A little more nature in Taiwan

Swinhoe's longhorn beetle (Paraglenea swinhoei)


Swinhoe's japalura (Japalura swinhonis)

A couple more Taiwan nature photos

A slug feasting on the deadly mushroom Amanita virgineoides, a close relative of the Death Cap. (Photo by Katannya)


A spectacular swallowtail. (Photo by Robert)


As for the typhoon-predicting grass, a week after we saw it, a major typhoon hit Taiwan: Typhoon Morakot. We hope it's correct in predicting that this will be the only one this year.

Though we were relatively unharmed in the north, the south saw massive flooding and landslides. Some mountain communities were wiped off the map, and many people lost their lives or went missing. And the government's poor handling of this emergency has led to charges that this is President Ma Ying-jeou's Hurricane Katrina. Michael Turton gives this issue extensive treatment in his blog The View from Taiwan.

Nature hike to Dongyanshan

Today we hiked to the Dongyanshan (East Eye Mountain) Forest Reserve, near the town of Sanxia, in the mountains where Taipei County meets Taoyuan County. We took a backwoods route, allowing us to avoid paying the entry fee. But it's a looooong way.

The trailhead was at the end of a road that forks off to the right at a small village, a place we usually turn left to go to Manyueyuan (Full Moon Park).

Eager hikers at the trailhead


This section of the trail is not very difficult. It's pretty level for the most part, with only one short scramble over some rocks.

A few minutes into the hike we came across a frog pond. We were alerted to the presence of the frogs by their croaking sounds.

Sauter's Brown Frog (Rana sauteri)


About 40 minutes into the hike we came to an open area with lots of wildflowers, and tons of butterflies of numerous species. I'd never seen such a rich variety in such a small area. It was a butterfly paradise.

Redbase Jezebel (Delias aglaia)


Common Tiger (Danaus genutia)


Swinhoe's Chocolate Tiger (Parantica swinhoei)


Top: Glassy Tiger (Parantica aglea)
Bottom: Double-Banded Crow (Euploea sylvester swinhoei)
Flower: Flossflower (Ageratum houstonianum)


Common Mapwing (Cyrestis thyodamas)


Nyctemera adversata, a Magpie Moth


To be determined


There was a certain flowering plant that seemed especially attractive to swallowtails. Most of these large butterflies disappeared quickly upon the arrival of us humans, but this one allowed us to squeeze off a few shots before fleeing:

Formosan Swallowtail (Papilio taiwanus)


We couldn't hang around all day photographing butterflies...we had to continue on our hike. We trudged on through the vegetation.



We passed some patches of palmgrass. The locals call it "typhoon grass". There's an Aboriginal legend that these plants can foretell the future. Namely, the number of typhoons for the year is predicted by the number of creases on the leaves. This year the leaves of the palmgrass consistently show one crease. No typhoon has hit Taiwan yet this year, so one is expected to come.

Palmgrass (Setaria palmifolia), the typhoon oracle


Trailhacker decided to take a closer look at some wild bananas (Musa basjoo?). They have small red fruits and large black seeds.


Then we came to a road, and walked along it for about 10 minutes until we found a dirt road to the left. Walking in, we passed by a forest of bamboo.



Japanese Fig (Ficus erecta)


We climbed up to a ridge and hiked along it. Vegetation grew thick in some areas, but the trail was clear for the most part. We traversed several peaks before finally seeing a pavilion. We were in the forest preserve. Here we had a well-deserved rest and lunch.

Some of the Dongyanshan forest preserve consists of a plantation forest of Japanese Cedar planted during the Japanese occupation after the area was logged for native hardwoods. As you can see, the trees are all approximately the same age. These trees are decades old! (Sorry... it's an inside joke; I couldn't help it.)



Admiring the view of the mountains


Took another rest outside the preserve's restaurant and noticed the name of this appetizing dish (the top one):



Look, on the ground! A snake! But don't worry: it's not venomous. It's a White Plum Blossom Snake (Lycodon ruhstrati ruhstrati). Oh, and it's dead.


Now that's a leaf! What do we call them? Elephant ears? Lovers' umbrellas? It's Giant Taro (Alocasia macrorrhiza).


We trekked back to the car and drove to Sanxia, where we had dinner at Belgian Pie's restaurant. Excellent food as usual.

