Calligraphy Greenway, Taichung

I frankly never thought I would yearn to return to Taichung and become more knowledgeable of the city Government's visions and driving efforts of urbanization and revitalization. Taiwan Toastmasters Conventions in which I have participated in the past had mostly chosen venues in suburban Taichung rather than the downtown area, except the ones held at the Evergreen Laurel Hotel, Chungkang Road, and the new Taichung HSR Station Complex. The Evergreen Group, I understood, was a great sponsor of Taiwan Toastmasters. The Hsin Wuri Conference was timely right after the HSR inaugurated Taiwan Shinkansen.

I'm not at all complaining about the suburban venues, like Dajia, Longjing, Shalu, Wuri, etc. Rather I very much enjoyed visiting those areas, all bordering Greater Taichung Megalopolis. I remember I visited Dajia twice. I never would've had a chance otherwise without the great selections by the Taiwan Toastmasters. Each had a unique landscape and culture of its own. At Tunghai University, the palm-folding style Luce Chapel was beautiful, as was the pious campus and the library. Dajia Jennlann Temple and its Cultural Center Palace taught me about the elegance of centuries-old Mazu pilgrimage and festivals. The rented Education and Training Center Facilities in Wuri and Shalu were first class and promoted convention venues away from the hustle and bustle of Taichung. Free bus transportation, exclusive for Toastmasters, was offered from the new HSR Taichung station to the respective venues.

This April, Paul Lee, a retired business executive turned scholar in Japanese literature (his favorite author is Soseki Natsume), took me to this new POI green belt zone, immediately after the Spring Toastmasters Conference near Taichung Airport before inviting me to his apartment.

When I saw "草悟道” the Kanji character, I interpreted it "Enlighteners' Road", as in the "Philosophers' Road" in Kyoto I know. I wasn't sure about ”草” the grass, but remembered ”陽明山” was once "草山” in Taipei which may have similar nostalgic connotations like the Japanese ”里山”.

Paul informed me that Taichung City named it "Calligraphy Greenway" in English. The designated zone starts at Taichung North District, home of the Natural Science Museum and the Civic Square, and ends at Taichung West District, home to the National Museum of Fine Arts, Culture Affairs Bureau, and Taichung City Hall. It is about 3.6 kilometers in length (almost comparable to New York Central Park of 4 kilometers) and a dozen of street blocks in width, it incorporates the Jingguo Parkway green belt zones which had existed before.

Paul told me when the road was officially opened in the spring of 2012, a scroll of paper was spread out on the road for more than one kilometer for many famous calligraphers' competition for their cursive script (草書）writing demonstration with brushes, attracting the admiration of on-lookers. ”草” in ”草悟道” therefore, is used to symbolize the calligraphy, brushes and Indian ink splashing free and easy like a river flow meandering and purifying the urban streets, plus the artistic inspirations, sculptures and objects, arranged throughout Calligraphy Greenway. Street names, like Mofan (model), Yingcai (genius), Gongyi (public interests) all help to enhance the spirit of visitors.

Taichung City Government admitted that Calligraphy Greenway was modeled after Tokyo's Omote Sando renovation, designed by Architect Tadao Ando, with a basic concept of integrating living environment with nature, bringing sites together of home, work, exercise, socialization, enrichment, and entertainment, aiming for a well balanced, sustainable ecosystem neighborhood. Playful, exhilarating and colorful life style is sought in the concept with the use of water motif of rivulets, cascades, fountains, water curtains for the greenway. In addition, it incorporates enforced no-smoking zones, expanded clean-air cyclist and pedestrian lanes, and park stages for live jazz music concerts. With the eco-friendly green walled CMP Parklane Department as the anchor landmark, hotels, bakeries, cafes, restaurants and fashion stores surround the area to attract people for shopping, dating and partying.

Worthy of note for the Japanese tourists is my finding of Issey Miyake's Taichung store at 2nd floor 245 Chungxing. I was told the store complex had existed for almost ten years before the Calligraphy Greenway was announced.

I am expecting the Taiwan Toastmasters to hold its semi-annual convention in this Calligrapher Greenway very soon.

Jerry Fig / Jabuticaba

A jerry fig is a native tree of Taiwan found accidentally by a tea trader in the 1800s when he drank from a river near Chiayi. He found a clear yellowish jelly in the water he was drinking and was refreshed upon trying it. Examining the jelly, he noticed it was fruit hanging on vines that exuded a sticky gel when rubbed. He marketed it under his daughter's name Aiyu (pronounced o-gio in Taiwanese) successfully. Today, lemon aiyu jelly is loved by children and adults alike as their favorite summer refreshment. I heard there are aiyu jelly specialty shops in Tokyo. The problem is that preparation takes a lot time for a small profit margin.

