, adding elements such as fantastical plots and hi-tech audio and lighting effects.

An entrepreneurial couple who subscribe to the idea of “accomplishing one meaningful thing in life” met an artist who never feared to dream and act. Together they created an exceedingly beautiful museum. Inspiring visitors by immersing them in art, the museum is also an invaluable gift to Taiwan, embodying all that is good in the world.