The Camphor Forests of Dongyanshan and a pit-stop in Fusing

However, smothered atop all the vegetation are brilliant bluish Morning Glories. These elegant wild flowers seem to have been draped over the logging scars by an unseen landscaper.

It was a Sunday, and for the past 2 years or so I have held to the cardinal rule of not visiting tourist sites in Taiwan on this day. But a former student and friend urged me on one day while looking off my back balcony in Kwei-Shan Township, where, on a clear day, I can behold an awesome expanse of the Central Mountain Range.

I had been wanting to get up in those mountains for awhile now, but I could not find an easy road up from this section of Taoyuan on my scooter, and the traffic was so chaotic during my attempts that I finally gave up. So, when an opportunity in the form of a cozy automobile presented itself, I grabbed it, despite the fact that I would be breaking “the Sunday rule.”

This is Atayal (泰雅) tribal country, and bright aborigine artwork livens up the painted sheet-metal and corrugated iron architecture that plagues so much of Formosa. Hardcore mountain-bikers struggled uphill and whizzed down past us on our way to Donyanshan National Forest Recreation Area (東眼山國家森林遊樂區), a secondary forest of camphor trees that was planted after the original tree cover was harvested for commercial logging many years ago.

To walk in the park now is to behold the Ewok forest from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi —without the cuddly bear-people. You will, however —if you choose to arrive on a Sunday- be accompanied by day-hikers who appear to be geared up for a trek across the Himalayas; in addition to these hearty naturalists, you will share your trail with families and elderly people enjoying a “green shower” stroll in this mountain park.

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