I had a chance to try it in Taiwan and was interested in taking a look at the tree. I looked up Chiayi Toastmasters website to ask where I can see the tree. Bingo! The president of Chiayi Toastmasters was Dr. Lai, with the Chiayi Experiment Station, Governmental Agricultural Research Institute. He introduced me to Dr. Chung, an expert working on low land cultivation of the jerry fig. I learned that the jerry fig thrives in a misty highlands like Alishan, which requires plant breeding in the lower land and special farming preparations such as a watering networks, trelliswork, vining support, etc. I was looking forward to meeting Dr. Chung. So I sent email when I decided to join the Spring Toastmasters Conference in Taichung, he didn't respond. I contacted through my Taichung friend. I was told he retired last year.

An alternative advice came from Taichung Toastmasters friends. A new member joined them who was with the Taichung Experiment Station and he could drive me to a jerry fig farm. It was a case of wish fulfillment and I jumped on the opportunity.

The Taichung Experiment Station Complex in Wufen we dropped in on the way (about an hour drive from central Taichung through a new highway) has been the main headquarters of the Government Agrarian Research Institute since 1997, occupying 145 hectares (ha) including 17 ha building and 128 ha of experimental farms served by complete irrigation and drainage systems.

Unfortunately, the Puli farmer we visited no longer owned jerry fig farms any more. He took us, the disappointed guests, to a jerry fig farm in the neighborhood mountain. They are taller than I thought. The owner didn't go into detail, but I'm guessing he either sold it or changed all of his plant acreage from jerry fig to jabuticaba, a new lucrative business, grape tree native to Brazil for the following reasons: l) the fruit is new to Taiwan and has rarity value; 2) farmer receives possible Government subsidies; and 3) provides opportunity for sightseeing and on-site grape picking tours. He was excited to welcome tourists coming soon after us. He gave us fresh jabuticaba on trays. Tasted like grape, more viscous than regular grapes.

Edson Aoki, my Brazilian friend (see Imamura Church post) sent me info on Jabuticaba from the Netherlands. He wrote:

Jabuticaba is indeed a typical Brazilian fruit from the Atlantic rainforest, and hence is common in my state of São Paulo. I don't think jabuticaba is produced in a large scale, but it is commonly found in small farms and ranches, mostly for local consumption. ‘Jabuticaba’ is actually a word from Tupi (a Native Brazilian language) and it means ‘button fruits.’ But ‘Jabuti’ alone is also a word from Tupi, which means ‘tortoise.’

My jerry fig hunt caught jabuticaba instead! I met a smart farmer ahead of his time!

Notes:

I searched books giving information on jabuticaba in the library. I found one "The Fruits Hunters - A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce and Obsession" (2008) by Adam Leith Gollner. Here is some information from the book:

1) Appearances are embryos of cosmonauts. Tastes, however, are fantastic, incomparable to any other fruits.

2) Jabuticabas grow on the trees like mushrooms. Children in Brazil sneak into the orchard of others to play "jabuticaba kiss", pluck jabuticaba by mouth, with sounds like puk, gooch, pooch.

3) At Hilo Airport, Hawaii, I pulled out souvenir jabuticabas from my pocket. As I gazed at them, these cubes I've never been aware of before seemed to veil unworldly riddles. I photographed them, one sharp focusing, the other blurred and hazy to have cubes melt in a geometric pattern. Jabuticaba promised hopes, endowing revelations which I have not experienced. Just holding jabuticabas in my hands, I felt miracles to descend, answering my prayers I'm humming without notice.

4) Brazilian photographer Silvestre Silva stopped endangered white jabuticaba from extinction after his 10 years of personal battles. It was in the suburbs of Guararema, the State of Sao Paulo. Soon the white jabuticaba will be cultivated and we will be able to see it.

The Xie-Xie Taiwan Project

I traveled to Taiwan in mid November to attend the D67 Fall Convention in Taichung. It was my 10th visit to Taiwan. I had a special mission of my own. To thank the Taiwanese for showing their compassion towards the Japanese plights on and after 311.

