Located just east of Yilan city, the Jhentoushan Agricultural
Leisure Area (JALA) is one such agritourism collective.
Consisting of a multitude of attractions spread out over several
kilometers of rice paddies and former farmland, JALA offers
visitors the chance to visit farmhouses-turned-teahouses (such as
Jung Lung Jai, where traditional Taiwanese teas are served
alongside more modern dishes like stone-oven-baked pizza); Wang
Long Tang (“dragon-watching pond”), an artificial lake with a
lightning-bolt shaped bridge leading to a central viewing pavilion;
and the highly quirky Bo’s Farm—the Living Zen College, where
thousands of carnivorous plants attract visitors.
Yilan offers non-agrarian-based cultural pursuits as well.
While it doesn’t draw the crowds of the National Palace
Museum, Yilan City’s Taiwan Theater Museum is definitely
worth a visit. Dedicated to the preservation and promotion of
Taiwanese opera, puppetry (of both the string and glove variety),
and other traditional Taiwanese performing arts, the three-story
museum is filled with sets, puppets, costumes, and other items
spanning several generations of Taiwan’s theater scenes.
Admission is free and visitors can try on one of the traditional
opera costumes from the museum’s vast collection.
Travelers seeking to throw some spiritual edification
into the mix can head to the seaside town of Nanfang’ao to
petition the goddess Matsu. Temples to the goddess of all
things nautical are abundant in Taiwan, but the five-story
Nanfang’ao Matsu Temple ranks as the nation’s most
important thanks to the presence of five ancient Matsu statues
residing within. Discovered 30 years ago by the coast guard
in the hold of a Mainland Chinese smuggling ship, the Matsu
statues were brought — for their own
safety, of course — to the temple in
Nanfang’ao, which has since become
a magnet for worshippers from both
sides of the Taiwan Strait seeking
favor with nautical spirits.
Yilan is famed for its cold and hot
springs, agritourism, and cultural
attractions.
֝ᚆ˸Չи
ݰ
ၾ
ݰ
eุ༵༷ࣚၾ
ෂ୕ᖵ˖
ݺ
ਗၲΤf
37
enVoyage
