Bike Trip from Xindian (新店) to Hsinchu (新竹) , Part 10

Bike Trip from Xindian (新店) to Hsinchu (新竹)

2018/02/17-18, Part 10

   
   Still conquering a mountain on the Provincial Highway No. 4 I've discovered a mother and son cycling team looking at a map beside the road. I stopped in front of it and tried to figure out how to ride an alternative way. At that moment a middle-aged fellow Taiwanese biker asked me if I need some help. After some conversation he offered me to follow his lead to the Sanxia District (三峽區), his hometown and my final destination before a mountain road back home. 

   We rode on a beautiful bike path lined with high trees which are not very often in the lower lands of Taiwan. The island's climate ranges from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south; the average annual relative humidity is a staggering 81.6%. Under these conditions Taiwan is blessed with many different fruit and plants, everything seems to grow easily and abundantly, the island is also the kingdom of fruit. But there are very few 'real' big tree specimens, the larger ones are called 'giant trees' and are holy in the Buddhist religion. 

   The trees gave the both of us a pleasant shadow from sun which was shining unusually bright during this noon. Beside the road there were cherry blossoms to see with colors ranging from white to dark pink, almost red.

 Taiwan cherry blossoms

   The road went downhill so we had an easy ride with a lot to exchange while pedaling. My friend encouraged me to change my gear because of the cracking sound from my bottom bracket. After I've explained him that my bike had a problem he understood.

  After a while we followed a bike path right beside the Dahan River (大漢溪). Flat roads are to enjoy, to stretch the legs and to recover from the previous mountains. So we just took it easy...The government invested in the are and built a new dam which resulted in a new smaller lake. In the area before Yingge (鶯歌) there are some small rice paddies beside the road which let you feel that you are riding in the countryside. My mate suggested to take a rest and have some shaved ice, a specialty in Taiwan. So we stopped at the Vanilla Garden (香草野園).

Taiwanese shaved ice

   To a foreigner many Taiwanese are very open and after some chatting with the boss holding his nephew the son talked to us. He told us that he was living in Tasmania/Australia for a while and later worked in Indonesia but his father asked him to return and help him on the farm. They are transferring their land into an organic farm and the son offered us to show us his organically grown strawberries. Their free range chicken are not kept for their meat but their organic eggs. 

Vanilla Garden (香草野園)

   Still with the taste of strawberries in my mouth we followed the bike path to a big artificial lake which is controlled by the Yuanshan Weir (鳶山堰) which blocks and directs the flow of the Dahan River (大漢溪). 

Yuanshan Weir (鳶山堰) 

Beside this lake there is a path with some grass land which has been dotted with families enjoying the afternoon sun during these Chinese Holidays. From here it is not far to Yingge (鶯歌), the center of high quality ceramics in Taiwan.

Yingge (鶯歌) Ceramic Street

   On the northern side of Yingge lies a rock formation that went by the names of 鸚哥石(Parrot Brother Stone), 鶯歌石  (Eagle Brother Stone), and 鶯歌石(Golden Oriole or Warbler Brother Stone). The last stone is where the current name of the district derives from; the modern name, Yingge literally means "Warbler Song" in Chinese. 
   According to legend Hakka, a group within the Han Chinese, entered the area of Yingge (鶯歌) and planted tea in 1684. According to the locals, the history of ceramics in Yingge began 200 years ago when Wu An (吳鞍), an immigrated from Guangzhou (Mainland China), came to Yingge and was the first potter in the area. Later, Chen Kun (陳昆), a brick maker, moved into the area and both transformed Yingge into the centre of Taiwan's ceramics industry which we know today. 
   In 1920, Yingge Stone Village (鶯歌石庄) was renamed to Yingge Village (鶯歌庄). In 1940, the village was promoted to Yingge Street (鶯歌街), and in 1945 was changed to Yingge Small Town (鶯歌鎮). Today, Yingge boosts 800 ceramic-related businesses.

(to be continued...)