Author CHRIS VAN LAAK / LYLE LANGUILEY
Photographer XHIN TOH
Editor Chih Yi Chen
The map of Taiwan shows Nantou as an outlier. With all other counties lined up along the coast, landlocked Nantou looks like the last frontier. Its physical features confirm this status: It boasts Taiwan’s highest mountain, highest waterfall and largest lake. It also has the second-largest forest area (after Hualien), with an overall coverage of 75 percent.
Should any county ever adopt the slogan “Green Lung of Taiwan,” it would have to be Nantou.
Even without a spectacular coastline, it offers ample opportunity to be awed by nature and coexist with it for the duration of a relaxing stay.
Forest therapy
Large parts of the NTU Experimental Forest in Lugu Township (鹿谷) consist of Japanese cedars planted during Taiwan’s colonial era. The purpose of the area, which the Japanese called Taiwan Practice Forest, was to test how highly priced timber could be commodified most efficiently.
Cedars still dominate the forest, which has quietly undergone a makeover into a great place for visitors to enjoy the riches of nature.
Some problems, such as the high percentage of nonnative trees that are nearing the end of their 80-year life cycles remain, but local entrepreneurs are working on solutions that everybody can benefit from.
One of them is Taiwan Forest Therapy Society director Paul Chia-Min Lin (林家民), who regularly leads groups of visitors through the forest around the Pavilion of Phoenix (鳳凰森之鳴). During these therapy sessions, he seeks to help them reconnect with nature.
However, he does not conceal that problems exist. “We need to remove dead trees to provide space for living ones,” he tells visitors, as he believes education is key to saving the forest.
Active in the forest
Nantou’s forests are a treasure trove. Under the Mountain Valley Forest (山谷之間) brand, visitors can take part in a host of activities, from singing bowl healing sessions to tea ceremonies and DIY planting activities after which they can take home their own ecosphere inside a mason jar.
After experiencing nature like this, Lin’s message ―“Come and protect the forest with me!”―really resonates.
Lin has been interested in forestry since his childhood in Taichung―since his Christian mother and Taoist father could not agree on whether to take him to church or the temple on Sundays. The family frequently went on trips to Nantou’s forests instead.
When he learned, as an adult, that many Taiwanese had never visited a forest, he was shocked.
Experiencing tea
A trip to the forest in Nantou, which is highly recommended by Lin, can easily be connected with a visit to another sight that the “Green Lung of Taiwan” is famous for: Tea gardens.
Some of Taiwan’s best teas, from black to green and oolong, come from the area.
Among Nantou’s many producers, Yen’s Tea Garden (山中茶學) stands out. Not only does it offer first-class tea, but it also invites guests to take part in the whole process DIY-style: From picking the leaves to processing and packaging them in cute, individual packages that make great gifts or keepsakes.
More than cedars
Another project that’s close to Lin’s heart is the future of Taiwan’s bamboo forests. They, too, are faced with issues similar to the forests planted by the Japanese.
After decades of neglect, forest management is needed, including “thinning, thinning, thinning,” as Lin calls it.
This can help the ecosystem gather new strength, unfold its potential as a carbon sink in times of global warming, and, almost as a byproduct, provides young entrepreneurs with what they need to create innovative products.
One of the most remarkable among them is Yuantai Bamboo Studio (元泰竹藝社), which prides itself in using sustainably farmed bamboo from the area.
The quality of Nantou’s bamboo is so good that it can be used for high-quality products such as bicycle frames that rival those made of carbon. Yuantai makes them on-site, alongside products that the common traveler might rather want to take home, such as toothbrushes and mugs.
The latter can even be painted during individual DIY sessions at the studio.
Pathfinder
Mountain Valley Forest (山谷之間)
“In the forest, I found my strength and reconnected with nature.” ☆ Mountain Valley Between Forest.
In this space, whether it’s bamboo, tea or the forest itself, we live by it and find healing through it.
