Announcer: Welcome to "Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope," where you join us as we accept the world's invitation to visit.

Ha ha ha!

Rosendo: Today on "Travelscope," I explore Taiwan's natural side in forest sanctuaries, bird reserves, mountain resorts, and bustling seaports.

Announcer: "Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope" is made possible by... EVA Air, premium economy class in its own separate cabin serves both business and leisure travel.

EVA Air, a Star Alliance member.

And No-Jet-Lag, jet lag prevention.

Rosendo: When people consider Taiwan, they most likely think of its bustling capital Tapei, lorded over by its iconic landmark, the lofty Tapei 101, yet modern, electric, booming Taiwan is more natural and undeveloped than you think.

In Taiwan, nature is an essential ingredient, creating a unity between mind, body, and spirit and striking a balance between the natural and the manmade.

Located at near-4,000-feet elevation, the Mingchih Forest Recreation Area, one of 3 in Yilan County, offers forest walks, meditation gardens to suit every mood, scenic views, and beautiful sites.

Mingchih, or "bright lake," lives up to its name when dawn breaks over the fog-shrouded mountains and the water sparkles in the sun.

Mr. Lin finds it the perfect setting for serenading the black swans.

[Applause] Mr. Lin, xie xie.

That was beautiful, beautiful.

Thank you.

Thank you.

How long have you been doing this?

[Speaking Chinese] Now, what made you want to serenade the black swan?

I love that, a connection.

And I understand that recently, your favorite swan passed away.

Well, it was beautiful, and it was a great honor to sit here and hear you play.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Both: Xie xie.

Rosendo: While Taiwan is only the size of Maryland and Rhode Island combined, nearly 60% of the country is forested.

There are 9 national parks, 13 national scenic areas, and 18 forest recreation areas.

From Mingchih, I travel down the mountain to Cilan Forest Recreation Area, famous for its rare Taiwan red cypress trees and historic landmarks, such as one of the 27 guesthouses of former ruler Chiang Kai-shek.

Chiang Kai-shek is a notable and controversial figure in Taiwan's history.

He was president of China until the end of the Communist Chinese revolution and Chinese civil war in 1949.

At that time, his government had to move to Taiwan, and he was president of Taiwan until his death in 1975.

Reviled by some and beloved by others, among the many things he did during those years, he imposed a martial law on Taiwan that lasted until 1987.

In the 1960s, during the construction of Taiwan's northern Cross-Island Highway, which runs through the mountains for 130 kilometers, he twice visited the construction site and stayed at this villa, which is now part of the property of the Cilan Forest Recreation resort.

Today it's a museum of his life and times and is one of the attractions people take in when they're staying in the area.

While the museum pays homage to a notable man, visitors come to Cilan to walk among giants.

At an altitude of 5,700 feet, the Cilan Divine Trees Garden protects Taiwan red cypresses that stand hundreds of feet high and date back to 500 B.C.

Discovered in 1906 by the Japanese, the Taiwan cypresses of the Cilan mountain forest once numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

Harvested for the 50 years of the Japanese occupation for use in their Shinto shrines and tea tables and after 1945 by the Taiwanese lumber industry, a few of nature's thousand-year-old masterpieces still remain.

Now, here in what is now called the Cilan Divine Trees Garden, there are close to a hundred thousand-year-old trees.

And we're going to take the mile-long trail and visit a few of them.

Come along.

[Rosendo chuckles] Wow!

From this vantage point on the walkway, you can see two of the garden's stars-- the tallest Taiwan cypress tree at 155 feet and the widest at 49 feet in circumference.

Now, this tree here is over 1,000 years old, and that one there, over 2,000 years old.

You don't have to walk very far in the garden to have the opportunity to stand in awe of nature.

Nice thing that's done here at the Cilan Divine Trees Garden is they name their sacred trees after important Chinese personages.

And this red Taiwan cypress is Confucius, and this vine that's attached himself way up there at the top is Confucius' cane.

And why is this tree called Confucius besides the fact that we learn so much by just being in its presence?

It's because if Confucius was still alive, he'd be as old as this tree, 2,466 years old.

On the verge of extinction, Taiwan's cypress trees were saved by a countrywide ban on logging in 1982.

There are several preserves throughout the country.

One reason this is the best is because it has the most large and ancient Taiwan cypress trees.

The Cilan Divine Trees Garden is a very, very popular place, but you may have noticed there's not many people around.

Well, that's because in order to visit, you need a permit and they limit the visitors to 720 per day.

It's all part of their efforts to protect and preserve this beautiful area and its trees.

You've heard me mention sacred trees.

Well, while I believe all trees are sacred, in the Divine Trees Garden, a sacred tree is a Taiwan cypress of more than a thousand years.

And being among them is like being in a cathedral.

