How to do an East Coast Ride (for beginners and visitors to Taiwan)

The community over on Forumosa has helped a visiting cyclist from Japan put together a three-day ride on the East Coast, which is where Rank recommends that new riders in Taiwan do their first multi-day ride.

This is not just a route. The thread also has detailed advice on how to take trains and ship your bike back to Taipei as well as inside information on great, inexpensive places to stay.

This ride has it all. Swimming in mountain rivers, hot springs, the ocean, a few climbs (nothing major), lovely scenery of the Rift Valley, and lots of indigenous villages. Enjoy.

I think the thread does a good job of pointing our visitor in the right direction and helping him avoid making newbie errors such as riding on the west coast, Highway 9, and through Hualien City (he looks like he's going to ignore us on that one though).

Landslides and Discoveries

Rank originally planned to ride from Shuili 水里 to Chiayi this weekend using the route described in Great Taiwan Bike Rides IX: Yushan By the Back Roads. A major landslide though blocked our way out of Lugu's (鹿谷) Phoenix Valley (Fenghuanggu 鳳凰谷) above Xinyi (信義) and we were forced to double back toward Xitou (溪投).

As suggested in the linked above, we started from Shuili this time. Getting to Shuili was an adventure in itself. After a late start on the HSR, we arrived at Taichung Station around 8:00pm. A taxi driver suggested that he could take us to a bus station where we could get a bus to Shuili. He ended up taking us all the way into Taichung, where we eventually caught a All-da (總達客運) bus at 9:00pm at the delightfully funky terminal near Taichung train station. We had to wait for a bus large enough to fit our bikes in the compartment below as most buses to Shuili are small commuter buses. You can call the station on the day you will ride to check when the large bus will be going to Shuili. There is no definite schedule.

Unfortunately, the bus to Shuili goes everywhere in northern Nantou County before arriving in Shuili three hours (!) later. We could have rode from the HSR station to Shuili faster than that. I now realize that the best way to get to Shuili would be to take Taiwan Railways Jiji line (集集線) from the New Wuri Station (新烏日) adjacent to the Taichung HSR Station (Exit 3, Floor 2). The 3821 local, for example. stops in Wuri at 8:15pm and arrives in Shuili at 9:38pm. Bicycles must be bagged for both the HSR and local commuter trains.

After camping in a field a few kilometers downhill from Shuili on County Road 131, we cycled pleasantly up 131 t0 151, where we had lunch in Lugu. 151 is to be avoided wherever possible. It is a two-lane road full of traffic headed for the resort town of Xitou. If you are from northern Taiwan, it is a lot like Yangde Boulevard (陽德大道) heading up Yangmingshan. Fortunatel there are many side roads like 131. 131, incidentally, is a designated bike route that runs all the way from Puli to Lugu. This looks like it might well be a good intermediate ride through hilly but not too steep countryside. The junction with 151 is at about 350 meters. If you look closely at the map of the junction area, you should be able to see some alternative routes that will cut down your time on 131.

Just after Lugu Elementary School (鹿谷國小), we turned left on Renyi Road (仁義), also known as Nantou Route 56, and headed toward Phoenix Valley, which is in fact a beautiful gorge with excellent swimming holes at the bottom. The road eventually peters out at a place called Tiandi 田底 (not shown on Google Maps), and you turn right and go up the hill. Unfortunately, about .5km in there is a massive landslide that now blocks access to Xinyi and Highway 21 (see this this news report in Chinese). The slide is 500 meters across and 100 meters deep but may be passable for the very adventorous since the mountain has slid away leaving mostly bare rock. The main problem would be getting down from the edge of the road to the surface of the slide area about 3 meters below. Note that Google Maps is very inaccurate in this area--the Nantou road map at 711 is much better. Maximum altitude at top of the gorge is around 850 meters.

We doubled back to Renyi Rd. and took a left just after Fenghuang Elementary School (鳳凰國小) at 700 meters on Ertu Rd., which comes out on 151 in the pleasant town of Guangxing (廣興) at 500 meters. From here, we took Guangfu Rd. (光復) at the 711 down to the river and then hung a left after crossing the river onto Aixiang Rd (愛鄉). Guangfu, incidentally looks like a good alternative route to 151 from Jhushan (竹山). A few kilometers before Hanya (和雅) we camped in a bamboo grove off the road at about 750 meters.

The next morning we took Aixiang Rd. all the way to the last junnction with 151 and on to Xitou at about 1100 meters where we had breakfast. From there, Sishan Rd. (溪山) road took us up a series of moderately difficult switchbacks to a pass at 1800 meters. Here we turned right on Nantou 47 (投47線), which is marked on Google Maps as the Da'an Forestry Rd. (大鞍林道) Sanchalun Branch (三叉崙支線). The terraced teafields along this spectacular road are know as the Heavenly Ladder (天梯) and for good reason. Bring your camera. Despite the forestry road moniker, these roads are roughly paved with concrete. Road bikes not advised although my hybrid with 1.25" slicks did fine.

Originally we had planned to take Nantou 54 (投54線) down 36km to 149A (149甲) in Caoling (草嶺) and on to Fencihu, but a landslide before the junction forced us to make a difficult detour through the tea fields above the slide. With just a few hours of daylight left, we enjoyed the long downhill into Jhushan on 47. Note this news report from October of this year reporting another slide further down 54. 54 is marked as the main branch of the Da'an Forestry Rd. on Google Maps. Given the very steep terrain and the many slides, Rank highly recommends placing a few phone calls to local village chiefs in the area or doing other research to find out which roads are in fact open. The slides we saw will probably not be fixed until the summer.

Reaching Jhushan, we quickly located the Ubus Bus Station on Highway 3. Alas, posted prominently in the window was a sign stating that Ubus will now accept only bagged collapsible bicycles. We had send our bike bags home, but the station personnel told us that they were very strict about only collapsible bikes. This is another unfortunate consequence of the biking craze in Taiwan.

But repairing to a local internet cafe to study our options, Rank soon realized that a whole host of secondary train stations now will ship bicycles (託運). This service used to be restricted to main stations that shipped scooters. These services have now be decoupled. As a result, the tiny town of Linnei (林內) just across river on Highway 3 (see area map) was able to send our bikes to back to Taipei. We caught at 4:30 pm train and, after a change in Yuanlin, were back in Taipei by 8:30pm.

The many back roads, the dry, sunny winter weather, and improved bike transportation in this area mean that Rank will be back in this area soon to explore more routes soon.

Great Taiwan Bike Rides X: Wushe-Lishan-Luodong

Here are some pictures of the road from Wushe to Lishan.

Friday 6:30PM Arrive at HSR station and disassemble bikes. Here we made a logistics mistake. We bought tickets online figuring the HSR might be sold out at this popular time. Unfortunately, picking up the tickets took about 20 minutes and we missed the 7:00PM train and our planned connection to Nantou City. I'd been meaning to ride the Lixing Access Road for some time, so the planned changed accordingly.

