Alishan, Chiayi: "Toe'uana" – The Promised Land, Taiwan's Gassho-zukuri, Indigenous Culinary Delights, and a Fairytale Setting

Located in the Laiji Tribe of Alishan, Chiayi, Taiwan, the "Toe'uana" permanent housing community is often referred to as the version of "Gassho-zukuri of Taiwan." With fewer than 50 chalets, the settlement intentionally spaces the houses widely apart to preserve the natural landscape. From a distance, it appears as if scattered like chess pieces, creating a charming and picturesque scene. The colorful walls and slanted roofs complement each other, resembling a scene from an isolated wonderful tale.

To visit "Toe'uana," one must travel to the Laiji Tribe in Alishan. If driving is not an option, public transportation involves taking the Chiayi Alishan Forest Railway to the "Duolin" train station and then walking approximately 2.9 kilometers for about 40 minutes to reach Toe'uana. Alternatively, visitors can arrange transportation with local bed and breakfast operators in the tribe.

Xiao Liuqiu - Taiwan's Coral Island

Xiao Liuqiu is known by the Taiwanese as "the pearl of the sea" and not without good reason. This tiny coral island, which offers some of the best snorkeling, hiking, sunbathing, and dining options in all of Taiwan, has reinvented itself as a peaceful alternative to some of the country's more crowded attractions. Its easy accessibility, fascinating colonial history, and recently upgraded tourist infrastructure have made the island one of Taiwan’s best year-round destinations.

May Snow in Taiwan

Traveling through north and central Taiwan in April and May every year, visitors will be greeted by the sight of blooming tung trees, which paint swathes of the countryside a beautiful sparking white.

The annual Hakka Blossom Festival, help from mid-March to mid-May, attracts millions of visitors who come to admire the tiny flowers and to learn more about Hakka culture through dozens of musical and dance performances.

Native to southern China, tung trees have thrived in Taiwan at least since the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945). The Hakka, a subgroup of Han Chinese tung trees to be an excellent source of oil for making paint and began to cultivate them on a wide scale a century ago. The Hakka are the second largest ethnic group in Taiwan and comprise over 15 percent of the population, which the majority living in Hsinchu(新竹), Miaoli(苗栗), and in parts of Kaohsiung(高雄) and Taichung(台中) – the same places where tung blossom flourishes each spring.