A quick visit to Mary's

The other day I had cause to go to Tienmu, an area in northeastern Taipei that was for a long time known as a Western ghetto. Because of the large population of Westerners there, a number of businesses popped up to cater to them.

One is Mary's Hamburgers, a Taipei institution. It opened in 1979, and is still going strong 30 years later. It's on Zhongshan N. Road, just south of the Taipei American School.



I had a cheeseburger and fries.


That's all for now! Been busy lately!

Yellow Butterfly Valley

The Yellow Butterfly Valley, actually a series of valleys near the Hakka city of Meinong in southern Taiwan, is named after the Lemon Emigrant butterfly (Catopsilia pomona) that congregate in large numbers each summer. But they're not the only butterflies to be found: some 100 out of Taiwan's 400 or so species can be found in these lush valleys.

We drove down Saturday, staying overnight in Tainan at my favorite el-cheapo hotel there, Ing Wang, around the corner from Fort Provintia (an old Dutch fort) and a quick walk to most of the famous downtown historical sites. We arrived at about midnight, and decided to take a midnight stroll around the downtown area, passing by the Jade Emperor Temple, the Confucius Temple, and the newly restored Japanese martial arts academy. Tainan is Taiwan's oldest city, and for most of Taiwan's 400-year history since its colonization it served as the capital. It's a must-see for history buffs.

The Jade Emperor Temple at night


The next day we left bright and early for the valley. On the drive there, along the No. 3 Freeway, we saw quite a few Lemon Emigrants fluttering across the road, dodging vehicles.

We passed through Meinong and drove along a country road into the foothills, passing the Butterfly Temple, and finally arriving at a very narrow road. We got out, and found the heat to be oppressive. But as we walked along a dirt road, we saw increasing numbers of butterflies, particularly the Lemon Emigrant.

The Butterfly Temple


I found the Lemon Emigrant hard to photograph. They're flighty creatures, reluctant to land, and easily disturbed by human presence. When they finally do land, they're barely still for long. By the time I've located them in my viewfinder and autofocus has decided to focus on the butterfly, it's gone. I did manage to take a couple photos.

Female Lemon Emigrant


Male Lemon Emigrant feeding on Lantana camara


This Lemon Pansy (Junonia lemonias aenaria) was much more well-behaved. It sat there a good three minutes as I photographed it. I love the eye spots! The spots are a form of mimicry: they evolved to look like the eyes of a predator, frightening away potential predators or drawing their attention away from the body of the insect.

Lemon Pansy


Come noon, with the sun directly overhead, the numbers of butterflies were decreasing significantly. It was time to go.

As we drove out through the country roads, we came across Guangshan Temple. It turns out the temple has a dormitory where visitors can stay for the night. It would be interesting to tour Taiwan sometime staying only in temples and monasteries.

Here's part of the temple complex:


On the temple grounds was an interesting old Japanese-built schoolhouse, which the caretaker showed us:




We decided that we would make a side-trip to Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan's biggest natural lake, on the drive back to Taipei. I had never visited it before despite living in Taiwan for years. It's renowned for its beauty, but with the hazy air and crappy weather that day, it didn't live up to its potential. Still, I'm glad I had a chance to go there, even if it was only for a couple hours.

Sun Moon Lake

Yushan Conquered

It has gone by many names: Tongku Saveg by the Bunun, Mt. Morrison by 19th century Westerners, Niitakayama by the Japanese during their colonial rule. At 3952 meters (12,966 ft), it's Yushan (meaning Jade Mountain), Taiwan's tallest peak. Normally visited by about 100 people a day, the peak saw only three visitors on June 26, 2009: Robert, Kitty and me.

Each day, around 1000 people apply for a permit to hike this mountain, but only around 120 a day receive permission. We had tried several times, and this time we finally got accepted. It's essentially luck of the draw. And we were lucky.

The four of us--Robert, Kitty, Ringo and me--were set to hike up on Thursday the 24th, stay overnight at the Paiyun Lodge, then hike to the peak on Friday, then hike back down on Saturday. As the day of departure approached, a typhoon threatened to ruin our trip. But we decided to keep close tabs on weather updates and the latest advice of park staff. Our vigilance paid off: some groups of hikers canceled their plans, and others, who arrived at the lodge the same day we did, decided to go to the peak the same day. This meant that if our group made the ascent on the planned day, we would be the only visitors to the peak the entire day.

