Bitter orange tea, like Pu-erh tea, is a compressed tea (a kind of tea pressed into the form of bricks or other shapes). Though perhaps less widely known than Pu-erh, bitter orange tea is Taiwan’s only homegrown compressed tea, and represents the thrifty, waste-nothing habits of Hakka people.
Travel is about getting from here to there, but interesting modes of transportation always excite the imagination and foster a sense of anticipation.
Perhaps that explains why everyone, even those who aren’t proper train buffs, seems to have an innate love of trains and rail travel.
The most famous railway in Taiwan is likely the Alishan Forest Railway, which is regarded as one of the mountain’s “five wonders.”
Arriving in the Bunun village of Kamcing in Taitung’s Haiduan Township, we come across a group of young people crouching in a field of foxtail millet, weeding the soil. Greeted by Kaiana Workshop owner Hu Yuru (who goes by the name of Ibu), we squat down with her to learn how to distinguish between weeds and millet—the latter has red stems. Noticing how cautiously we approach the task, Ibu reassures us: “Don’t worry. If you pull up millet plants by mistake, just put them back in the soil.”
Stepping into Chubby Rabbit in Yong’an in Taitung’s Luye Township warms the cockles of our hearts, as if we’ve come to a dear friend’s home to dine.
We’re hosted by Sho Huang, a Taiwanese woman from a Minnan family, and her husband, Johannes Faeth, a German who loves Italian cuisine. The couple met each other abroad and eventually decided to settle down in Taitung, where they use Italian culinary traditions and techniques to reinterpret Taiwanese food ingredients.
Amis farmer Tiyansu Pawtawan was 17 years old—in his second year of senior high school—when he set his mind on going into agriculture in his native village of Kaadaadaan (a.k.a. Himoti) in Taitung’s Guanshan Township. Upon graduating from university, he established Hezuo Friendly Crops, insisting on using organic farming methods.
Sun Liangyin and Qiu Yiqian are a couple who moved to Taitung from Taichung a few years ago to begin a new chapter in their lives. While immersing themselves in the culture and natural environment of Eastern Taiwan, they have thrown in their lot with the slow food movement.
People from Taitung used to joke that the place was as boring as it is beautiful. Today, they confidently say instead that it is as flavorful as it is beautiful. While Taitung’s natural scenery may be what draws visitors in, its culinary scene, developed through 12 years of promoting the Slow Food movement, has become, per the definition of a Michelin three-star restaurant, worth a special journey.
“From ultrasound to treat cancer, to atomic clocks that are off by only a second from the Big Bang to the present, all sorts of research takes place under this roof.” So said Hsu Wan-thai, one of the chairs of the Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Joint Symposium (UFFC-JS) of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), at the opening ceremony of this important international conference.
Taiwan is located in the subtropics, where farmers face a greater variety of plant pests and diseases than in temperate zones. Taiwan has constructed a body of knowledge and systems for organic farming covering everything from breeding and cultivation technology to crop protection products and agricultural machinery, and the proportion of Taiwan’s farmland used for organic agriculture is the highest in Northeast Asia.
Tang Prize laureates “have demonstrated exceptional professionalism and conscience, developing groundbreaking technologies, advancing public health, fostering cultural exchange, and championing human rights and global justice. Their contributions are immeasurable, and we are deeply grateful for their dedication. We believe their insights will guide us through these turbulent times, and invite all who share our vision to collaborate in building a bright future.” So said Chern Jenn-chuan, CEO of t