7:06 PM High Speed Rail Taipei.

8:06 Taichung HSR Station. Catch bus downstairs to Puli.

9:30PM Puli. Stayed at a small hotel just off Zhongzheng Rd. NT$1000 for three. Rank usually stays at the funky Sun Wang Hotel nearby which is about the same price for a double. These hotels are a block or so away from the bus stop, which is critical when you are lugging bikes and panniers around.

8:00AM Saturday After a quick breakfast, we caught the bus up to Wushe (霧社). The Nantou bus station in Puli is at the corner of Zhongzheng and Donghua (東華). This is a local bus with no storage, so we just brought the bikes on board.　

9:30AM. Arrive in Wushe, a picturesque Atayal town perched at 1200 meters above a large reservoir. We saw some other cyclists along the way, but there is too much traffic on this busy two-lane road for Rank's taste. Stock up on water on Wushe.

10:00 AM. We cycle out of Wushe, turning left onto Highway 14A (14甲) at the end of town. Here is a map of the area. Climb up about 200 meters over five km. or so and turn left off of 14A onto the Lixing Access Road 力行產業道路. This is a gorgeous one lane road with no traffic that winds through the mountains. Taiwan cycling at its best. The network of roads back here looks more confusing than it really is. You want to turn right onto the Fushou Road 福壽路 and head down into Lishan 梨山. The first 20km or so stay at about 1500 meters, but there is a brutal climb up to about 2200 meters just before Lishan through some high altitude farming country. There are a couple of villages along the way, but don't expect anything more than a bowl of instant noodles.

8:00PM Arrive in Lishan (2000 meters) tired, hungry, and cold. Stayed at the cheapest of this tourist trap overpriced hotels. NT$2500 for three. We did find a ramshackle Taiwanese-style mutton hotpot (羊肉盧) at the end of town that helped kill the chill.

6:00AM Sunday We hit the road early heading down out of town on Highway 7A (7甲) toward Yilan/Luodong. It was pear season, and although expensive, the snow pears 雪梨 were some of the best I've ever had. Someone also gave us some beautiful fragrant local apples, the best I've had in Taiwan by far. Descend to about 1600 meters.

9:00AM Wuling Farm entrance 2000 meters

11:00AM Cross the pass into Yilan at 2200 meters.

12:00PM Nanshan 1200 meters. The beef noodle place on the left as you come into town is fantastic--huge bowls of hearty soup and noodles that they make themselves here.

2:00PM Junction of 7A and forestry road (map) to Taipingshan (400 meters). If you have enough time (c 2.5 hours) you can turn right, cross the bridge, and take the Datong Access Road (大同產業道路 and 7C (7丙) back to Luodong. No traffic on this route. Otherwise stay on 7A and cross at the Taiya Bridge (泰雅大橋) into Sanxing (三星) and head back to Luodong on 7C. This is the faster route and is a good 10km shorter with fewer climbs. The roads up to the Taiya Bridge on this side have too much fast traffic on weekends including plenty of trucks. It's not horrible, but nothing like the idyllic ride on the other side of the river.

5:00PM Luodong. To find the train station (map), just stay on 7C , which is the local Zhongshan Rd. (中山路), crossing Highway 9 and Zhongzheng Rd. until you hit the railway tracks. Turn left and you are at the station. The baggage room is on the right if you are facing the station.

Not M-Shaped After All: Taiwan's Economy and the DPP's Future

Note: this was written about a month ago when irrational exuberance over the Ma administration's opening to China was still running strong. Since then, the outlook for Taiwan's economy has become much bleaker with higher oil prices, higher interest rates, and an imploding stock market.

One of the great myths of the 2008 presidential election in Taiwan was that the economy was in deep trouble. Other than rising consumer prices, the most important piece of evidence for that thesis was the supposed erosion of the middle class. Taiwan was said to have become an M-shaped society: a society in which the income curve has two peaks, one in the lower middle class, and one at the top. Michael Turton blogged on this myth back in 2006 and it has become entrenched as piece of received wisdom in the Taipei view of the world.

In late May, the China Times ran a series of articles that examined the evidence. Despite a headline blaring the paper's Blue editorial line "Middle Class Suffers Serious Erosion since 2000," the articles actually explain that Taiwan is not an M-shaped society and that its middle class is holding up rather well considering the tremendous changes since 1980.

Let's get to the facts. According to data from the Taiwan Social Change Basic Information Database (台灣社會變遷基本調查資料庫), 44.2 percent of Taiwanese households were classified as middle class. In 2005, 39.68 percent of Taiwanese households were classified as middle class. Over the same period, middle class households' share of adjusted national income also fell modestly from 39.5% to 34.26%. Of the households that left the middle class, 57% moved into the lower class (defined as a household with income of less than about NT$680,000) while 44% actually moved upward to join the ranks of upper class households earning more than NT$1.3 million per year.

Significantly, the number of people reporting that they earn a "reasonable" income has increased from 85% in 1985 to 90% in 2005. Professor Cai Min-chang of National Taipei University explained this by a change in values. Taiwan's educated workers no longer see equate high income with success. Instead, they tend to value having interesting work from which they derive a sense of achievement. This suggests that at least a few of Taiwan's downwardly mobile may actually be highly educated people who are opting out of high income careers at least temporarily.

These figures also suggest a hypothesis that if correct would have important implications for Taiwan's political future. This research does not mean that there are no economic problems. To the contrary, they suggest that the brunt of Taiwan's economic problems are being borne not by the cosseted and fretful middle class, but rather by its working poor.

Taiwan's working poor have traditionally been the backbone of the DPP's political support. When they elected Chen Shui-bian in 2000, they were expecting that their lot would improve. While Taiwan's middle class has fared reasonably well in recent years, the same is probably not true for the Taiwan that works on construction sites in Taichung County, drives trucks in Kaohsiung, and dips plastic in moldings in Taipei County. It can be plausibly argued that the DPP was unable to effect much social change to help its constituents since the Legislature has been (and still is) firmly in the grip of an unholy alliance between some of Taiwan's most reactionary elements.

Still, the DPP's striking lack of imagination after it came to power left it struggling for a veneer of middle class respectability. The party's political elite, whose origins lie in the urbanized professional middle class, turned its gaze away from its working class constituents. The travails of the Chen family with its modest Sogo shopping sprees, petulant dentist daughter, greedy doctor son-in-law, and Berkeley PhD candidate son belonged to a narrative far removed from the concerns of the farmers and workers who supported them.

Ma Ying-jeou promised Taiwan's working people that they will soon have good jobs. Yet given the research cited in the China Times articles, the Ma administration's policy goals are misguided in the short term and politically suicidal in the long term. Premier Liu is promising to "rebuild a solid middle class" and grant salary increases to civil servants, teachers, and military (the DPP supports these as well) while his well-intentioned Minister of Labor is forced to admit that she cannot push for a rise in the minimum wage because that would increase inflation. As if an automatic raise for Taiwan's millions of public sector workers would not also increase inflationary pressure thing while leaving people working at 711 even farther behind.

