Take a quick jaunt along the coast of southern Chiayi (嘉義) and northern Tainan (台南) counties and it soon becomes apparent what the major industry is (or rather was) in this part of Taiwan: salt.

In 1994, a lady in Florida made herself a grilled cheese sandwich. She took a few bites, but before finishing it she noticed what appeared to be the face of the Virgin Mary imbedded in the toast.

Jhongjhihguan Historic Trail (中之關步道) is a must-see trail for visitors to the South Cross Island Highway. It is only three and half kilometers long and is a small part of the Guanshan Historic Trail (關山越嶺道).

The Lunar New Year Holiday will begin on Jan. 24. This year there will be up to nine days for camera-wielding tourists and their families to take either a long or short trip around the island.

Everyone in Taiwan knows the story of Koxinga (鄭成功), the Ming Dynasty loyalist who fled to the island from the Chinese mainland, and defeated the Dutchmen then ruling Tainan (台南) and its hinterland.

The lepidopteran inhabitants of the Yellow Butterfly Valley have yet to emerge, you already have a hand-painted oil-paper parasol, and disused tobacco-curing barns hold no interest for you.

Taguanshan (塔關山) is one of Taiwan's most accessible 3,000-plus-meter-high peaks. Located right beside the highest stretch of the Southern Cross-Island Highway (南部橫貫公路), it can be scaled in just under two hours.

I have had many boat tour experiences in Taiwan, but it was a new experience for me to have an educational and ecological raft tour in Cigu Lagoon (七股潟湖) in Tainan (台南), southern Taiwan.

Of the many reservoirs in Tainan which make up the major part of the Siraya (西拉雅) National Scenic Area, the Jianshanpi Reservoir (尖山埤水庫) is not the largest, but it is a very well-constructed one.

Along the seashore of Tainan (台南) in southern Taiwan there are a large number of lands that were traditionally used for making salt.