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ABSTRACT: Nantou is the heart of Taiwan and it pumps with various attractions. The centermost and landlocked province has Sun Moon Lake as it banner tourist destination with Mt. Yushan at an altitude of 3,952 meters topping all the list of mountains in East Asia. It has no seas but the allure of seeing snow during winter keeps visitors from coming back. When news of the worst cold spell coming to Taiwan for the first time in 10 years spread like virus, I decided to go to Nantou to see snow in Hehuanshan with a side trip to the town of Puli. The geographic center of Taiwan is located here with the cold winter rain welcoming my arrival. Traveling to Cingjing Farm was full of drama as tears falling from the sky suddenly turn into solid particles. Snow! I slid down a hill covered with snow, made a snowman and have a snowball fight. Brrr! Taipei got the attention that it wanted when it rained snow in Yangmingshan after waiting for decades and a lot of people were asking on what happened to my two-day Nantou Special. My friends and followers around the world were all eager to know. The time has come to focus your eyes on gazing Taiwan's “Center of Attraction”.
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ABSTRACT: Nantou is the heart of Taiwan and it pumps with various attractions. The centermost and landlocked province has Sun Moon Lake as it banner tourist destination with Mt. Yushan at an altitude of 3,952 meters topping all the list of mountains in East Asia. It has no seas but the allure of seeing snow during winter keeps visitors from coming back. When news of the worst cold spell coming to Taiwan for the first time in 10 years spread like virus, I decided to go to Nantou to see snow in Hehuanshan with a side trip to the town of Puli. The geographic center of Taiwan is located here with the cold winter rain welcoming my arrival. Traveling to Cingjing Farm was full of drama as tears falling from the sky suddenly turn into solid particles. Snow! I slid down a hill covered with snow, made a snowman and have a snowball fight. Brrr! Taipei got the attention that it wanted when it rained snow in Yangmingshan after waiting for decades and a lot of people were asking on what happened to my two-day Nantou Special. My friends and followers around the world were all eager to know. The time has come to focus your eyes on gazing Taiwan's “Center of Attraction”.
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I gained new online friends with the success “Luo-Mu Jie and the Chocolate Factory” in Taiwan Day 862. One of them was a Filipino who works in Hsinchu. His name was Leo and he was the newest addition to my list of Travel Buddies. He got excited with the idea of traveling every week in Taiwan. Another Travel Buddy was Rakesh and he now made a comeback appearance to my Taiwan Day Adventures. My Indian friend last joined my trip in Taiwan Day 666 (Drag Me To Hell) and he loves doing hiking adventures. With my travel team completed, we embarked on an unforgettable journey in Nantou.
Rakesh and I met Leo first at Hsinchu Station before heading to Taichung Station. My new Filipino friend have little experience traveling to Taiwan and he might have difficulty looking for the Gancheng bus stop near Taichung Station. The meeting with Leo at the train station in Hsinchu was history as he was the first Filipino who I do not know personally to join my travel adventures. He just added me as a friend in facebook and he sent me a message that he wants to join my next trip. I bet that there will be more new acquaintances that will join my exciting trips with the increasing popularity of my blog among Filipinos working in Taiwan.
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| Our group photo in Taichung Station. Rakesh is on the left, Leo is on the middle and I stand on the right side. |
We have a group photo with the Baroque-style building of Taichung Station upon reaching the train station and we walked as fast as we could to reach Gancheng bus stop. We arrived there on time and we boarded Bus 6268 immediately and paid the bus fare using our Easy Card. It was the fastest bus that I've rode in Taiwan and it reached the town of Puli after 1 hour and 20 minutes. The bus ride was an adventure in itself as the vehicle goes through mountains amidst the slippery road. I was also surprised by towering skyways built in the valleys of Central Taiwan. I could imagine my ears popping if a rode a bus that goes on that very high skyway.