The hypothesis, then, is that the DPP lost power because it failed to deliver good jobs to Taiwan's long suffering working class. Many of those votes went to Ma Ying-Jeou in March. But it seems that this Ma is ignoring his gift horse.

The Blue media likes to disingenuously recommend that the DPP 'return to its core values.' What they really mean is that they hope that the DPP will endorse the kind of center-left policies that failed to gain the TSU even one seat in the legislature while abandoning the Taiwanese nationalism that binds the DPP together. While the DPP has wisely ignored this foolishness, it would has the opportunity to expand its base again by reconnecting with Taiwan's working classes if Ma's vaunted opening to China and his antiquated developmentalism fail to deliver the jobs that he promised.










































where a middle class household is defined by the international standard of a household whose adjusted income falls between 75% and 115% of the

NY Times Ma Interview

An interview with Ma Ying-jeou starts with an interesting reference to technical standards:

He also called for direct sea and air cargo links across the Taiwan Strait, regularly scheduled passenger flights, the drafting of common technical standards and the creation of a system to resolve commercial disagreements.

Why would the 'international' president Ma want to bind Taiwan to China's technonationalist efforts to create special standards for China? There are plenty of more specialized examples (WAPI, CDMA), but just think for a minute about how China has developed its own special version of the Internet. Furthermore, while China may have an interest in protecting its vast internal markets from foreign competition by developing its own indigenous technical standards a la Japan, Taiwan, as an integral part of the global IT supply chain, would be ill-served by common standards with China unless the Taiwan's strategy is to withdraw from international markets to focus in the China market.

Mr. Ma ran on a platform of strengthening the Taiwanese economy through a warming of relations with the mainland while insisting that he would not talk with Beijing about reunification.

This is a grave distortion of the platform that Ma ran on in Taiwan. Take a look at the the Ma-Sieuw campaign site. First of all note the campaign slogan: Taiwan Moving Forward (Taiwan xiangqian zou). Above this slogan is a logo that reads "Ma-Sieuw in 2008" with the '8' replaced by a map of Taiwan.

The Taiwan-first theme is strongly reinforced in the Policies sections of the site which kicks off with three sections on economic policy: infrastructure, industry, and taxation. None of these say anything about "strengthening the Taiwanese economy through a warming of relations with the mainland." Instead, his infrastructure section is about spending US$81 billion on projects such as the Taoyuan Air City, modernizing Taiwan's moribund fishing ports (never mind that the fish are all gone), and yet more industrial and software parks. Or in the section on finance and taxation policy, Ma says in a campaign ad that "633 is not just a number, it is our promise to Taiwan." 633 refers to the Ma campaign promise that under the Ma administration, Taiwan would enjoy 6% annual GDP growth, less that 3% unemployment, and an average national income of US$30,000. Not a word about China.

Wikipedia's summary of Ma's economic platform is far more accurate:

Since selecting Vincent Siew as his running mate, Ma Ying-jeou has announced that the focus of his election campaign is the recovery of Taiwanese economy. ... He also labeled Siew as the would-be "chief architect" to revive the economy, because of Siew's solid economic background.

While Ma's opening to China was certainly an important campaign issue, it was never presented to the Taiwanese people in the way that the New York Times consistently presents it to its international readers.

Mr. Ma also repeated his demand that China remove the more than 1,000 short- and medium-range missiles that it has aimed at Taiwan. Their removal is needed before any peace talks can begin to end the legal state of hostility that has persisted since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, he said. China has threatened the use of force to achieve political reunification.

“The idea is quite simple: we don’t want to negotiate a peace agreement while our security is under the threat of missile attack,” Mr. Ma said.

This a KMT canard. There is no legal state of hostility across the strait unless you believe that the KMT and the CCP are still fighting the Chinese civil war. Ma's 'peace accord' means a peace deal between two political parties, not two sovereign states.

Mr. Ma conducted the interview in flawless English

Flawless? Ma's English is certainly good, but hardly flawless. At least the NYT didn't revisit the sourceless 'Harvard-educated lawyer' myth.

The Times should be commended for the next few paragraphs that give an unusual amount of space to a DPP rebuttal in which it is correctly noted that China previously rejected an almost identical offer by the DPP administration because China ddidn't like the DPP's "broader vision of Taiwanese sovreignty."

Despite the framing of this formulation as an indirect quote from a DPP legislator, I have a great deal of trouble believing that a Taiwanese politician came up with this phrase in either Chinese or English. But just for the record, let's stop pussyfooting around and tell the world what the DPP's "broader vision" has been and is: Taiwan is an independent and sovereign country whose future must be decided by the 23 million people of Taiwan. Why is it so difficult to present this simple truth to NY Times readers?

Next we lapse into uncritical Chinese nationalist formulations of current events.

Lately Mr. Ma’s energies have been focused on smoothing out a diplomatic conflict that caught him by surprise — a surge in tensions with Japan over a June 10 incident in the group of disputed islands that the Taiwanese call the Diaoyutai Islands, where a Japanese coast guard vessel sank a Taiwanese sport-fishing boat. Although Japan administers the islands, which it calls the Senkaku Islands, China and Taiwan argue that they belong to the Chinese people.

Chinese nationalists claim that the islands belong to the "Chinese people." This propagandist formulation needs special critical attention now that Taiwan and China are using it as a code word for a Chinese polity in which Taiwan loses its sovereignty just as Tibet did. Also, when asked what country the islands belonged to in Taiwan, Ma said "Taiwan", not the "Chinese people."

Protesters in both mainland China and Taiwan have demanded a formal apology from Japan.

Another howler. A few extremist protestors in Taiwan have called for a formal aplogy. The whole incident is a mad effort to stir up anti-Japanese sentiment in Taiwan in an intentional effort to derail close Taiwan-Japan relations in recent years that offend Chinese sensibilities. It also probably served the political aim of removing Taiwan's former pro-independence ambassador to Japan who did far too much to improve Taiwan's relations with Japan during his tenure.

The issue is especially delicate for Mr. Ma, who has long argued that the islands legally belong to the Chinese people.

For crying out loud! Not the Chinese people again. What Ma argued just the other day in Taiwan was :

3. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwan's President:
"Our position is that the Diaoyutai Islands are Taiwan's territory. They belong to Taiwan."

The Presidential Office's "Four-point Statement" from 12 June states:

The Diaoyutai islands are territory of the Republic of China. Geographically, the islands are affiliated islets of Taiwan and are under the jurisdiction of the Dasi Village of Yilan County's Toucheng Township. [my emphasis]

I would bet good money that Ma's doctoral dissertation also makes no mention of the "Chinese people" in this context. So what is the source for Ma's having long argued that the islands belong to the Chinese people?

Nearly Perfect

By way of contrast to the New York Times piece I blogged on the other day, Jason Dean of the Wall Street Journal delivers a nuanced, balanced piece that shows real understanding of relations between Taiwan and China. Unfortunately it is behind the Dow Jones pay wall.