The hike up from the trailhead was relatively easy for the moderately experienced hiker like me... easier than Mt. Kinabalu in Borneo (which, though not technically difficult, is a relentless uphill climb) and certainly easier than Beidawushan in southern Taiwan (which includes many technical sections, such as rope climbs up short cliffs). The trail has numerous level stretches and some downhill areas, and the uphill slopes are for the most part quite gentle.

The Grand Precipice, the bed of an ancient ocean


Unfortunately, despite the relative ease of the 8.5km hike to the lodge, Ringo was inexperienced as a hiker and was suffering from some stomach problems. Her condition was exacerbated by the exercise and altitude, making her progress very slow. But despite this, we arrived at the lodge before sunset. (We had a room designed for 16 people mostly to ourselves.)

Paiyun Lodge


Funny sign


Our attempt to get to the peak the next day was now contingent on the next morning's weather report. Fortunately, the typhoon was shifting its course away from Taiwan, clearing our way to climb to the peak. Our sick friend decided to stay at the lodge and take it easy. So three of us, Robert, Kitty and I, set out at 8:00am to reach the peak.

The hike up was spectacular. It took about 2 hours and 40 minutes to reach the top, including breaks. There was a long series of switchbacks which soon emerged from the tree-line and traversed a large scree field. Then at the top of the scree field the trail got rockier and steeper, aided with chains and even a "wind tunnel". Overall, the hike was surprisingly easy; the hardest part was the last 200 meters, which required the use of all four limbs to climb to the top.

Crossing the scree field


The "wind tunnel" (built to protect this hazardous section from falling rocks)


A view of the southern ridge


The final scramble to the peak (which can be seen on the upper right)


Kitty and Robert on the peak


We made it, finally! What a rush! We were standing on the peak of Yushan! And as it turned out: we were the only three people to visit the peak the entirety of Friday, June 26, 2009!

Then we climbed into a sheltered area for a picnic. We ended up taking a nap there for about 15 minutes! To my surprise, I could get cell phone reception, and I texted most of the people in my phone's memory. This is when I received responses, including the news that Michael Jackson had just died. Here we were, miles from civilization on the top of Taiwan's tallest mountain. News like this sure travels to the remotest places.

At about noon, we headed back down.



It was getting cloudy and there was some threatening looking weather headed our way. We hiked back down, and just as we arrived at the lodge, it started pouring rain. We lucked out again! Only one problem: the sole fell off my hiking boot.

The next day, we were greeted with absolutely beautiful weather for the hike back down. With the "lost sole" secured to my boot with gauze bandages, I trekked with the others back to the trailhead.



On the way down, we kept hearing a bird that made an "oo-oo" sound. Robert related a story to us about the bird: he was once with a group hiking across Taiwan with the aid of some Bunun porters. He heard the bird, and asked one of the Aboriginal tribesmen, "What's the bird making the 'oo-oo' sound?" The man replied, "That's the oo-oo bird."

There was just one other thing we had to be concerned about: Robert wanted to arrive at the trailhead before noon in order to meet some butterfly researchers there. Three hours and 45 minutes later, he and Kitty arrived at the trailhead in ample time to meet them. Twenty minutes later, I arrived there with Ringo, who was feeling much better, but was still struggling with the trail.

The final stretch. Robert and Kitty are crossing
the top of the landslide in the center of the photo.


Robert catching butterflies


At the car, we unloaded our stuff. Then we cleaned ourselves off and some of us changed into fresh clean clothes for the drive home. The weather on the way back was so beautiful and the air was so clear that the views on the drive back were stunning! Even the Gukeng Rest Area looked gorgeous!

Taipei Then and Now (Redux)

Funny...now I have all the time in the world, but it's only now that I'm updating my blog. With my workload down for the summer, I've now had time to devote to a number of pet projects on my long to-do list, and my blog unfortunately is not at the top of the list.

Anyway, I have a big backlog, and this week I'll be doing some catching up.

I'll start out simply.

Remember last fall's Taipei Then and Now posts? Well, they finally took the big plastic covers off the Land Bank Building. Here it is:

Then



Now


That's all for now. More blogging coming up this week!