The Lands of Lonkiauw and Liudui: My Fourth Backpacking in Pingtung This Year

I'm ending my backpacking, my fourth time in Pingtung County this year, with this blog post.

Though I had visited Pingtung three times in May and June, with each trip lasting 5 days, I still missed many places of interest in this southernmost county of Taiwan. In particular, the Hengchun Peninsula, the lower part of its land, previously known as Lonkiauw, which until the 1870s had still been considered lands beyond the jurisdiction of the then-ruling Qing Empire, with the Rover Incident and other fascinating events and peoples, just like wbat vividly narrated and reconstructed in the PTS series Seqalu Formosa 1867.

The other thing I wanted to learn more about is the unique Hakka culture called Liudui that has been well preserved for 300 years and is part of the identity of Pingtung County. However, out of Pingtung, few people really know Liudui culture well, and that's why I wanted to pay another visit to familiarize myself with it.

Thus, in line with my usual  backpacking schedule, I took the first train from Banchiao, New Taipei City, for Chaozhou, Pingtung County. The train departed at 6:10 and arrived at 10:55, per schedule exactly!

The outline of my plan this time is to ride Ubike to visit 3 townships: Checheng, which represents the land of Lonkiauw, and Jiadong and Neipu, which represent the land of Liudui. In between, many townships will be traversed, too. Luckily, while many parts of Taiwan have suffered from heavy rain, it has been sunny throughout my backpacking in Pingtung so far this week.

My first target is Jiadong Township, previously known as Liughen. Jiadong was the left unit of the Liudui militias, which were first established in the early 18th century for self-defense by the Hakka immigrants who were sandwiched between the competing Southern Min immigrants and the then-still-prevailing indigenous peoples.

The Yiwei War occurred between May and November 1895, when the Empire of Japan was to take over Taiwan in line with the Treaty of Shimonoseki, signed with the Qing Empire following the First Sino-Japanese War. There was fierce resistance staged across Taiwan against the incoming Japanese army, and Hsiao's House, located in Jiadong Township, served as the last stronghold of the resistance force, largely represented by the Liudui militias. Winning the final battle in Jiadong on November 18, 1895, the Empire of Japan started its colonial administration in Taiwan without major issues.

After visiting Jiadong, I continued biking all the way to Shiaogang District, Kaohsiung City, where I returned the Ubike and took the MRT to check in to the hostel that I would stay in for 3 nights.

The following morning, I took the first train from Kaohsiung southbound to Fangliao, where I transferred to the bus bound for Hengchun, the only township in the Hengchun Peninsula where Ubike service is available (there are 6 townships in the Hengchun Peninsula).

Having rented my Ubike, I started my long ride of the day, first towards my target township Checheng, about 10 kilometers north of Hengchun. My first must-see spot is this Hakka village called Baoli, the first Hakka settlement in the Hengchun Peninsula and the scene of many film productions, among them Cape No. 7 and Seqalu Formosa 1867 are best known 

Then, I rode to Sheliao, a coastal village next to Baoli where the Southern Min immigrants settled and mixed with the Makatao, one of the powerful indigenous peoples in the 19th century. Acting as traders and interpreters between the indigenous peoples and the outside world, Sheliao people would play an important role in the dramatic unfolding of Taiwan's future.

To start with, there was the Rover Incident in 1867 with 12 Americans killed near the coastline of Lonkiauw. To settle the issue, and after unsuccessful military action, Charles Le Gendre, American Consul in Xiamen, represented the US to visit Lonkiauw. He was assisted by the interpreter in Sheliao and was able to conclude a memorandum with the then-ruling tribes in Lonkiauw.

Charles Le Gendre would later serve as a military adviser to the Empire of Japan and played an influential role in the Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1874), a punitive expedition launched in retaliation for the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by the Paiwan, another powerful indigenous tribe, in December 1871. To date, the tomb of these 54 Ryukyuan sailors has remained in Checheng, and the event and its ensuing war have changed the fate of Taiwan forever.

In the middle of my ride, I visited the old residence of the Tsai family in Fengang, a village of Fangshan Township which borders Checheng to the south. The residence looks humble and dilapidated, yet the family raised Tsai Ing-wen, the former President of Taiwan. Under her two-term presidency, Taiwan has progressed from a marginalized, invisible position to one that is prominent and focal today. From here, I continued riding north through the townships of Fangliao, Jiadong, Hsinpi, and finally Chaozhou, where I returned the Ubike and took the train back to my hostel in Kaohsiung.

This morning, I took the train from Kaohsiung to Chaozhou again. From there, I rented a Ubike and started my ride of the day. Having left Chaozhou Township, I entered Wanluan, the township famous for its pork knuckles, a national delicacy of Taiwan. In addition, Wanluan is also part of the Liudui militias, which functioned as the "Shianfeng Unit," meaning the front line.

Soon after, I reached Wanchin Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, the oldest Catholic church in Taiwan (built in 1870) and a must-see in Wanluan. The neighborhood is inhabited mainly by the Makatao and Southern Min people, unlike the rest of Wanluan, where the Hakka are the majority.

Bordering Wanluan to the east is Laiyi, one of the nine mountainous townships under Pingtung County. A mountainous township is an administrative region that is designated for the indigenous peoples (currently there are 15 of them). Here, I visited another Catholic church called Fatima, said to be among the most beautiful of its kind in Taiwan.

Then, I rode toward Neipu Township, which is the center of the Liudui culture. The first place I visited, however, was the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, the southernmost national university, with a vast campus that took me 30 minutes to bike around.

Finally, I reached Liudui Hakka Culture Park and stayed there for another 30 minutes. The visit was absolutely informative and educational, and is highly recommended for those who are interested in history and culture. Then, I rode to Pingtung Station, where I returned the Ubike and took the train back to Kaohsiung.

As such, my three-day backpacking came to an end, with my Ubike mileage accumulating to just over 180 km (Day one 51 km + Day two 91 km + Day three 40 km = 182 km), the distance that I had to bike in the Ironman race when I was an amateur triathlete years ago. Now, being a Ubiker without serious training, biking 182 km in 3 days is quite a feat already. Above all, I now enjoy the easy ride far more than the race cycling I did before.

It was a short yet rewarding trip. I look forward to my next backpacking.