The first formal talks between China and Taiwan in nine years reached deals to expand tourism and to partly roll back a decades-old ban on direct air traffic between the two rivals, extending a burgeoning détente in one of Asia's historical flashpoints.

Note how the political nature of the talks is clearly foreground. The negotiations are about 'burgeoning detente', not strengthening 'economic relations.' The incremental nature of the agreement is also carefully referred: 'expand tourism' and 'partly roll back'. A style grump though is that I can't really see how 'burgeoning', which is a horticultural word meaning to grow or to blossom, can correctly describe 'detente' which means a relaxing or easing.

The two-day talks, which began Thursday in Beijing, are the latest sign that China's government is responding positively to efforts by Taiwan's new president, Ma Ying-jeou, to improve ties despite lingering disagreements about core political issues.

Dean gets the agency of these inherently political talks correct. Beijing is now choosing to respond positively. Implicitly, it did not respond positively to the previous DPP government despite the fact that the same incremental improvements were on the table before. Beijing claimed before that Taiwan would have to acknowledge Beijing's one China principle. However, it is worth noting that other than in the meeting between Hu Jintao and Chiang Pin-kun, the 1992 Hong Kong consensus was never mentioned in the talks, nor did it appear in the agreement reached yesterday.

Back 2006, Chen Shui-bian basically offered exactly the same thing:

First, I have already said that both sides of the strait should handle the "one China" issue on the existing foundation and adhere to the principles of democracy and parity. I have also said that the existing foundation includes the spirit of 1992, which is dialogue, exchanges, and shelving controversial disputes. Today, it is not a problem of what we can or cannot discuss, for there are many things that cannot be avoided. Although we may not talk, we still cannot avoid this issue.

Then Beijing did not respond positively because it had demonized Chen Shui-bian. To their shame, most of the China-based international media went along for the ride.

Back to the Wall Street Journal account:

Mr. Ma took office May 20 promising a "new era" of peace and economic normalization with China. The eight-year tenure of his predecessor, Chen Shui-bian, was dominated by disputes over Beijing's claims to sovereignty over Taiwan and by Mr. Chen's efforts to assert the island's independence.

It probably would have been worth pointing out that Chen also came to office promising the same things and ended up with the same incremental approach based on the method of setting aside the sovereignty issue. Perhaps that is why Dean has placed "new era" in quotes.

In any event, the description of relationship across the straits during Chen's presidency is a model of balance: Beijing claimed sovereignty while Chen Shui-bian asserted independence.

It's also worth pointing out that unlike Wong (or his editors), Dean never uses the politically loaded term 'the mainland' to describe China. Throughout the article, China is China and Taiwan is Taiwan. Confucius would have been proud of this correct
use of names in the face of pressure to use wrong ones.

The rest of article sets out the details with the precision one expects from the Journal. Unlike the Times, the Journal gets the currency exchange news correct. To be fair, they had an extra day to check.

Finally, Dean points out that Taiwan-China relations do not exist in vacuum:

The improvement in cross-strait ties has been welcomed by officials in the U.S., which is Taiwan's most important international friend. The current talks come amid criticism over U.S. arms sales that threatens to complicate relations between Washington, Taipei and Beijing.


If and when Taiwan buys arms from the US, especially the 66 F-16 fighter jets, China's positive response to Taiwan will be tested.

Another horrid article by Edward Wong in the New York Times on the talks in Beijing. Which is too bad because he did some very moving pieces on the Sichuan earthquake.

The agreement came on the first day of negotiations over how to strengthen the economic relationship between China and Taiwan, which the government in Beijing regards as a renegade province but which many Taiwanese assert is a de-facto nation.

This is not too bad. But notice how Beijing "regards" whereas Taiwan "asserts." China's views get a cool, rational verb that subsumes thought into the classical enlightenment metaphor of vision while Taiwan has to "'assert" itself. Beijing is a centered subject founded in its rationality while Taiwan asserts its unauthorized unrecognized subjecthood.

And it's just misleading to say that many Taiwanese view Taiwan as a "de-facto nation." The more common view is the one Chen Shui-bian used to put forward at every opportunity: Taiwan is an independent and sovereign country whose future must be decided by the 23 millin people of Taiwan. Those who subscribe to this view do not see Taiwan as a "de-facto" nation. They see it as an independent nation full stop.

Although Taiwan is the biggest investor in China and many Taiwanese businesspeople live on the mainland, there are no direct commercial flights between the two.

Is Taiwan really the biggest investor in China? Bigger than the US and Japan? Not in recent years if you look at recent FDI figures. And who really knows how much Taiwan has invested. The MAC under the DPP said US$150 billion since the late 1980s, but no one really knows. This bald assertion is not grounded in fact and lends an air of inevitability about the supposed goal of these talks--"strengthening the economic relationship." What a hoot! Why does the economic relationship need to be strengthened if Taiwan is already the biggest investor?

Everyone knows that this is not about the 'economic relationship'. It's about affirming the 1992 Hong Kong consensus on One China by the simple fact of holding the talks. Of course these talks are political. Has the Times suddenly lost the ability to explain the news?

I'm not going to bother to say anything about the craven adoption of the 'mainland' terminology.

Mr. Ma, from the Kuomintang party, was elected president on March 22 in a landslide victory on the platform of strengthening economic ties between China and Taiwan. Many Taiwanese believe their economy has stagnated in recent years while China’s has surged forward and that Mr. Ma’s predecessor, Chen Shui-bian, had failed to capitalize on the mainland’s economic growth.

Here's a heavy dose of conventional wisdom current ex-Taiwan. Yes, Ma was elected in a landslide. And yes, it had something to do with the economy. Ma was elected to improve Taiwan's economy just as South Korea's Lee Myung-bak was. Inside Taiwan, Ma presented his China policy as the means to the end of a better economy. But the real appeal of his economic platform lay in his promises to restore the glory days of Taiwan's boom economy in the 1970s and 1980s. Strengthening economic ties with China is certainly something Taiwan's business community wants. What ordinary people want are better jobs and hope for the future. If better economic relations with China help, then great. But a better economy, not "strengthening economic ties between China and Taiwan" was what Ma was elected to achieve.

Mr. Chen, the Democratic Progressive Party candidate who was elected president in 2000, favored steps toward independence, a position that has brought growing anxiety among the Taiwanese public, Chinese leaders and Americans officials in recent years.

Again, Chen did not "favor steps toward independence." Chen said over and over again that Taiwan was an independent and sovereign country and that there was no need for an already-independent nation to declare independence.

Chinese leaders and American officials may have suffered anxiety over Chen's position on Taiwanese independence and sovereignty, but outside deep blue reactionaries in Taipei, the Taiwanese public wasn't anxious at all for the reason that most Taiwanese share Chen's views and find the idea that Taiwan is anything but an independent country ludicrous at best. It is very telling that pro-Chinese nationalists in Taiwan failed to attract significant support for their repeated efforts to depose Chen outside the democratic process until after they hit on the idea of portraying Chen and the first family as corrupt. While Chen's supposed corruption caused widespread outrage connected to deep-seated anxieties over the partial globalization of Taiwan's economy, Chen's position on independence, even as misrepresented here, caused little anxiety in Taiwan.

