A Day in Town: Taimali, Daren, Dawu, Jinfeng (Taitung County)

I just completed my seventeenth 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 Taitung County, the subnational administrative region situated in southeastern Taiwan with the lowest population density. Taitung borders Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County to the west and Hualien County to the north, and administers 16 townships, including Green Island and Orchid Island. Among the 16 townships, five are the so-called mountain townships, with indigenous people as the majority of their population. During this trip, I visited four townships: Taimali, Dawu, Daren, and Jinfeng, which collectively occupy the south of Taitung County.

Considering its vast area and less-developed public transportation network, I decided to get around by train and a rental bike. I set off on Monday as usual, taking the first train bound for Taitung. After renting a bike near Taitung Station, I boarded a local train with my rental bike southward to Longxi Station, the southernmost of the three train stations in Taimali Township. From there, I biked northward, visiting eight of the nine villages administered by Taimali Township, before biking all the way back to Taitung City to check into my hostel. Duoliang Village is the southernmost village of Taimali, home to the abandoned Duoliang Station, now a nationally renowned tourist attraction with its breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean.

Having cycled for two hours, I arrived at Dawang Village, the seat of Taimali Township. Though I had seen it countless times during my previous trips, I was still amused by the iconic sculpture erected at its entrance: a human-like, smiling cat sitting and lifting its left hand in the air with a custard apple, the best-known agricultural specialty of Taimali Township and Taitung County as a whole. After leaving Dawang I continued journeying through the villages of Beili, Huyuan, Sanho, and Meiho, before crossing a bridge to Zhiben, the southernmost village of Taitung City bordering Taimali Township.

On the second and third days, my itineraries were interwoven, covering both Daren Township and Dawu Township on both days. Collectively, on these two days I visited 10 of the 11 villages, of which six are administered by Daren and five by Dawu. In addition, due to infrequent train schedule, I took the same train to and from my destination every day: departing from Taitung at 06:20, and arriving at Taitung at 11:44. As such, I first took the train to Dawu Station, the southernmost train station in eastern Taiwan. From there, I cycled southward to Ansuo Village, the seat of Daren, the southernmost township of Taitung County. At the village, I stumbled upon the fascinating history of Takabolder Chiefdom, and was thrilled because learning about it alone was worth the trip.

I continued cycling uphill for an elevation of about 200 meters to reach Shenyung, another village of Daren Township bordering Pingtung County. Interestingly, the name of the village was derived from Morinaga─a Japanese company operating there during the Japanese rule. Then I went downhill to reach Nantien, the southernmost village of Daren. Alongside Xuhai Village of Mudan Township, Pingtung County, Nantien Village is home to the 12-kilometer-long Alangyi Historic Trail, which was once the main coastal traffic route linking Taitung County and Pingtung County.

On the third day, I got off the train at Longxi Station, and cycled through the remaining villages of Daren, which is one of the five mountain townships in Taitung County. I first reached Taiban Village, then experienced the most challenging climbs of this trip before reaching Tuban Village, situated 800 meters above sea level.

After the painstaking uphill "battle", I practically coasted all the way down, and visited Xinhua, the sixth village of Daren Township, before reaching Dawu Station, which is located in Daniou Village, Dawu Township, to catch my train back to Taitung. Visiting all six villages in the mountain township of Daren gave me a great sense of achievement because I had not originally expected to manage it.

On the fourth day, I visited Jinfeng, another mountain township of Taitung County. Jinfeng is best known for Chenopodium formosanum, a Chenopodium species endemic to Taiwan and a key component of the diets of the indigenous people. In addition, before 2023 Jinfeng was also known as the only township in Taiwan that didn't have a 7-Eleven convenience store. On this day, I got off the train at Jinlun Station, which is in Taimali Township, and cycled to Binmou, a village in Jinfeng that borders Taimali, before reaching Lichiou, another village that borders Kaohsiung City to the west. From there, I turned around and continued my journey to other villages.

After Jialan Village, the seat of Jinfeng Township, and Chenxin Village, I finally reached Xinxin, the northernmost village of Jinfeng Township bordering Beinan Township. As such, I visited all five villages in the mountain township of Jinfeng, too, though the elevation of my bike ride was only about half of the previous day's. I boarded the train at Taimali Station with my bike, ending my planned itinerary this time in Taitung.

While this backpacking trip was one of discovery, as always, it was also one of nostalgia. For one thing, I used to visit Taitung multiple times a year for triathlon and marathon races, combining family holidays with my wife and kids. I no longer participate in these endurance races and my kids have grown up now, but those unforgettable memories surface whenever I set foot in Taitung again.

My hostel is only a five-minute walk from Taitung Station. From there I departed for my destination every day. And, even the stay at the hostel itself was nostalgic: this was the very first hostel I stayed at when I first tried backpacking nearly three years ago! I learned a lot from that first experience, and have progressed ever since to become an experienced backpacker. While the passing of time is inevitable, I feel blessed for being able to continue exploring my life in an authentic and fulfilling manner.