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| I got this from the email of Puli Center Center Hostel. |
The last stop of the Bus 6268 was the Geographic Center of Taiwan but we decided to alight at the Puli Brewery which was the second to the last stop. The tourist destination was just a few walks away from our chosen hostel which was Puli Center Center Hostel. The hostel name has two 'Center' words which was a bit weird. The Puli bus station was also a neighbor of our hostel so it was very convenient to stay at. The staff were very friendly and I could say that it was one of the best hostels that I have stayed in Taiwan . The very good feedback that I have read in hostelworld were all true!. It was still early to check-in at 11:30am so we left our bags at the hostel to have an enjoyable travel in the town.
Pork jelly, wine and other delicious products surprised me and my Travel Buddies when we entered the Puli Brewery complex. We were expecting it to be in a museum showcasing the history, arts and culture of winemaking in the town of Puli but what we entered was a sales center where various products of the Puli Shaoshing Brewery can be tasted for free. Visitors who haven't eaten their lunch will enjoy tasting their various products especially the pork jelly which seems to be on an unlimited supply. I also tried tasting some of their wines and it warmed my throat. Interestingly, the staff doesn't want to tell me the price of the wine. They just asked me if I want to buy. For non-drinkers, there were juice drinks to select from with the pure jar of the juice displayed at the shop. A lady would then give you a sample of their refreshing drink to convince you to buy. Above the sales center was the actual museum with Chinese and English displays about the famous Shaoshing wine of Nantou. There were a lot of photo opportunities with the tunnel of jars providing excitement to those who entered it.
We boarded Bus 6268 again to see the Geographic Center of Taiwan. The island's center was located Hǔtóushān (虎頭山) or the Tiger Head mountain identified through modern methods with another center point computed by the Japanese during Taiwan's colonial period. So there were two geographic centers that were identified, the Japanese center point which was at the base of the Hǔtóushān mountain and the modern center point located at the mountain top. We climbed to the top of the 555 meter mountain and hiking it was like visiting a temple in Japan. There used to be Shinto shrine on this mountain top but the ambience of a Shinto shrine can still be felt from its stairs. At the top, we saw the stela which marked the center of Taiwan and we didn't missed the opportunity to have a group photo. There was a viewing deck near the geographic center and we saw the town of Puli. The town has a big building with a huge satellite dish looking structure on its top and was very noticeable from our location.
The terminal station of Bus 6268 was on the other side of the road and we boarded the bus to go back to our hostel by alighting at Puli Brewery. Our shoes were already wet by the cold winter rain and we need to dry them immediately. It would be dangerous if we don't dry them because tomorrow would be the coolest day of my life. Tears from the sky would fall not as rain but as snow. (To be continued...)
THINGS TO DO IN TAICHUNG - CENTRAL TAIWAN
Sakura Series - Taiwan
2024 Forecast
Taipei 101 first flowers
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Taipei Flower Test Center
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Broadwood Park
Sunshine Sports Park kawazu sakura
Wuling Farm (武陵農場)
SYS kawazu sakura
Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
CKS Memorial Hall
Shibafen Yoshino Sakura
Hope River
Dongfang Temple
Tianyuan Palace
Neicou Stream Trail
Orange Garden Cafe
