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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Culture & Society

BBC highlights 1,000km cycling tour around Taiwan

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • A BBC travel article highlights the allure of cycling 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) around Taiwan, a journey increasingly popular among tourists.
  • The route, officially named "Round Taiwan 101" in 2015, traverses diverse landscapes from coastal cliffs and fishing villages to remote eastern regions and bustling western cities.
  • The article emphasizes Taiwan's natural beauty, indigenous cultures, and the warm hospitality experienced by cyclists, with many locals offering assistance and encouragement.

A recent article by the BBC Travel section is introducing the charm of cycling 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) around Taiwan to a global audience. The journey, which has become a rite of passage for many Taiwanese students, is now attracting a growing number of international tourists.

The "Round Taiwan 101" route, officially established by the government in 2015, offers a diverse cycling experience. Starting from Taipei, cyclists can travel clockwise, encountering the dramatic rock formations and quaint fishing villages of the north coast, venturing into the sparsely populated eastern regions, crossing the white sand beaches at the island's southern tip, and finally navigating the highly urbanized west coast.

We still need to attract more people.

— Siloko AkilaSiloko Akila, an Amis indigenous resident managing a guesthouse in Dulan, expressed a desire for more tourists to experience the local culture.

The article notes that while long-distance cycling has been popular in Taiwan for years, the concept gained significant traction in the Taiwanese imagination after the 2000s film "Island Etiquette." The movie depicted a university student's seven-day solo cycling trip around the island, inspiring many students to follow suit. The "Round Taiwan 101" initiative has since created a "national-level" network of cycling paths and roads.

Taiwan is too beautiful, you can't help but take it slow.

— Miss GuoMiss Guo, who had completed a walking tour of Taiwan, shared this sentiment with the author, emphasizing the island's beauty.

Author Andrew Nachemson shares his personal experience cycling from Taipei to Taitung. He describes leaving the capital for the port city of Keelung to enjoy night market delicacies before entering the historic Fulong Old Caoling Tunnel. Nachemson felt he had entered "another world" upon reaching the northern tip of Taiwan's east coast, a region rich in indigenous culture, vast open spaces, towering mountains, and palm trees facing the Pacific Ocean.

During his 11-day trip, Nachemson stayed mostly in family-run guesthouses. In Dulan, Amis indigenous resident Siloko Akila, who manages the "Wagali Gung" guesthouse, noted that while cycling tours are popular, few visitors deeply engage with the local indigenous culture. Akila emphasized the "human touch" of Dulan and shared insights into the Amis people's connection with nature through a documentary screened at the guesthouse. Nachemson also experienced the island's hospitality firsthand, receiving help with a flat tire from a fellow cyclist and being assisted by a guesthouse owner in Hualien to find accommodation when his intended lodging was full. He also noted the frequent encouragement from passing motorists, who would offer thumbs-ups or shouts of "Jiayou!" (Keep going!).

Taiwan is too beautiful, you can't help but take it slow.

— Miss GuoMiss Guo, who had completed a walking tour of Taiwan, shared this sentiment with the author, emphasizing the island's beauty.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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