At the moment, many Taiwanese want neither formal independence nor reunification, and they want warmer economic ties with the mainland. They are still aware, though, that the Chinese government maintains ballistic missiles pointed at Taiwan, occasionally lobbing some into the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait

.

Even pro-China media outlets know this to be untrue. Just a few days ago, TVBS, a Hong Kong owned station with close China connections, released polling data showing that

Q3. If you can choose, would your prefer Taiwan to become an independent country, or unify with mainland China, or become a state in the United States of America?
58%: Independent country
17%: Unified with mainland China
8%: Become a state in the United States of Amreica
17%: No opinion

Now Q2 in the same poll says that 58% of the Taiwanese public prefer the status quo. But this needs to be read in the context of the fact that most Taiwanese think that the status quo is Taiwanese independence. It also needs to be read in the context of Q3, which I have quoted above. Given a choice, most Taiwanese prefer independence, but when asked about the status quo, they read the question as meaning 'what would you settle for if you didn't have a choice?' But again that view needs to be recontextualized for Taiwan. Most Taiwanese think the status quo questions with the absence of any choice are silly because most Taiwanese believe that they do have a choice and expect to exercise it. Hear the echoes? The future of Taiwan must be decided by the 23 million people of Taiwan.

The two paras about the new amendment to allow exchange of the RMB are just plain wrong. The amendment treats the RMB as a foreign currency and authorizes the Central Bank and the Financial Supervisory Commission to regulate exchang of the Chinese currency even before a currency agreement or settlement mechanism has been set up between Taiwan and China. In other words, the Legislative Yuan has made RMB exchange subject to the discretion of the executive branch. All indications are that the Central Bank and SFC will soon allow Taiwanese to buy RMB in Taiwan as soon as Taiwan has an adequate supply of the currency and those agencies have amended their regulations.

Great Taiwan Bike Rides VII: Route 197-Southern Cross Island Highway-Liugui

First a slide show...



Dennis Flood wrote up his ride a few years. His photos are much better.

Day 1

We flew into Taidong airport on the 6:30AM flight from Taipei. We arrived at Songshan Airport at 6am, which have us plenty of time to 'pack' the bikes. For those who haven't flown with their bikes in Taiwan, this means cutting up cardboard boxes (provided by the airline) and taping the resulting pieces onto your bike so that you won't get other people's luggage dirty. You do not have to take your bike apart, and there is no extra charge. Pretty cool.

A note of warning though--not every airport in Taiwan is big enough for a plane that can take your bike this way. Kaohsiung, Chiayi, Hualien, and Taitung are all fine. Pingtung's old airport was not. Not sure about the new one.

A second word of warning is that this great service may soon be over. I suspect that the increasing popularity of biking is starting to cause problems. We had a bit of argument with the baggage handling people at Far Eastern about this although we eventually prevailed. In general EVA (Lirong) is the most helpful while Far Eastern is more and more reluctant.

We arrived in Taitung hungry and exhausted since we had only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before. So instead of getting on the road immediately, we headed across the street to the restaurant/gift shop across from the terminal and had a hearty breakfast. This included a carimoya milkshake (釋茄牛奶). The wonders of papaya milkshakes have long faded for me, but this was a delicious new surprise even if a bit expensive at NT$70.

Well fed, we hit the road at about 9:30am--just as it was starting to get intensely hot. We wanted to avoid Highway 9 (台９線) and keep to the smaller county roads in the Rift Valley, so we made for Route. 197 which runs more or less parallel to Route 9 up the Rift Valley through the foothills of the coastal mountain range on the east side of the valley.

To get to 197 from the airport, turn left on Minhang Rd. 民航路 when you reach the T instersection on the road leading out of the airport. Stay on Minhang to the left and pass the Naruwan Hotel. You will cross a bridge and then reach the junction with Highway 9. Cross Highway 9 and you will now be on Highway 11B (台11乙). It's 4.1 km from here to the junction with 197 on your left.

We started climbing on 197 in the brutal morning heat. It's another 3 or 4km to Fuyuan at an elevation of about 300 meters. Make sure you bring water because the few shops and restaurants up here are not reliably open and there is little shade.

We rode the next hilly 10 km to the Luanshan Bridge (巒山大橋), stopping off at a small local temple near Liji 利吉　for a muggy, buggy afternoon nap. Somehow we missed the Liji hot springs although it may have been too hot even for me to try them out.

After crossing the bridge to Luye (鹿野), we had a fairly dismal lunch in a cantina by the 711. The people were friendly even if their food was bad. By the time we finished, ominous looking storm clouds had gathered and we heard from a traveling salesman type that it was already raining in Guanshan, our intended destination.

Rather than pushing on, we decided to head up the hill to Longtian and knock off early. Longtian, it turns out, was a sort of Japanese settler community and has the oldest nursery school in Taitung along with lots of beautiful old trees and a generous sprinkling of buildings from the colonial era. And of course there are hotsprings, although the main hot spring hotel in town was being renovated. On their recommendation, we headed to the end of town and aftera short downhill, turned left onto Taidong Co. Rd. 33 where we found the colossal Zixi Hotel ( 紫熹山莊) built entirely out of wood. A huge clean double was NT$2,200 and we settled into enjoy clean beds and hot showers. The food was inexpensive but tasteless jiancan (microwaved stuff out of packages).

Day 2: Longtian to Lidao

Greatly refreshed, we were on the road by 5:30am the next morning. We headed back across the bridge and continued north on 197. The road climbed up sharply to about 400m over four or five km. For next 14km the road is unpaved gravel. Unfortunately, a new layer of gravel had just been put down and was therefore quite deep and loose in some spots. There were a few spills as a result, but I would guess that in a month or so, enough traffic will have gone over the road to pack things down better and make it a good but unchallenging off road ride. This side of the valley is noticeably more tropical than the west side--reminded me a lot of Palawan in parts. There is absolutely nothing out here--you will need water and food.

At Bauhuashan Monastary (寶華山慈惠堂) there is a rest spot and a road that goes down to the Baohua Bridge. We stayed on 197 (paved at this point) and enjoyed a lovely downhill stretch into the rice fields on the valley floor. After another 3 or 4km of flat, we crossed the Diangguang Bridge (電光大橋) into Guanshan.

Guanshan seemed like a big place after the solitude on the other side of the river. We had a couple of filling biandangs from the Yuanchang Biandang Shop just outside the train station. The biandangs use the fabulous local rice to create a perfect meal for starving cyclists. Bellies full it was time for a nap. The airy Sun Moon Belvedere (關山日月亭) is at the end of Minquan Rd. (民權路) on the west side of town, and we unrolled our air mat to sleep for an hour or so in afternoon heat.

