Sightseeing: Pingxi (without the lantern festival crowds)

When most people think of Pingxi they think of the Lantern Festival, which once a year lures thousands of people there to watch lanterns drift up into the night sky. On a sunny but sadly smoggy day here in Taipei, I escaped with some fellow kiwis to this sunny quiet haven which is a short drive from the city (well under an hour). Many of the road signs have “Pinsi” as the pin-yin, so if in doubt look for the mandarin characters: 平溪.

Without the lantern festival crowds, Pingxi melts back into a small town centred around the rail line running through. Nestled in between thick forest-clad mountains, it remains drenched in the winter sun. If I were to describe the township as a piece of clothing, I’d say it felt like a snuggly winter fleece; a few years old, by no means fashionable and in need of a good washing, but somehow still a favoured piece of clothing.



One Taiwanese we stopped and chatted with who lived in a nearby town noted that Pingxi was often this peaceful and generally without much air pollution. If she decided to divorce her husband, she was thinking of moving there! (You often find out alot about a stranger very quickly by New Zealand standards).

Nothing says country township though like a path right over the rail lines. This picture is taken from the path:



Without a torch it was difficult to see much of the bomb shelter caves near budda’s rock. The ceiling was very low and the floor a clay dirt; if you’re a tall foreigner living locally, in any instance of falling explosive objects I’d recommending seeking shelter elsewhere!



To the right of the tunnel entrances was a typical homespun set of steps cut into the hillside.



Compare the pale clay rock step in this photo (one step) with the pale rock of the stairs in the first to see exactly how shallow and narrow these steps are.



This seemed to be the main street running through the township, with a number of trinket stores and xiao3 chi1 (little eats). Mostly locals with a handful of tourists and a couple of occasionally fiesty dogs wandered up and down its length. I picked up a car mirror lantern hanger and a cute cellphone charm (don’t forget to bargain.



Around smaller towns, I look out for the drain covers which often have a more interesting design than you’d see back home in (stuck-in-a-grating-rut) New Zealand.



On the other side of the township, we stopped off at Monet Café:



Just off the roadside, this was an outdoor café with a central pod surrounded by a number of tables under sun umbrellas:



On this particular Sunday, the café was very popular with a number of bikers (motorbikes not scooters) who were travelling mostly in small flocks:



Despite the heat, the majority were clad in top to toe leather jumpsuits complete with racy designs and supportive pads on every joint – straight out of an 80s costume party, but in their own way still rocking the cool. Compare bikers back home with these home grown Taiwan tough dudes (complete with peace signs):



Many of the tables were set around a series of small ponds. The waitresses would weave between the chairs and along the pond paths to deliver trays of (a little pricey but) pretty decent quality café food. Their various fruit and coffee based drinks were definitely ahead of the curve at least in terms of presentation. Although one friend warned against the vegetarian sandwhich (which contained fruit slices as the main ingredient) they had ordered on a previous occasion, this time their lasanga had a generous cheesy crust on top.



And in Taiwan, where there are ponds there are scary fish with huge mouths always looking for their next meal, which in this case was courtesy of a sweet father and son pair:



The café sells little packets of fish feed at 20 NTD a pop. All in all, a great roadside café to kill some time in the sun, just remember to take tissues for the bathroom.

By the bye, I hope this zebra near the caves isn’t a historical treasure. He doesn’t seem too impressed with his new leash!