I've been to other tree preserves in Taiwan.

And I believe I like this one in the Cilan Forest Recreation Area best because it's less commercially developed and you can really peacefully take it all in and commune with nature.

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

"Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees while cares...drop off like autumn leaves."

John Muir.

The Taipingshan Forest Recreation Area is a 25,000-acre spread that sports rivers and streams, high mountains and deep valleys.

Its name means "state of permanent stability and peace."

Ahh.

Well, now I'm in the Taipingshan Forest Recreation Area, where it's water, water everywhere, and much of it's hot.

This spa, the Jioujhihze, has been here since the 1920s.

And the hot springs?

Well, they've been here since the mists of time.

You know, the Japanese colonialists were in Taiwan for 50 years, and not everything they did was good, but one thing they did that was good was develop a hot springs.

And as they say in Japan, mata.

"See you later."

An exploration of Taiwan's natural side must include a road trip along its stunning east coast.

One of the most scenic drives in Asia, the Suhua Highway, hugs the cliffs from Su'ao to Hualien.

High above the Pacific Ocean, it offers stunning views, access to sand beaches, rocky coves, and the country's first and foremost benefactor, the sea.

Since Han Chinese from Southern Fujian, China, first established fishing villages on Taiwan's islands in the ninth and tenth centuries, the ocean and its bounty has been one of Taiwan's natural treasures.

Star chefs like Chih-Yung Chen regularly mine these watery riches.

Wow.

Look at this.

We're here to meet the chef and get the fish off of his boat.

But look at the stuff that's already out for the people, all the different kinds of fish.

That's why I love coming to Taiwan, because the bounty of the sea is really the sustenance of this country.

Look at all these fish.

Wow!

Such an adventure!

The chef meets the boats and personally picks the best of their daily catch.

It's part of his ocean-to-table, from scratch, one-man approach to creating real food.

This boat is bringing fish just for him, huh?

Yeah, not just for him, but they will call him first.

Ah, OK.

So they're going to give him the pick of the group.

Claire: Yeah.

Rosendo: What is he looking for here?

Do you know?

He is going to pick prawn.

Prawn!

Yeah.

Well, they're lively.

That means-- Yeah.

that's probably one of the most important things, is that they're very fresh.

Yeah.

Wow.

Like at the size of those prawns.

And this is what he's looking for, right?

Claire: Yeah, yeah.

So for his restaurant, the number-one thing is freshness and what else?

Claire: The quality and the quantity and the special species he's looking for.

The special species of fish and whether it's prawns or sea bass.

Especially sea bass.

How many boats does he have bringing fish to him?

It depends on the weather for the day.

Maybe 5 or 4 boats.

OK. Do they let him know?

Ha ha!

Yeah, they will let him know.

They give him a call and say, "Chef, we got some good fish for you"?

Not just call.

They LINE him.

LINE.

Oh, they text them.

Yeah, text him.

These are a little smaller.

This is sweet, tastes very sweet... Sweet?

Sweet.

and still fresh and lively.

So it's eatable right now.

Try it.

I can eat it now?

Yes.

Try it.

Try.

This is, uh... You need some help there, I can do that.

Ha ha!

Sushi on the run.

It's a very expensive species.

Oh, my gosh.

That's about as fresh sushi I ever had.

That was delicious, Chef.

Xie xie.

Xie xie.

Very good.

So this is a sweet, wild-caught ocean shrimp.

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Yeah.

Rosendo, voice-over: While some cultures eat to live, the Taiwanese live to eat.

An old Chinese proverb compares food to heaven.

And once people greeted each other by asking, "Have you eaten yet?"

Every Taiwanese county has its own specialties.

And they are often displayed with an artistic flair.

Watching your dinner take a spin around the table is a culinary pleasure in and of itself.

At Chef Chen's Shen Yen Teppanyaki restaurant in Luodong Township, he uses homemade sauces, his own pickled vegetables, and his mom's fruit vinegar to create a cuisine that is also a work of art.

OK. First dish.

Hey, that's the sea bass we got at the market today.

You want--you want... You want to try it?

You want to try?

Sure!

Yeah.

Wow!

Wow!

Chef Joseph.

Eh, OK.

Chef: Sure.

OK. Ooh!

Claire: Thank you very much.

Thank you.

His is prettier.

Yeah.

[Speaking Chinese] [Laughs] Wow.

Yeah!

Xie xie.

Rosendo: During the course of the evening, he leads us through an artistic array of traditional and innovative dishes that showcase his talents and the many foods of Taiwan.

Mmm!

Oh, my gosh.

Delicious.

We're eating the head of a shrimp.

Claire: Sweet, right?

Ha ha!

OK!

OK!

Whoo!

Ha ha!

Rosendo, voice-over: It's a performance deserving of a standing ovation.

