A Day in Town: Checheng, Manzhou, Mudan, Hengchun (Pingtung County)

I just completed my sixteenth trip under "A Day in Town," my multi-year backpacking plan of spending a day in each of the approximately 350 townships in my country. My destination this time was Pingtung County, which borders Kaohsiung to the north and Taitung to the east. Pingtung is the southernmost of the 20 subnational administrative regions in Taiwan, and administers 33 townships. I visited four of them during the trip─Checheng, Manzhou, Mudan, and Hengchun. These four townships are also the southernmost on Taiwan island, forming the bulk of the Hengchun Peninsula.

I set off on Monday as usual. Considering the distance, I took the HSR instead of my usual train, in order to save time. Upon arrival at Xinzuoying Station, I transferred to a bus bound for Kenting, and got off at Checheng Farmers' Association stop. From there, I explored on foot, visiting seven of the 11 villages administered by Checheng before checking into my hostel in the neighboring Hengchun Township. Only a five-minute walk from the bus stop, Checheng Fu'an Temple is the most visible and accessible tourist spot in Checheng. Fu'an Temple is a so-called Tudigong temple where Tudigong, the Chinese land guardian, is worshipped. Tudigong temples are ubiquitous in Taiwan but Checheng Fu'an Temple is arguably the largest one. Only a 20-minute walk from the temple is Tongpu Village, the site where Koxinga's army first camped on the Hengchun Peninsula back in the 17th century.

Located in Tongpu Village, a memorial by a cemetery tells a story involving Japan, China, Ryukyu, and Taiwan: In December 1871, a Ryukyuan vessel was shipwrecked on the southeastern tip of Taiwan and 54 sailors were killed by indigenous Taiwanese peoples. The cemetery was the resting place of the 54 Ryukyuans who were killed, and the incident would lead to a punitive expedition launched by the Japanese in 1874, known as the Mudan Incident (among other names).  Adjoining Tongpu to the east is Wenquan Village, home to the Sichongxi Hot Spring, which, alongside Beitou (Taipei City), Yangmingshan (Taipei City), Guanziling (Baihe District, Tainan City), is one of the top four hot springs in Taiwan.

On the second day, I visited Manzhou Township. I began by taking a bus from Hengchun─there were only two departures a day, so I had better not miss one─to its last stop Gangze in the northeastern corner of Manzhou Township, facing the Pacific Ocean. From there, I hiked in the reverse direction along the bus route. About three hours later, I got on the same bus returning to Hengchun. Along the way, I visited six of the eight villages administered by the township. The name Manzhou is derived from "vangecul", a term used by the Paiwan─the powerful indigenous people who have inhabited the area for centuries. There is a sad story behind the name vangecul, which means "the place with bad smell": when Seqalu, another powerful tribe of the Puyuma people, migrated here from Taitung in the 17th century, there were violent battles fought between the two indigenous peoples. Many Paiwan warriors perished in the battles without timely burials, so their dead bodies were exposed with the bad smell filled the area, hence the name.

Boasting its peaceful and picturesque views of the Pacific coast, Gangze Village is 33 kilometers from Hengchun. It is also an important historical site: in the 1871 shipwreck that led to the Mudan Incident of 1874, the 54 Ryukyuans landed at Bayao Bay, which is part of Gangze Village. They were sadly killed and buried in Taiwan, triggering a series of events that shaped the destiny of both Ryukyu and Taiwan, as well as the dynamics between China and Japan, for decades to come.

On the third day, I visited Mudan Township, home to the Ancient Shimen Battlefield where the Paiwan warriors bravely fought the invading Japanese army during the 1874 Mudan Incident. Just as I did the previous day, I took a bus from Hengchun─two departures a day─to Xuhai, the eastern coastal village facing the Pacific Ocean. From there, I hiked all the way to Checheng and got on a bus back to Hengchun. Along the way, I visited four of the six villages administered by Mudan Township, and spotted many interesting things, among them the iconic gazebo shaped like a mushroom, the agricultural specialty of Mudan.

The second point of interest was the Mudan Dam. Built in 1995, the dam is the largest reservoir in Pingtung County, supplying water to the Hengchun Peninsula and Pingtung County south of Donggang Township. About an hour later, I arrived at my "must-visit of the day"─the Ancient Shimen Battlefield, situated right on the border of Mudan Township (Shimen Village) and Checheng Township (Wenquan Village). I grew up knowing little about the history of my homeland, but I feel blessed that I can start learning it now in my retirement. It's never too late to learn.

On the fourth day, I moved around Hengchun Township, where my hostel was located. I first took a nostalgic Youbike ride─which I'll elaborate on later─and strolled around downtown Hengchun, which was largely surrounded by its old city wall. Hengchun was previously known as Lonc-kjauw, the chiefdom consisting of 18 indigenous tribes that effectively ruled the Hengchun Peninsula until the late 19th century. In the aftermath of the Mudan Incident, the Qing government established Hengchun County in order to better govern the Hengchun Peninsula. A city wall was built around the county seat, with construction running between 1875 and 1879. To date, Hengchun Old City Wall is arguably the best-preserved city wall in Taiwan, and Hengchun remains the center of the Hengchun Peninsula in terms of politics, economy, religion, tourism, and culture overall.

Having walked along the old city wall, passing through the south, east, north and west gates, I stumbled upon Stone Plate Park, a unique recreational area formed from coral reef uplifted by geological processes, now about 20 meters above sea level. Only two blocks away, the road signs led me to an inconspicuous mom-and-pop shop: the filming site of Cape No. 7─a Taiwanese romantic musical comedy-drama film, which has grossed over US$13,804,531 since its release in 2008, making it the highest-grossing Taiwanese domestic film.

The hostel I stayed at this time was to the south of Hengchun Old City Wall, a 15-minute walk from the bus station, from which I departed each day to visit faraway destinations. There's also a Youbike station near my hostel. Yesterday, I took a three-hour Youbike ride visiting Cape Eluanbi─the southernmost point on the island of Taiwan, and Gangkou─a Pacific coastal village of Manzhou Township, before returning to Hengchun. To me, the ride was nostalgic because the route was part of the race course of an Ironman triathlon I participated in 2006. I felt no less thrill, inspiration, and joy yesterday because I kept moving forward 19 years later, whether I was on a tribike or a Youbike.