The island's main international airport is in a city called "Peach Orchard" (Taoyuan, 桃園), and if translated literally, mainland Taiwan's two smallest counties are "Splendid Transformation" (Changhua, 彰化) and "Misty Forest" (Yunlin, 雲林). Beitou (北投), the hot spring resort north of Taipei, means "witch's cauldron" in an ancient aboriginal language once spoken in the area. Most of these place names stem from a specific and identifiable source, be it from ROC or Chinese history, a similarly named place in China, or a Chinese folk tale or poem.
One of the more evocative names, and one which has intrigued me for many years, is the Shuiliendong (水簾洞), or "water curtain cave." A small handful of waterfalls go by this name in Taiwan, and the appellation is appropriate enough for these scenic wonders, each cascading over a dark, cave-like hollow. For the origin of the name, however, we have to look to classic Chinese literature and one of its most famous and best-loved works: "Journey to the West." In the novel, the Water Curtain Cave is the home of the monkey king, Sun Wukong.
Perhaps the most beautiful -- and certainly the most mysterious -- Water Curtain Cave in Taiwan lies in the hills below the resort of Sitou in the central county of Nantou. Though not far from Sitou, whose famous expanse of bamboo woodland is coveted by honeymooning couples, this waterfall takes some determined traveling to reach.
The mini-expedition there starts at the village of Shuili, just south of Sun Moon Lake. Leave the village by route 21 and follow it south for about ten kilometers to the small village of Hsinyi (信義). Turn right here onto local route 59. Cross the big bridge and at the junction at its far side, turn left. In another couple of hundred meters turn right just after crossing a much smaller bridge, into a lane following the valley of the Ping Lai Stream (坪瀨溪) on which Water Curtain Cave lies.