Yangming Park Visitor Information Center
Yangming Park Service Center Bus Stop
Huashan Road
Qianshan Park
Zhongshan Hall Entrance
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Flower Test Center Shōwa Sakura
Neihu Creek Trail
Shulin Land Office
Xióng Kōng Cherry Blossom Forest
Lung Yen Sakura Forest
Yangming Park cherry stream
Yangming Park fountain
CKS Memorial Hall Tairyō sakura
Wugu District Tianyi Road
CKS Memorial Hall yaesakura
Loving Farm
Yong Long Farm
Zhongbaling Sakura Road
Sun Link Sea
Tai'an Police Station
Cherry Hill Slope
Hsinchu Park
Taipei 101
Kāng Gào Kēng Creek
New Garden City
Broadwood Park
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Alishan Ranger Station
Alishan House
Alishan Police Station
Alishan Forest Railway
Alishan Station
Alishan Entrance
Alishan Gou Hotel
Alishan Magnolia Garden
Wulai tour
Wun Chang Elementary School
Bishanyan
Sanzhi Sansei Trail
Sakura Series - Taiwan
Nei Cuo Stream
Orange Garden Cafe
Sansei Trail
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Yangming Park Cherry Stream
Yangming Park Fountain
Flower Test Center
Broadwood Park
New Garden City
Yinghua Park
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Yangmingshan Visitor Center
Taipei 101
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Sakura Series - Japan
Kamonyama Park
Near the Nippon Maru Memorial Park
Shinko Park
Minato-mirai 21 area
Tokyo Tech Suzukakedai Campus
Onda River
Tenryuji
Byodoin
Kiyomizudera
Himuro shrine and Yakushi-ji Temple
Hōryū-ji Temple
Nara Park attractions
Tokyo Tech Ookayama Campus
Sumida River
Tsuruma Park
Gion
Maple Series
Taipei Aowanda
Shimen Dam
Alishan
Aowanda
Shanlinxi
Taoyuan Valley Garden
Fushoushan Farm
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| Yehliu to Jiufen? Yehliu to Shifen? Cheaper than yellow taxis |
The "Taipei kong mahal" (My beloved Taipei)
Always in my heart
MRT birdman
Valentine's Day
Tulips Festival
2018 Taipei Lantern Festival
City of Azaleas
Linji Huguo Temple
Nanjichang Night Market
Gudetama Chef restaurant
Dalongdong Bao'an Temple
Shilin hollyhocks
Ningxia Night Market
Ximending graffiti
Discovery Center of Taipei
Chunghwa Postal Museum
Double-Decker Bus
Shilin Cold Balls
Jingimoo
GomanMango
mud volcanic ice
Fire and Ice Dumpling
Opium Fen-Yuan
Ichiran Ramen
Liu Shandong Beef Noodles
hydrangea flowers
National Palace Museum
Other attractions in Taipei
Taipei on a budget
Japanese buildings
Dāoxiāomiàn beef noodles
Presidential Office Building
Yongkang St. and Elephant Mountain
CKS and SYS Hall
City tour
Beitou ramen
MRT Monopoly Game
Winter city tour
Zhicheng Park
Shilin Plum Blossom
Art museums
Shopping in Taipei
Summer desserts
Qingtiangang
Qixingshan hiking
2015 Calla lily
2016 Calla lily
Beitou tour
Beitou-Zhuzihu tour
NTU
Confucius Temple
2015 Dadaocheng Festival
Puppet Museum
Fantasy Ice World
2016 Bread Show
Strawberry picking
2015 Rose Garden
Modern Toilet
Shilin Night Market
NASA Exhibit
Raohe Night Market
Longshan Temple
2013 Taipei Zoo
Maokong Gondola
Lupin flowers
Taipei 101 day visit
Taipei 101 night visit
Tiger Mountain
Din Tai Fung
Taipei Story House
2014 Flower Show
Chrysanthemum Show
Miramar Ferris wheel
Miniatures Museum
Archery
1600 Pandas
Wulaoguo hot pot
Upside Down House
2016 101 Fireworks
New Taipei
Tamsui Pumpkin Tunnel
Shifen Waterfall
2017 Sand Sculpture
Dragon Caves
New Taipei tour
2016 Kite Festival
Pingxi Crags
Bitou Cape
2016 Sand Sculpture
2015 Christmasland
Juming - Jinshan
Houtong - Pingxi
Sandiaoling Waterfall
Jiufen foodtrip
Guanyinshan hike
Yehliu Ocean World
2014 Kite Festival
Pingxi Rail tour
Jinguashi tour
Vigor Kobo Pineapple
British Consulate
Yehliu Geopark
2014 Sand Sculpture
Paragliding
2014 Christmasland
2014 Pingxi Lantern
firefly watching
Yingge Ceramics Street
Jiufen tour
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