Convention programming is usually a hectic one, allowing no interruptions and changes. Foreign visitors are usually recognized by the District Governor and I dared to grab the opportunity, with the prior consent and approval of DG Grace Shih, through Dennis Chen, an old friend and the founder of Taichung Central Japanese club. My speech went like this:

Hello, Taiwan Toastmasters! I wanted to come and thank you personally for the very much needed help from the Taiwanese who pitched in right after the 311 Earthquake/Tsunami that hit Tohoku Japan. Thank you, Taiwan.

I didn't attend the Spring Conference but got your jia-yu (加 油）messages posted on the wall during the Spring Conference that was carried back by our delegates to convey to the rest of Japan.

Taiwan topped all quake donors through the Red Cross along with your rescue teams and relief goods that were dispatched.

So in order to physically express gratitude, the Japanese swimmers did a 110 kilometer open water swim in relay from Yonaguni Island of Okinawa to Su-Ao Taiwan, despite the approaching typhoon, calling it the Xie-Xie Taiwan Project. I'm a swimmer myself. I would have joined them if I was younger.

Please accept our Xie-Xie Taiwan voices from District 76. All of the Japanese Toastmasters are very appreciative and deeply touched by your warm feelings for the Japanese.

After the session and during the break, some Taiwan Toastmasters came to shake hands with me. I was happy that I got my message through.

Wanderer of Formosa (福爾摩沙漫遊者)

Sun Moon Lake
My first trip to Taiwan was a gift given by my son, Kirk, for my retirement. Actually, it was made possible by cashing in miles from the airline I most favored. My son spiced it up by arranging a Taiwanese guide for me who spoke excellent Japanese. My son spoke to his Taiwanese colleague at work in San Diego and surprisingly it was his colleague's father, a recently retired UN worker, who helped me tremendously - starting with meeting me at the airport, traveling downtown together by bus, and walking to the reserved hotel close to Shin Guang Mitsukoshi Department Store. I have made trips to Taiwan almost 10 times since then, and I always stay at the same hotel.

I appreciated his discretion not to accompany me constantly. He suggested minimum necessary tips and gave me an overall orientation. At the University of Taiwan, he politely let me walk around the campus and study at the library. It was the day before the MRT subway systems came online. The crazy bus trip to Gugon Palace became a memorable story when I experienced a frantic moment boarding the bus. He and his wife were excellent hosts. The welcoming dinner was at Hai Pa Wang, and the farewell dinner was at Shinyeh, all serving local Taiwanese dishes. I fondly remember their warm hospitality on my first visit.

My second visit was to Fenyuang, north of Taichung. I visited my first e-mail friend, who is a dentist. It was my first visit to Taiwan's Toastmasters Club there and I was thrilled to see a club which boasts more than 50 members. They met in the basement of the hotel where I was staying. I am grateful to him for the early morning ride from Fenyuang to the Taoyuan International Airport, as I had to catch an early flight to the U.S.

On my third visit, my wife accompanied me to Taipei where we met Michelle Chen, who was a contestant speaker at the Toastmasters Convention. I never imagined Michelle had such a passion for traveling abroad like I did. My interest in Czech Republic was inspired by her trip to Pardubice. I got a lot of information from hearing about her trip there.

It rained hard in Taipei the day the convention was over. A gentleman with whom we sat together noticed us and instructed his chauffeur to take us to our hotel. We sent him our letter of appreciation. We never saw him again at subsequent conventions.

On my fourth trip, I was in Taichung for the Toastmasters Convention at Tunghai University with another Japanese delegation staying at the University dorm. It was the Taichung Central Japanese Club who offered to take us sightseeing to their historic Lukang Port. Lukang was the trade port of deer skins during the Dutch colonial days where the terms e-kang and teng-kang originated, referring to north/south of the port respectively. Dennis Chen, the Club founder led a fleet of cars with volunteer drivers one full day enabling us to tour Lukang's Longshan temple and see Maz, the Goddess of the Sea.

Talking to Dennis, I learned that he planned to visit Sun-Moon Lake the following day accompanying his New York physician friend and his wife and I made a bold request to get a one way ride if at all possible. He called me later, granting it as if it was my once-in-a-lifetime wish. I wanted to see the after-effects of the Jiji Earthquake that hit in 1999. I sent a small check as a contribution to the victims through the Fenyuang physician friend.

The view of the Jiji Mountains was tragic, but the lake resort had recovered. I walked up the hill to see the famous tea farms. Basking in the twilight I made a deal with a female captain and chartered a boat to cross Sun-Moon Lake.

