Among the numerous historic trails across Taiwan, whether for pacifying the aborigines, for hunting or for trade, as time passes by, some have been expanded into modern highways while others have faded and been buried in desolation.In this issue of National Park Quarterly, those past memories hidden in the mountains and forests are to be revisited and
refreshed.
We feel particularly privileged to have two heavyweight scholars on historic trails, Prof. Yi-chang Liu of Academia Sinica and Dr. Nan-chung Young, to walk readers through the history of those ancient trails in Taiwan and teach about a reflective attitude amid trail exploration. In “Brilliant People,” we’ll share the story about Ching-yao Chiu, a volunteer interpreter at Shei-Pa National Park, who only finished primary education but has become a “philosopher in the forests.”
In other articles, senior interpreter Richard Chen of Yangmingshan National Park takes readers to New Zealand’s Tongariro National Park, where the box-office hit The Lord of the Ring was filmed, for its natural beauty and solid protection to the environment, while eco-photographer Dong-kun Liao shows his broad knowledge inside and outside his camera lenses.In particular, we are heading for Lanyu for a boat-building cultural exchange with the Taos to fill this June with a distinctive
aboriginal touch.