[All speaking Chinese] Rosendo: Taiwan's coastline stretches for almost 700 miles.

Following my path to Taiwan's natural attractions, I take the high-speed train from Taipei to Tainan on its west coast.

The oldest city in Taiwan and its capital for 200 years, Tainan safeguards the remnants of Taiwan's history as a 17th-century Dutch colony, hosts tributes to folk hero and liberator General Koxinga, and serves as a base for my continuing discoveries.

Fittingly, my search takes a spiritual turn.

In Taiwan, the spiritual is never far away.

In fact, I like to say that Taiwan is the repository of the heart and soul of Chinese culture, which is closely connected to nature.

There are thousands of temples in Taiwan, and many are devoted to Taoism.

And one of the main precepts of Taoism is to keep human behavior in accordance to nature.

And that can be done by following the Tao, or "the way," and practicing effortless actions, simplicity, spontaneity, and naturalism.

The 3 treasures of Taoism are compassion, frugality, and humility.

Most, if not all, of the pantheon of Taoist deities had a human incarnation.

Wang Ye was a shepherd to a Qing dynasty emperor.

Now he's an emissary from heaven and comes to Earth to remove disease and evil.

The beautiful Nankunshen temple in Tainan honors him, and if you're lucky enough when you're here, there may be a celebration going on.

[Beating on percussion instruments] High on its list of natural treasures are Taiwan's bird population.

More than 600 bird species have been recorded in Taiwan.

Although they can be found throughout the island, particularly in the fall and winter months, many congregate in the lagoons, fish ponds, mangroves, and salt marshes along its western coast, such as the Aogu Wetlands.

[Birds squawking] Philip, look at this.

What kind of birds are we looking at?

Ah, mostly the egret.

Rosendo: It's so amazing how many birds there are here in Taiwan.

We have counted about 653 species.

How many of wetlands-- and this one has a forest setting-- some of them are near the city.

Yeah.

There are all sorts of different settings.

How many of those do you have in Taiwan?

We have about 70 IBA.

IBA?

Important bird area.

Important bird areas!

I love that.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We try to make this-- all this IBA become a conservation area.

This site called Aogu Wetland Forest Park.

Now, here we have a lot of egrets, but if people came to Taiwan for birding, what kinds of birds might they see?

Tell me a little bit about them.

I know at one point, they were really endangered.

Yes, yes.

About 30 years ago-- less than 300.

There were 300 left in the world.

How about now?

After 30 years-- we have done some conservation work-- so the population come back to about near 4,000 now.

4,000.

Now, that's an amazing success story!

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah... Now, what makes them so important?

So we call them umbrella species.

An umbrella species?

Yeah.

We protect this bird, and we protect all the birds--this habitat, like umbrella.

By protecting this bird, we protect all the other birds.

That's wonderful.

Yeah.

Is there a best time of the year to come to Taiwan for birding?

For a birder, every season's a good season.

[Both laugh] Absolutely.

Yeah, yeah.

But--you want to see-- endemical bird in Taiwan, you have to check-- maybe the springtime.

Springtime?

You can see maybe most of them.

And usually when... migration birds-- you can choose the wintertime.

What do you think makes Taiwan such a great destination for birding?

Because Taiwan is a big island on east coast of Asia, and so maybe 100,000 birds are passing through Taiwan.

Well, thank you.

Xie xie.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for introducing me to these beautiful birds.

Yeah.

Look at that.

Look how many of them out there.

Wow.

Yes.

Rosendo, voice-over: The black-faced spoonbill is Taiwan's must-see migratory visitor.

The Black-faced Spoonbill Ecology Exhibition Hall, located on the northern bank of the Zengwun River, introduces bird lovers to this rare and beautiful creature, yet the best place to get to know them is in the wild.

Wow.

They're right there, right over my shoulder.

The black-faced spoonbill, that is.

We've crept our way from the road and made our way over here, but we're afraid to get any closer.

We're afraid that the whole flock will fly away, and we'll lose them.

I mean, they're so sensitive.

Their eyesight is excellent, and they'll certainly perceive us as a threat.

So we're gonna sit here and just be in their presence.

And that is such an honor, considering the fact that they were down to 300 worldwide, but because of an extraordinary effort by the international community in Asia-- in Taiwan, particularly-- they're now back to 4,000 individuals.

That's less than half of what is needed for them to not be in danger of extinction, but it's such a wonderful story about honoring nature over profit and development and protecting and conserving nature for all of us.

I mean, this is what "Travelscope" and travel is all about.

This is what I live for.

Of Taiwan's hundreds of bird species, 27 are unique to the island and 150 make Taiwan home year-round.

Birding has become a favorite Taiwanese pastime, so much so, they made a contest out of it.

