On Location in Taiwan!

Posted on March 03, 2010 By Joseph

Lugang, Taiwan is one of the oldest towns in Taiwan.

The first settlers arrived at the beginning of the 17th century from Fujian province of China.  During most of the 17th and 18th century it was a bustling harbor town, yet by the end of the 19th century the harbor had filled with silt and major trade ended.  From being the second largest town in Taiwan it reverted to a quiet, rural village.  The good news is that while the rest of Taiwan leaped into the 20th century, its relative obscurity allowed it to preserve its cultural heritage. Today it is noted for its colorful, although small, old town and for being the home of some of Taiwan’s most accomplished Living Heritage Folk Craftsman.  Today we visited with Master Wu who received an award from the Cultural Ministry in 1988 for his work to preserve the art of folk lantern making.  Since we are here during the Chinese New Year and Taiwan’s lantern festival it was a thrill to be able to sit with him while he worked on one of his lanterns.  Lugang is also the place to try “cow’s tongue cake”—a tasty pastry that you buy from one of the many steetside bakeries and kind of resembles a cow’s tongue.  The crew and I also had the pleasure of sampling the wares at one of the oyster restaurants in front of the Tianho Temple which feature oyster omelets and oyster soup. They taste much better than it sounds—or looks.  Follow Travelscope’s Facebook page for pictures of our Taiwan adventures. zái jián (goodbye) for now….

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