After a day of lessons on sustainable environment management yesterday, our dancers took a Geography day trip to the Yehliu Geopark this morning. Yehliu Geo Park is situated at the northern tip of Taiwan, right at the edge of the South China Sea. There was minimal shade at the rock formations along the cape, and we saw first-hand how nature has eroded many rocks in its way through wind and water. The stratum of Yehliu is mainly made up of sedimentary rocks which are exposed to wave attack, rock weathering, earth movement and crustal movement, giving rise to a stunning geological landscape by the sea. The bio-diversity of the area is vast, including many birds, insects and reptiles. The most popular rock was in the shape of a Queen's dramatically curled up hair, called the Queen's head. However, it is now smaller than it was in the past because of the weathering processes it was exposed to.
For lunch, we stopped by Jiufen Old Streets for a simple meal before a thorough tour of the place. While it caters largely to tourists nowadays, the rustic architecture along the old streets remain as they were. The paths were narrow and winding, with many slopes and staircases. Jiufen (Kau-hun, meaning "nine portions" in Hokkien) used to house nine families in the early years of the Qing Dynasty, thus the village would always request for "nine portions" every time shipments of goods arrived from town. These were also the streets that the famous "Spirited Away" animation took after in the film.
We took an hour-long trip back to Taipei's city area to visit the Rao He Night Market before the evening crowd arrived. Many locals found their livelihood selling food at the Night Market, earning many loyal customers with their impressive culinary skills. As compared to Singapore, we realised that there are many Taiwanese youngsters who are willing to work at the night market as a full-time job, being proud of what they do as a profession.
For dinner, we had a good meal at the halal restaurant we visited previously. After a debrief at the hotel, we proceeded back to our rooms to prepare for our trip home tomorrow!
Here are some of our reflections:
What is the most interesting thing you did today? How is your experience different from what you expected? What would you want to learn more about what you did today?
"The Shifen Sky Lantern was very interesting. I did not expect a lot of people to be there and the lanterns to be released on the train railway tracks. I would love to know was the release of lanterns is so famous in Taiwan."
~ Rachel, 2C
"We went to the Yehliu Geo Park today and it was very interesting. I thought that it would be windy in the park but it was not at all. I would like to find out more about the formations of the different rocks in the park."
~ Queena, 1A
"Writing my wishes on the lantern and releasing it to the sky was very interesting today. I thought today might be boring. However, I was wrong. I actually enjoyed myself. Seeing my friends and seniors had a blast, made me very happy. I would love to know more on the history of the Shifen Sky Lantern in Taiwan.
~ Poh Reki, 1N2