A Wandering Botanist: Travel Story--Beaches in Taiwan

Taiwan is an island just east of the continent of Asia. It is subtropical to tropical, full of scenic vistas, rugged mountains, and, being an island, it is surrounded by beaches. When the Portuguese discovered it in the 1500s, they called it Ilha Formosa, "beautiful island" an aptly descriptive name, though no longer in use.

beach, looking south

It is the end of winter, Colorado is still brown and beige, so here is a photo tour of coastal Taiwan. My photos are not especially colorful, so remember to imagine the temperature is a very comfortable 80^oF, a light wind is blowing and the humidity is very high.

From the capital, Taiwan, at the north end of the island, a major scenic highway curls south following the east coast. You can often see the ocean, but stopping is tricky. Here and there are turnouts and staircases down to the water. The photo above looks south from one of those spots, below is looking north.

looking north, coast, northeastern Taiwan

The road is fascinating in itself, with half-covered tunnels and narrow turns, as it winds along the cliffs. It was impossible to photograph much of it.

Looking inland at the road, behind the trees

Where rivers came in or there was a little more space, there were incredibly scenic buildings:

the road crossed this outwash,
near but not too near, the beach

Farther south, there were cute tea houses where you could sit and enjoy the air and the view.

tea house

Towns had lots of boats, reflecting an active fishing industry.

Dock in southern Taiwan

Off the southeast coast, east of the city of Taiung, is Lüdao, Green Island.

View from scenic spot on Green Island

The crossing is famously rough. And, it was rough, but I didn't mind.

Green Island

Green Island was infamous during the Chang Kai-shek era (1949-1992) as a political prison. The complex has been turned into a museum, remembering the past and past injustices. "Lest we forget!"

In the tropical climate it is crumbling, perhaps not a bad thing.

the prison complex on Green Island

Taiwan is a point of contention and has been for decades. Its position off the Asian coast brought it various settlers. The earliest came prehistorically and are unrelated to Chinese, Japanese, or Koreans. They remain, mostly in the mountains. Traders then came from various places in Asia. Taiwan is rich in minerals and forest products. Chinese, mostly from southern China and speaking Cantonese, settled there over the last 1000 years and it was annexed by the Qing dynasty, who ruled Taiwan 1683-1895. They ceded it to Japan 1895 as a war settlement. Some Japanese settled in the north but mostly Japan exported Taiwanese products back to Japan. Then in 1949 Chang Kai-Shek's Nationalist army, defeated by the Communists, escaped from the mainland to Taiwan, taking over the government and imposing a cruel dictatorship. The Nationalists always considered themselves (mainland) Chinese; Taiwan was just a temporary residence. Except time passed and they did not return to China. The dreadful government of the Nationalist army gave way to democratic reforms in the 1980s. Popular elections were held for the first time in 1996. The island is self-governing with people with indigenous, Japanese, north and south Chinese and more ancestry and most people identify as Taiwanese, whatever their ethnic background. It is a strange place because the claims of both Nationalists and Communists called it part of China over the last 78 years, so almost no country in the world recognizes it as a country. Yet for 30 years it has been a self-governing democracy with very strong economic growth, both wealthy and modern.

At the tip of the southern coast of Taiwan, looking south. The next land is the Philippines.