Arriving at a Small Town, Populated by the Hydrangeas

A walk, into NATURE, from the Front Page Sections, translated…

It’s five in the morn, my friend took her newborn child out for a stroll. For an infant waking up in the early mornings, other than milk, there’s nothing BUT fresh air.

They trekked along the small biking trail, quietly, arrived, at the creek not too far away. It was, a puddle, out of the springs found in the land, becoming a small pond of sorts, there were, a variety of fishes living there. As the weather became heated up, the children in the close by villages would come in groups to come to the water to play. They’d stood close and watched, the skies slowly become light. On the other side of this small stream, just three, four meters away, there was, a mammal, making its way out of the forest slowly, passed the roads, and, made its way into the other side of the forest. A crab-eating mongoose, my friend exclaimed to herself silently.

doesn’t this look like a place where you might want to live???  Not my photograph…

A few seconds passed, it was, their turn, made their way across, and examined the treks left behind by the mongoose still in awe. Those who spent a lot of time outdoors know, that it’s only, a matter of few short seconds, when we’d come into contact with the amazing creatures of the wilderness, but those moments were, etched into our minds forever, and we’d, savored these memories for life. This, was the wonders of nature, the meanings of life that simply can’t be, replaced.

Yesterday, I’d visited the highest peak in Miaoli, the Jali Mountain, I’d bumped into a male Mikado pheasant, it’s, strutted so tall across me. As my friend heard my accord, he was too excited, and I’d, told him, that I’d rather exchange my ten serendipitous encounters with the wildlife here, in exchange for one crab eating mongoose.

A friend who’s from Taichung had just gotten married, and his family of four rented a farm house by the Penlai Streams, and they were, raising red earthworms, to resolve the problems of leftover food items, to make the leftover food items into organic compost. He’d also raised the sheep and the pigs too, hoping, to set up a symbiotic method to live in the countryside.

At the hours of dusks, he would often take his children out by the creeks for a stroll, and recently, other than the meerkats, they’d also, bumped into the Reeve’s muntjacs, wildhogs, and the monkeys, they’re like the tourists, running all over too. For him, this was, only a part of the normal routines in his days living in the country, at the altitude of 4,500 meters, in the town of Nanzhuan, he was offered the opportunity to learn organic farming methods, along with the weaving style of the tribe, Saixia.

a place, surrounded by nature, NOT my photo still…

Later on, I’d trekked along his normal paths, back to the Penglai Elementary School. This trail in the mountains is densely populated with trees, somewhat twisting and winding, and there were, occasional splits on the roads, that led us into another beautiful part of this huge forest. And, every now and then, the small critters would, carelessly, appear, and rush on by. My friend believed, that in raising up his own young, there is, a mountain pass like this one needed, that the important of one such pass in his children’s education is equally important, if not more so, than, the schools.

I’d nodded in agreement. I’d recalled back some two decades ago, I’d also, mapped out a similar beautiful map of growth for my own young, I’d worked hard, to make this happen, and still NOT regretted once. Because I’d walked that path that’s familiar before, I wish this young father the best.

There were, many more hiking trails parallel to the famous Penlai Stream Fish Protections trail. In the early 90s, this place was one that my artistic friends and I would come to often to sketch, and now, this small simple town became, a tourist attraction. With the elegant bed and breakfast as well as restaurants along the valleys, over hundreds of them, and, on the weekends or holidays, this area became, jampacked with people and cars. But, Nanzhuang still wanted to change itself, to dump that cheesy tourist attraction feel. And, the cooled and wet living environment, is more than fitting, to be developed into a town of hydrangeas, which is the direction they’re currently working towards right now.

I’d followed that path, paved by the elegance of the hydrangeas, and visited the Fish Protection Trails. The government had, spent a lot of money, constructed this environmental pass, to allow the travelers to feel in-tune with nature as they walked around. For many of the tourist, visiting Nanzhuan to sightsee, passing through the small towns, and the old streets, is a BEST kind of reward for oneself.

a place closest to nature, NOT my photograph…

But I’d still loved staying farther away, trekking on the roads, with less human scent, that’s natural, and enjoyed the embrace of nature within the forests. This sort of Nanzhuan, is the town’s natural meaning, but this path hadn’t been identified by most, just like a lot of the smaller towns that marked the path of the Three Taiwanese Freeways.

As I trekked along, I saw many more rare species, and, I’d trekked along slowly, there were those with their kids who saw the wild animals too. Such, a precious scene, I hope, that every year I come here, I’ll hear, more of these sorts of stories.

So, this is about the appreciation of nature, and, there are, less and less places that are untouched by industrialism, just some place that’s, off the maps, with the country feel, that nature that you wanted to walk into, and this, is one of the remaining few places, that, hopefully, can remain in its natural state, without the contaminations of humans!