When we woke up, the sky was overcast, meaning that we could ride earlier than usual (on summer days I try not to ride between 10am and 3:30pm to avoid sunstroke). We headed back into town on Minquan and had some excellent lattes at a very old-fashioned coffee shop (Royal Bakery and Cafe?) on the main drag. Deng Lijun played on the ancient boom box and there was an excellent selection of pictorial magazines from the late 1980s to complement.

We left Guanshan by riding parallel to the Route 9 on Sanmin Rd (三民路) out to 大同　where we took a left. Datong curves around and turns into Taidong County Road 5 but there is a confusing junction near Hongshi (紅石). Ask at the betel nut stand if you are not sure which way is the right way to Haiduan (海端). Haiduan is just a few km down the road and you will come out on the Southern Cross Highway (Route 20) at around km 208.

From Haiduan, it is about 35 km to Lidao at an elevation of about 1000m. The grade is pleasantly gradual all the way to Wulu, about 10km from Lidao. There is a good, inexpensive restaurant across the street from the Tianlong Hotel. Am early dinner for two was NT$300 and was far more than we could eat. If you have time, check out the suspension bridge on the other side of the parking lot hotel--one of Taiwan's highest.

After Wulu there is a long climb through a beautiful rugged canyon that will remind you of Taroko. In the past, I've always done this section in the late morning heat. It was much, much easier and more pleasant in the cool early evening as the mountainsides came alive with the roar of cicadas, chirping birds, and howling monkeys.

We arrived in Lidao (elevation 1000m) just as it got dark and stayed at the Xianfeng Hostel (賢鳳民宿) for NT$1000. Basic but very clean. Xianfeng is run by a very pleasant young teetotaling Bunong couple who are tea farmers by day. I bought a half catty (斤) of tea for NT$750--it's excellent. There are a few shops where you can stock up on snacks for the next day and Big Sister Chen's (陳大姐) as you come into town is a good place for a hearty lunch or dinner.

Day 3: Lidao to Baolai

We were on the road before 6am the next morning and we needed all that rest for the glorious but exhausting ride that faced us. From Lidao to Yakou (亞口) it's 28km and 1,700 meters to climb. The road is achingly beautiful and cool because of the altitude. You need to be well prepared on this section with sufficient food and water and ready to get wet and cold. The fog usually sets in by around 9am obscuring the magnificent views but we had relatively good luck in that the fig kept rolling in and then rolling out producing spectacular Chinese landscape types of views. We finally reached the Yakou Hotel (at around km. 150) at noon and stopped for instant noodles and a nap. The last 10km is especially difficult because of the altitude. Take it slow and steady.

At around 1:30pm we were on the road again. Somewhat disappointingly, there were two coffee trucks at the pass (elevation 2700m) but no one selling coffee. Visibility inside the tunnel was very poor even with our lights because of the thick fog streaming in from the Kaohsiung side. Coming out of the tunnel you could barely see the side of the road for the first five or six km. That was disappointing because this is one of the most spectacular sections of road in Taiwan, but you should expect this after 9am. Still, the fog lifted a few km down the road near the Cypress Valley (檜股) and there were great views of the Laonong River making its way out of the mighty canyons at the foot of the Yushan range.

Contrary to Dennis's description, the downhill from Yakou lasts for a good 50km all the way down to Taoyuan. There is a gentle climb for about 250 meters a few kilometers outside of Meishan and another climb of about 500 meters in length (not elevation) into Taoyuan itself. The rest is all glorious downhills.

We really should have stayed in Meishan, but we had hot springs on our mind, and foolishly decided to push onto Baolai some 30km away. Meishan to Baolai (c. 20km) is 90% downhill, but the last 10km from Taoyuan to Baolai was up and down through the hills in the dark. Fortunately, there was almost no traffic and lots of fireflies. I actually kind of enjoyed it, but by this point we had been riding for nearly 14 hours (including rests) for well over 100km. This meant that I was afr too tired to shop around for place to stay in Baolai, which is a rip-off tourist trap like Jiaosi or Jhiben. We ended up staying at the New Baolai Holiday Village (新寶來溫泉渡假村). NT$3,000 for a very mediocre double room and a scanty Chinese breakfast the next morning. All of this was forgotten though as we rooted the Yankees and Wang Chien-ming onto a glorious victory over the Mets.

We did make a new discovery on the main drag--No. 36 Aiyu and Coffee Specialty Shop (３６號咖啡愛玉專賣店). Now I'm not generally a fan of Taiwanese desserts and ices (although iced Tofu and the Ice Monster's mango ices are important exceptions), but the jelly fig in ice with sour plums (酸梅愛玉冰) was one of the best summer ices I've ever had. I especially liked the tangy sour plums, which were probably the best I've ever had. Refreshing and not overly sweet. The coffee is good too.

From Baolai we rode down to Liugui (六龜) on Kaohsiung County Rd. 131 (note this is mislabeled as 113 on the Sun River maps) stopping at the waterfalls on the way. We would have taken 133 on the other side, but it is closed to repair a landslide, so we were forced onto Highway 24 (台24線). It's about 12km through rolling hills down from Baolai's elevation of 500m. to Liugui's 200m or so.

We took the bus from Liugui to the Kaohsiung high speed rail station in Zuoying the next morning. Note that the first bus (c.5:45am) does not go to the high speed rail station. The second bus at 6:45am does, and you can get there in time to catch the 8:30am train to Taipei. You will need to take the bikes apart and bag them to take them on THSR. We did this in Liugui the night before and put the bagged bikes in the bus's luggae compartment. I'm not sure you could get a full size bike in there without disassembling it.

A note on getting back. I strongly recommend putting your bike on the bus at Liugui or Meishan. The ride back to Tainan via Jiasian (甲仙) or Liugui/Meinung is hot, unpleasant, and hilly. The bus from Meishan goes through Zuoying, but I'm not sure it actually stops at the HSR station.

　

Great Taiwan Bike Rides VI: The Northern Cross
Taipei-Sanxia-Baling-Yilan



We did this ride of medium difficulty at a leisurely pace by leaving Taipei on Friday evening. If you are an experienced rider in reasonable shape, you can do this ride in two days if you leave Taipei by 10am. Leave earlier in the summer to beat the heat.

We started off from Taipei at about 6pm on a gorgeous early May evening. We crossed the Zhongzheng Bridge 中正橋 over to the Taipei County side and rode on the bike paths out to Tucheng 土城 along the Xindian and Dahan 大漢 Rivers.

From Tucheng, there is a nasty 5 km or so along Highway 3. I'd recommend spending the night in Sanxia if you are on a budget. We headed up 7B (7乙 aka 北橫公路) over to Chajiao 插角 on the opposite side of the Dabao River 大豹溪, but the few B&Bs up there are quite expensive (c. NT$2,000/night) although nice. We stayed at Green Light about 2km up the road from the school and big hotel.

