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Updated Thursday, July 21, 2005 0:00 am TWN, By David J. Hurfurt, The China Post



	After just 35 minutes on a flight from Taipei, the plane descends through little snow kingdoms of cloud; a rainbow arches through them like an arrow drawing my attention to the scene opening up ... Enlarge Photo

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The Penghu Islands - Giant footprints, historic houses and alien beauty

In Wangan our accommodation is comfortable and the owners are very hospitable. They take us to Tiantai Hill. Grassy, flower-clad meadows roll out as far as the eye can see and cacti grow on the copper-colored cliff tops. An indentation in a rock here is said to be a footprint left by Liu Tung-pin, one of the legendary Eight Immortals of China, when he stopped to relieve himself in the sea, resting one foot on Tiantai Hill and the other on a cliff in the east side of Huayu. Both footprints can still be seen today. We settle ourselves on a cliff face and spend a few hours painting sea and landscapes.

The wonderful white beaches which hug the coastline of Wangan have earned it the nickname of “Honeymoon Island.” Giant green sea turtles nest here and our hosts tell us that when the eggs hatch, the sight of hundreds of baby turtles scrambling down to the sea is an awesome event.

Jungshe village in Wangan has a well-preserved group of Ching Dynasty houses. It is the only place in the Taiwan area that can boast a whole collection of historic residences. Some of them are still inhabited. Our guide has a key and gives us a tour of one of these delightful homes.

After dark we sit on the beach under a star-lit sky with the sound of the waves lapping on the shore. It really is quite romantic. There is an inescapable sense of solitude here and I realize that I’d forgotten just how peaceful the world can be.

The next day, as the plane soars into the sky, returning us to the din of the city, I look over these beautiful and tranquil islands and I wish that we were staying a little longer.

How to get there:

There are regular flights to the Penghu Islands from airports throughout Taiwan.

www.inhi.com.tw Telephone: (06) 991 6009

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