Dennis Chen had stopped at the Muh Sheng Museum of Entomology in Puli on our way to the Lake and that gave me a good reason to return at a later date to the museum to write about the Chestnut Tiger, the butterfly that migrates between Taiwan and Japan. I met Meili Chang, while on the trip to Lukang and was struck by the beautiful Japanese she spoke. Later I learned that she had studied at the University of Kyoto.

On the fifth trip, again after the Toastmaster Convention, I traveled by bus for 3-days to Hsitou, deep inside the Nantou´s valleys, with my friend I met in Yangmingshan. He was a genuine Taiwan Alpinist, who walked mountain ranges above 1000 meters from far north to south in Taiwan. His adventure was featured in one of the southern local newspapers. I asked him for a copy, but he didn't keep any. He took me to Yangmingshan Library, or the Chiang Kai-shek Summer Resort. I met his family, his three granddaughters in Yunhe and through his granddaughters I got my message across to him. The granddaughters are all away from home. The eldest granddaugher got a PhD in Germany in biology and lives in Chiba, Japan until March this year (I'm asking her to visit us before her departure). The second granddaughter is in the UK studying fashion. The third granddaughter is in her senior year in Chenkong University in Tainan.

The experimental forest of Hsitou was very pretty with exotic bamboos and many therapeutic hiking trails. I saw a number of divine trees, 1000 years old. I inquired as to how the trails were kept so serenely and no rubbish anywhere. He simply said "Taiwan is a small country, so people empower themselves."

On the sixth visit, Tainan Chenkong University was the Convention venue. My wife and I flew to Kaohsiung and took a train ride to Tainan. DTM Y. H. Chen, the legendary southern Toastmaster leader, accompanied us to Tainan. Before moving on to Tainan, he and his Kaohsiung Toastmaster member gave us a tour to visit Cheng Ching Lake, a man-made water reservoir turned beautiful lake (about 300 hectares) and Tsuo Ying Lotus Pond and the nearby Confucius Temple. Cheng Ching Lake was undergoing quite a renovation and the lake was half dry when we visited. That night, the three of us returned to Kaohsiung and wandered through the famous night food stands to enjoy "eel shao-chi (small bite)".On the 7th trip, Dr. Kobayashi of Shimonoseki University joined us and the Japanese delegation to attend the Kaohsiung Toastmasters Convention and immediately afterwards, we visited Chi Mei Corp private art museum in Baoan Industrial Quarters near Tainan and Usanto Reservoir irrigation dam built by Yoichi Hachida (1886-1942). We owe a debt of gratitude to DTM Chen's advice regarding the visit and for making the museum reservations for us.For the visit to Chi Mei Corp, we prepared by reading Founder Wen-Lung Hsu 's book. Chi Mei is the No. l producer of ABS, plastics in the world and their main plant and research lab site are located near Tainan. We arrived before the museum opened and waited at the restaurant service desk. Then the morning meeting started, Japanese style, as employees lined up chanting something. I sneaked a quick snapshot (see the photo). The museum must be a jewel among the privately owned. Since photos are prohibited inside the museum, please visit their official Web site for images.Yoichi Hachida, a native Kanazawan, arrived in Taiwan upon his graduation from the University of Tokyo as a civil engineer. He tackled irrigation problems immediately and was revered by his lifelong dedication to complete Usanto Dam, as well as the Chianan Canal. Unfortunately, he was drafted by the Japanese Army and on his voyage to the Philippines, his boat was sunk by allied subs. His wife killed herself in the dam discharge leaving a note that she preferred to be with her husband rather than return to Japan.Daja near Taichung, was the Convention site on my 8th trip in 2007. I met the Taichung Central club members again, including Meili Chang and Melody Hou, who took me to Lukang years ago. They kindly offered to take us on a trip to Mu Sheng Museum in Puli and I fulfilled a wish I had for years. Melody said Mu Sheng was already there when his father was a small boy.

The latest Yangmingshan Convention was my 9th trip to Taiwan. I thought I made ten trips but not quite. I could not have made these trips without the help of many, many friends mentioned above. A real Big Salute and thank you! All of you have motivated me to return to Taiwan. I thank my Kitakyushu Toastmaster colleague Masaki Oshiumi who joined me on my trips to Taiwan these last few times. His son-in-law was stationed in a plant in Touliu and he visited the family there. He is very interested in Taiwan and is a great fellow traveler.

So, I am now looking forward to my double digit trip. Hallelujah!