The next morning we were on the road by 7am. After getting back on Highway 7, we had breakfast in Sanmin 三民. Sanxia to Sanmin doesn't have too much traffic, but Sanmin to Fusing has a bit more than one would like. This section can be a real mess with traffic heading back to Taoyuan on Sunday afternoons. Sanmin to Fusing is a long steady climb with a 2km downhill just before Sanmin.

If you are coming straight from Taipei, one pleasant lunch option just before Fusing is the Swiss Village --nice views and (not bad) Taiwanese-style western food.

The traffic thins out on the long downhill to the Luofu Bridge 羅浮橋. You begin the real ride after Luofu. We stopped mid-morning for some overpriced coffee in the garden at Star of the Northern Cross (北橫之星 Beiheng zhi xing). A bit later we lunched on down home Atayal food at a pleasant semi-outdoor roadside cafe in Gaopo 高波. Good food, friendly people. We narrowly averted being drawn into what undoubtedly would have turned into an afternoon-long drinking session with an extended family visiting relatives in the village. This place is right on corner as you cross the river that plunges down the mountain and through the village.

After resting for a few hours in the afternoon heat, we slowly cycled our way up the vast river canyon that forms the headwaters of Fusing Reservoir. There is a coffee truck about 10km out of Baling at Ronghua 榮華 with excellent coffees. You may want to ask them not to add sugar. Great views of the dam below.

As usual, we stayed at the Beiheng Hot Spring Hotel (北橫溫泉山莊), which is about NT$1,500 for a double. We had originally planned to cycle up to the Galahe (嘎拉賀) hot springs about 10km up the road in Xinxing (新興) village. This is an undeveloped hot spring in a beautiful gorge, but it involves about a 500 meter climb up from Baling and a steep hike down into the gorge so we passed this time.

Galahe (嘎拉賀) hot springs

The next morning we cycled 20 glorious kilometers between Baling and Mingchi 明池. This is one of the prettiest sections of road you will see in Taiwan. The climb up to Siling 四陵 takes you up about 600 meters from Baling over 10 km or so. It's a bit of a slog but so beautiful you may not notice. There is another undeveloped hot spring in the river below Siling.

If you can make it to Mingchi by 9:30am, you can score a buffet breakfast in the cafe until 9:30am for NT$150 including brewed coffee. Make sure you bring enough food and water for the 20km between Baling and Mingchi. There is nothing but glorious nature on this section of the road.

There is a gentle climb of 2 or 3 km after Mingchi followed by a long downhill into Cilan 棲蘭 where you join the Yilan branch of the Central Cross Highway. It's about 25 km mostly downhill and flat after a few riverside rolling hills into Luodong 羅東. We put the bikes on the train at Luodong and caught the train back to the city.

More Immigration Injustice

Just after an American woman in Hualien gets fined NT$6,000 for swearing at someone, a Japanese man married to a Taiwanese woman gets convicted of a similar offense--publicly insulting an official during the course of his official duties. This offense, defined in Article 140 of the Criminal Code) carries a prison term of up to six months. Prison terms of less than six months are routinely suspended as in this case where the man was sentenced to a reasonable 30 days for his hissy fit.

A Japanese man was given a suspended sentence of 30 days' detention and barred from the country for five years for cursing immigration officials at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in September 2005, aviation police sources said yesterday.

The man, who is married to a Taiwanese woman, often travels between Taiwan and Japan. He became so enraged by what he called the snail-paced immigration inspection at the airport that he burst into a volley of curses when an immigration officer checked his travel documents.

His banning from Taiwan for five years though is arbitrary, unreasonable, and disproportional to his offense especially in view of the fact that he is married to a Taiwanese national. Unlike the 30 - day suspended sentence, the decision to ban him from reentering Taiwan is a purely administrative decision. Since I don't have all the facts, I'm not going to speculate on which agency made the ruling and what their legal basis is but it should suffice to observe that nowhere in Article 140 is it provided that one can be banned from re entering Taiwan because of this offense.

In other words, this individual was meted out an additional and far more serious punishment in addition to the punishment for which the law provides. And he was of course denied due process since there was no hearing by an independent immigration tribunal--the Immigration Bureau simply tacked his five-year ban on out of spite and without any outside supervision using their sweeping administrative powers to deport and bar foreigners.

While it is somehow comforting to learn that at least some Japanese are susceptible to fits of 'Taiwan rage' and inappropriate behavior and that this behavior is no limited to westerners, the cumulative and extra-judicial punishment did not fit the crime at all. And then the Immigration Bureau had the nerve to complain that the man did not express 'remorse' for his crime and further had the audacity to file appeals--presumably appeals against his unjust banning from Taiwan.

Immigration officials said they felt compelled to file the lawsuit to defend the government's "prestige" and "authority." They expressed regret that the man had not shown any remorse and has fought the charges by filing petitions with several agencies.

Surely the appropriate course of action (if the man was causing a disturbance that was affecting other travelers) would have been to detain him at the airport until he cooled off. If he was foolish enough to strike an officer or destroy property, he could have been duly charged on those grounds. No doubt when he came to his senses he would have felt remorse and apologized.

But instead the Immigration Bureau, which we just learned today is riddled with officials colluding with human traffickers, takes refuge behind a outdated and authoritarian law to protect its questionable dignity and then abuses its administrative powers to bar someone from Taiwan. Talk about petty!

Rank thinks it's the Immigration Bureau that owes someone an apology. Fat chance he'll ever get it.

Great Taiwan Bike Rides V: Chiayi-Alishan-Meishan-Chiayi Loop

In case you haven't figured it out from my earlier routes, some of Taiwan's best cycling is in the Chiayi area.

A real Taiwanese glove

For a weekend trip, I recommend getting down to Chiayi on Friday night because you'll want to be off to a dawn start the next day--it can very hot down here at any time of year. Whether you're coming down by train, high speed rail, or plane, there are a host of reasonably priced hotels (c NT$800/double) in the small streets opposite the rain station.

Tea fields at 2,000 meters await you in Meishan

Day 1

The easiest way out of town is east on Minzu Rd, which eventually turns in to Daya Rd. before finally morphing into Chiayi Route 159A. Let all the tour buses and SUVs get their kicks on Highway 18 (the Alishan Highway) while you cycle in peace on 159A.



You'll cycle pass the Lantan Reservoir the Formosa Freeway, the Renyitan Reservoir, and Highway 3 through some hills. Note the junction with Highway 3--this is the way you will be coming back.

The oddly named 'Mainlander Noodles' shop.
All the noodle dishes listed are typically Taiwanese

After Highway 3, we knock about 8km in the nondescript countryside of Fanlu ('Aboriginal Road') Township. The fun begins just after the impoverished village of Kezhuang where you climb a few km up to the temple complex at Bantianyan. There is a nice outside cafe on the right just before the temples and some shops where you can stock up on food and water.

Be careful or this might happen to you on 159A

The riding gets really good here. 159A is a wild one lane country road rising from betel nut country up into tea farm country. Almost zero traffic even on holiday weekends. You'll probably need a good four hours or so to reach Shizhuo (石桌) at the junction of 159A and the Alishan Highway.

