A culture trip to Sanjhih

Fair enough, aside from those extraordinary and now far-famed 'UFO houses' which once (they were demolished recently) stood beside the highway to Danshui (淡水) a few kilometers west of town, Sanjhih doesn't offer any sights of a sufficiently compelling nature to distract the average sun worshipper from their dash to the beach, but for those with a little more time, the town isn't without a few minor sights worth a look in passing, while the biggest and best of the town's several museums is an excellent pit stop for any passers-through with an interest in traditional Taiwanese culture.

Sanjhih was the birthplace of Taiwan's first democratically elected president, Lee Teng-hui, and there are plenty of road signs pointing to the little brick house where he spent his first six years, Yuansingjyu (源興居).

Since it's still owned by members of the Lee family, only one small room of the humble dwelling is open to the public, but the terracotta brick building with its courtyard in front is quaint in its small way, and the place certainly attracts a steady stream of curious visitors at weekends.

Just a minute's walk away from the house is Sanjhih's smart new Visitor Center, built (apparently in traditional Tang Dynasty style) in 2004, and housing a pair of small museums, one dedicated to local history, and the second to the town's famous sons: apart from Lee, we're told, Sanjhih was hometown to another prominent politician, an eminent doctor, and a fine composer.

The grounds of the Visitor Center are pleasantly landscaped with a pond, 'star viewing hill' and a waterwheel, a reminder of the local fixation with these devices: water wheels of various and sizes can be seen all over the town, there's a 'Waterwheel Ecology Park,' and a Waterwheel Culture Festival is even held every year.

Sanjhih is making a strenuous effort to attract tourists to its rather modest collection of attractions, but while these can all be safely missed by anyone in a hurry for some sun, sea and sand, there is one low-key but quite fascinating place in town that truly merits a short stop-over en-route to the beach: the Li Tien-lu Hand Puppet Historical Museum (李天祿布袋戲文物館).

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