The annual Taiwan Birdathon, based in Beimen in the Southwest Coast National Scenic Area, draws teams of birders from around the world.

Now, how many days is the Birdathon?

There will be 24 hours, day and night.

So they only have 24 hours to see all the birds that they can see.

Yes.

And how many people do you have participating?

This year it's 100.

So people come from all over the world to come here to see birds.

Yes.

Now, how does it work?

You have to put name of the species into the app.

Well, we've only been here a few days, and I've seen a lot of beautiful birds.

I can't enter the contest, but if I did, I promise you I'd win.

Yes, sir.

OK... Ha ha!

Man: Three Eurasian wigeons.

No, no.

Sorry.

They are whiskered terns.

[Birders speaking at once] Nice golden-plover.

Ooh!

He's just to the left of that.

'Cause I saw him right through this notch in the grass.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, there we go.

That's a new one... That's a white-throated king.

Yeah.

Very cool.

So this is as exciting as bird-watching can get.

I'll put it that way.

Ha ha!

Have you seen a lot of birds that you haven't seen before?

Yeah, it's been really good.

I've never birded in Asia before.

And Taiwan has been, like, a really good introduction, that there are a lot of new birds but not an overwhelming number of new birds.

So the birds motivate the travel.

So the idea is, is that everywhere you go has different birds.

So as opposed to buying postcards from Taiwan, we come and see the birds that live in Taiwan.

So it's like we're collecting, but, also, you get to meet new people and eat local food, experience local culture.

So the travel aspect of it is obviously part of it as well.

Exactly.

The birds just prescribe the route.

Man: He's flying!

There he goes.

There he goes.

Flying.

Flying.

Streaked.

Got it.

Got it.

Looks like a heron.

Oh, no, no.

That's a bittern.

That's a bittern.

What are you looking at, Jerry?

Right now I'm looking at some plovers, American golden-plover.

And do you see the Pacific golden-plover?

Yeah.

Yup.

Oh, right.

It's a Pacific golden-plover.

Oh, here are some coots.

The coots are right behind the plovers.

Rosendo: Is this a very rich birding experience here in Taiwan?

Oh, it's fantastic.

We just came out of the mountains, where you get one bird.

Maybe you get a mixed flock with 3 or 4 species.

When you get to the shore, we have--easy--40.

Rosendo: Is that why you picked Taiwan, because of the diversity?

Part of it is plenty of open space available, relative easy birding, but you have many elements to it.

Probably the biggest attraction for a birder is the amount of endemics here, of which there are 27.

So far, we've knocked off 24 of them.

We've got a shot to run the table.

That's what we'll be really looking for.

Besides the birding for the birds, there's the other experience of just being here in Taiwan.

The culture is very important to me as well.

Yeah.

Very welcoming, very hospitable.

It's a whole different vibe from the States.

Rosendo: Right.

I would agree with you 100%.

Thank you for joining me on my latest Taiwan adventure.

On my many travels to Taiwan, I've learned that there's always something new to discover on Ilha Formosa: "the beautiful isle."

From modern cities to indigenous villages, from island getaways to mountain resorts, I never cease to be amazed by all that Taiwan has to offer.

Exploring its natural side, I discovered here, nature is not a place you escape to.

Nature is part of who you are.

The religious deities, sacred icons, and national treasures are all connected to the natural world.

Taiwan is a modern, prosperous country, yet they know that a truly great people honors nature above profits, preservation before development, and understands that it is essential to always make space for that which thrills the heart, replenishes the spirit, and feeds the soul.

Until next time, this is Joseph Rosendo reminding you of the words of Mark Twain: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."

Happy traveling... Announcer: "Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope" is made possible by... EVA Air, premium economy class in its own separate cabin serves both business and leisure travel.

EVA Air, a Star Alliance member.

And No-Jet-Lag, jet lag prevention.

For a DVD of today's show or any of Joseph's "Travelscope" adventures, call 888-876-3399 or order online at Travelscope.net.

You can also e-mail us at TV@Travelscope.net.

Rosendo: Now that we've explored Taiwan's natural side, learn more at Travelscope.net, where you can follow my worldwide adventures through my magazine, blog, podcast, and on social media.

Stay in touch, 888-876-3399 or TV@travelscope.net.

I'm in the Jingzaijiao salt field.

Salt has been produced commercially in Taiwan since 1665.

Here on this salt field, they've produced an area so the tourists can come out and learn about the drying and the gathering of salt.

Also, this is a very unique site because if you look through the saltwater here... you'll see that it's tiled because decades ago, the workers decided that they could save salt by keeping it from adhering to the ground.

And they broke up crockery, and they tiled all of these salt ponds here...

It's also a great place to watch the sunset.

[People counting "3, 2, 1"] Yay!

Yay!

Whoo-hoo!

Ooh!