Farmhouse on 159A near Shizhuo

Shizhuo is a good spot for a late lunch at the restaurant on your left at the junction. There is also a breakfast shop on the right and across the parking on the second floor is a cheap hostel (Minsu) where a double usually goes for about NT$500.

Truck with bamboo shoots and firewood

You may well see other cyclists in Shizhuo. That's because you have so many route options from here. You can turn right and head down the Alishan highway to Longmei where you can continue on with the Chiayi-Pingtung ride Rank wrote up in Great Taiwan Bike Rides III. Or turn left ride 55km up to Tatajia, the Yushan trail head. Neither of these routes is recommended on holiday weekends although you might not have such a horrible time with the traffic if you stay in Shizhuo and get off to a pre-dawn start. Whatever you do, stay far away from the town of Alishan, one Taiwan's most horrid tourist hell holes.

A detail from a sign showing the traumatizing effect of forest fires

Another area to explore from Shizhuo is the Dabang/Jiali area accessible on Route 169 heading east from Shizhuo. SatelliteTV of Forumosa fame lives up in Dabang.

But this loop takes the other way on 169 back toward the tourist town of Fenqihu, a much smaller and tolerable version of Alishan. At Shizhuo, you can stay at the large hostel attached to the Catholic Church and managed by a Polish priest. About NT$700/night.

Tea leaves out to dry

A tradition on Rank bikes rides especially in the summer is to while away hot afternoon by a waterfall or swimming hole. If you have the time in Fenqihu, head down the steep access road toward Zhonghe Village (中和村). This road is a left after the Catholic Church but before you get into Fenqihu proper. The road heads down steeply for two or three km. When you hit some tea fields look for a private access road on your left near a farming shack. If you see signage for an old trail just before a big construction site you have come about 300 meters too far.



Head down the private access road (very steep) to the Yima River (譯馬溪) for some swimming in the cool waters. Be careful though because you are just upstream from the thunderous Xiaocaishen Watererfall (小財神瀑布) and the rocks are very slippery. There is a dangerous path to a lookout point above. Alas we have been unable to discover a route down to the bottom of the falls. I'm sure you could ask in Zhonghe Village. Incidentally, the outside access road connects Zhonghe Village to Fenqihu from 159A if you want to do a brutal climb up to Fenqihu and skip the longer way through Shizhuo.

Day 2

Ride up from Fenqihu on 169 through Taihe Village (太和村) toward the junction to Laiji Village (來吉村). There are places to stay in Laiji if Fenqihu is too rowdy for you. At the Youcheliao (油車寮) junction take 169A on the left. Wind through the beautiful high altitude tea farms. Just before a big down hill, hang out at the view point overlooking the great Caoling lanslide across the canyon in Yunlin County. The devastation here was caused by the 1999 Jiji earthquake. Check if the vendors are selling iced passion fruit or mulberry juice. This is all local produce and supposedly organic. Whatever. It's the best on a hot day.Landslide near Daxiagu closes the road to most traffic...

There is a long descent into Daxiagu (大峽谷) on the Shengmaoshu River (生毛樹溪). Some beautiful water down here. Cross the river and begin the long climb on switchbacks up into Bihu Village (碧湖村). As you can see here, we crossed a landslide that should be fixed by now.

...but not to Rank

Eventually you will make it to Taiping Village (太平) after a good six hours of riding from Fenqihu. This is the only reliable place for lunch after Fenqihu although snacks and water are available along the way. From Taiping, enjoy the breathtaking descent into Meishan Township on the plains. There are 36 hairpin turns on the way down.

Country store near Taiping

Meishan is a typical country town. On the main street there are a couple of grubby Vietnamese noodle stalls if you are desperate for something other than Taiwanese food. Ride south out of town on Highway 3 about 15 km through Zhuqi until you reach the junction with 169A. Turn right and head back into Chiayi.

Two competing Vietnamese noodle stands in Meishan

Day 2 is a full day of riding that assumes you leave Fenqihu early in the morning.

Great Taiwan Bike Rides Part III: Chiayi to Pingtung

This ride is best done in three days although we did it in 2 very long days (>100km both days). This is a classic ride through some of Taiwan's most beautiful back country.

[Update 2010-4-2]: Here's a Google map of the route using 159A instead of Route 18. 159A is a one lane beauty of a road with far less traffic. Note that Namaxia area was seriously damaged by Typhoon Morokat last August followed by the earthquake in early March. According to this blog post from a few weeks ago, the roads are passable. Please report road conditions in the comments.]

Friday evening

Fly to Chiayi with bikes. Stay at one of the cheap hotels near the train station. Don't try riding out of town to look for a hotel. We ended up sleeping outside in Chukou because there was nowhere to stay.

Saturday

This is the toughest day with two grueling climbs if you make it all the way to Sanmin.

Take Route 18 east toward Alishan. You will begin to climb at Chukou. Stay on Route 18 until you reach Longmei. Stop here for a well-deserved break and don't miss the handmade baozi at the first shop on the left-hand side of the road.

At Longmei, turn right onto Jiayi Route 129. This is also known as the Shanmei Access Road (??????). Enjoy the long downhill. Take a dip in the Puyanu Creek near the Chashan suspension bridge or trace the creek east up to the waterfalls. When you get to Chashan, stay left on 129-1. The roads are not very clearly marked here. There may be some guest houses at Chashan. This would be a good spot to stop for the night. Otherwise you will need to push on over the mountain to Sanmin. Make sure you have enough water. Country store are far apart here.

Sunday

129-1 is not well maintained. It eventually turns into the Chashan Access Rd. and eventually connects up with Route 21. There is accommodation in Sanmin and a couple of noodle shops that close at dusk. Head southwest on Route 21 for a lovely wide out to Jiaxian. Ride over the Neiyingshan Mountains on Route 20 (the Southern Cross) east and drop down into Laonong. At Laonong ride south on Route 27 until you reach the turnoff for Kaohsiung Rt. 113. Ride up 113 a few kilometers north and stay at one of the many hot spring hotels. Alternatively, go all the the way up to Baolai, turn right at the school and climb up to the Shidong Hot Springs ????. This secluded spot is one of my favorite hot springs in Taiwan, but call first because accommodation is limited.

Monday

This day will be long but mostly flat unless you do a side trip up to Maolin. Coming off 113, turn right back onto Route 27. Backtrack about .5 km and turn left onto Kaohsiung Route 131. Take 131 down to Liugui, cross the Liugui Bridge, and get back onto Route 27 heading south. Ride down the east bank of the Laonong River on a lovely road through some of Taiwan's prettiest countryside. Notice the distinctive Hakka farmhouses along the way.

If you are making good time, turn left at Dajin and ride up into Maolin. Eat some barbecue at Duona and soak in the hot springs.

From Dajin, ride south on 185, otherwise known as the Mountainside Highway ????. Stay on 185 all the way to Sandimen and then take Route 24 into Pingtung where you can stash your bikes on train and then fly or take the train back.