July 16th

Today we went to the trails to do our project. Firstly we found an ideal place which was flat at both sides of the trail and the concrete road. Then we put four chopsticks with strings around them on the soil so that it covered 1 meter square. Then we separated to several parts and we counted the individuals of different plant species within this 1 meter square. And we collected each kind of plants we discovered. Then we collected the soil sample and changed to another site. It turned out that different places had different kinds of plants and the soils were often different and that was what we were interested in.

In the afternoon, after we finished collecting samples of 4 sites and also controlled group, we asked Professor Chong to help us figure out all the names of the plants we found. And he was so helpful that finally we finished all the plant names.

At night, we moved to the wood villa and would stay there for two days.

July 15th

Today we had a lecture about soil biodiversity given by Professor Lin in the morning and then Tom gave us a lecture about "Biodiversity: what, who and where" on the grass outdoor. And that was really creative and relaxing. Tom talked a lot about biodiversity from the nomenclature to the numbers of species and to the relationship between human and environment.

In the afternoon we all presented our project proposals and the teacher gave us some advice and then my team members and I went to explore our ideal sites for taking samples and we also went to the sky walk. At night, we discussed about what we would do tomorrow and I think everything is ready. Just do it tomorrow!

July 14th

Today we had a lecture about the tea history and culture in Taiwan in the morning. The professor told us a lot about stories of tea and we also tasted a lot of tea.

In the afternoon we listened to the introduction to birds in Taiwan by Professor Yuan. She introduced a lot about the endemic species of birds in Taiwan. And then we went outside to observe different kinds of birds and plants. After that our team members and I hiked to the University pond and we saw various kinds of trails along the road. And we decided to do something about the trails in our project.

At night, we discussed a lot about it and finally we had our project proposal done.

July 13th

Today we visited the Phoenix Tea Plantation first in the morning. We walked a long way up to look at the tea farm and saw some kinds of plants there. Then we watched the arts of brewing tea and we also brewed the tea by ourselves in turns. And that was a lot of fun. We drank so much tea, like Dongding Oolong and Oriental Beauty.

After lunch we headed to the Bamboo products shop which has a lot of bamboo art crafts and secret boxes that are hard to open. We tried to figure out how to open them as many as possible. That shop had a lot of interesting things and Tom bought a bamboo box which costed 4000 NTD.

Then we went to the Sitou Experimental Forest and set down there.

July 12th

Today we left Shueili to the Endemic Specimen Research Institute. We had a lecture about specimens first and then we visited the specimen storage room. The specimens there were mostly for education and they were all kept very carefully and strictly. Then we visited the Wildlife First-aid Center. And we learnt how the staffs rescued the injured animals and helped them get better.

After the lunch, we had a lecture given by Professor Zheng about the diversity of bats in Taiwan. In the end of the lecture, the professor showed a live Taiwan Long-eared bat to us and it was tiny and very cute. Then we had a guide tour of the Conservation Education Center and we saw a special exhibition of Taiwan moths and we learnt a lot about Taiwan's biodiversity as well.

After staying at the ESRI for nearly a day, we went to the Ji-ji County to see a temple left from the severe earthquake ten years ago. And then we headed to the Phoenix Tea Gardon.

July 11th

Today we went to the Shueili Wood Utilization Center in the morning and we saw different kinds of furniture made of wood. Many of them are made of precious wood in Taiwan, such as Cypress, Taiwania Hayata and so on. And we also saw much dedicated wood furniture, like bed, chairs, tables, etc. Then we headed to the Practice Factory to see how the workers cut woods into slices. And the machine could do the work very correctly. Then the prizes for Angela and Emily came out! Emily got a baseball bat and Angela got a rolling stick and they were both made by the master worker at once.

After that we had our Bench DIY which seemed very easy at first. We needed to make the wood parts smooth with the sand paper and then put them together with glue. Then we used the Ray to carve characters on the surface, which looked very beautiful. After that we used a machine to put the paint on it twice so that it would be smooth. At last, we pasted the tiles on the bench with different colors we chose. Finally, all of us made gorgeous benches.

At night, we watched a Discovery Video about functions of woods and a new technique to produce more woods. We learnt that wood is a magic kind of material that its tubulous cell structure makes it possible to produce stout  architectures. And recent research found out that woods could be a perfect energy instead of corns or other bioenergy. Because it is much cheaper and we would not use the foods we need to produce energy. And there is a poplar forest in America and the tree, which is a product of genetic engineering, could grow very fast and the production is always enougu for cutting. That is really amazing and would be widely used in the future I believe.

July 10th

Today we left Meifeng Farm where we lived for 3 days. And we went to Chunyang to pick up tomatoes. I picked up a lot and it was fun. Then we headed to the Sunmoon Lake. We had a delicious lunch in an aboriginal restaurant. And the foods there were spicy and salty and also very gorgeous. After lunch, we had a guide tour. The guide told us a lot about history of Chiang Chaichieh. Although I went there once before, it attracted me that I learnt more about the famous spot and the aboriginal people there. Then we walked around the island and got on the bus to go to Shuili.

At night, we were taught to play the Luban Lock which seemed difficult to us at first. I played that before in a science museum but I just forgot how to play it. Then we had a competition. The person who completed first would win. Everyone seemed so nervous and finally Angela and Emily won and they will get a big prize tomorrow. What will it be?

July 9th

Today we had a bird watch in the early morning. We saw so many kinds of birds living in the Meifeng Farm, including the Steer’s Liocichla that we saw on the video. The sounds of male and female were different and they just made a beautiful duet. We also saw the White-tailed Robin, whose sound changed when it got nervous. And the Taiwan Sibia’s song sounded like ‘Happy New Year’, while the Taiwan Yuhina got its name for its sound. Along the road, we saw a net catching Taiwan Yuhinas for the science research. But we saw a little White-tailed Robin caught inside the net. And the researcher just took it out and flied it away. Then we saw how the researcher injected a core plate into the Taiwan Yuhina so that they could detect the other birds flying to the nest.

After the breakfast, we went to have a tour in Meifeng Farm. And we saw various kinds of trees, flowers and fruits that I could not count the number. The most impressive one to me might be the fish drunk grass. It was said that it could get fish drunk and make them swim more slowly as they released some chemicals to the water. After the tour, we had a DIY of the wire art and flower pot. It looked quite easy to do that but it turned out hard to make it done smoothly. Finally I made a wired bottle with some lovely decoration on it.

In the afternoon, we had a lecture given by Professor Liu first. Someone told me about him before I came to Meifeng Farm but to be honest, I could hardly understand his English. I only got some information about how he planted some organic vegetables. Then we went to do the Beet harvest and we chose the first two big ones and cut them into pieces with pineapples and apples. Then we were separated into 6 groups. And we chose how many fruits needed to make the mixed juice. I think our team’s juice tasted very good since it was not too sweet and not too sour. Some people even put just one piece of beet and added no yoghurt and that made the juice too sour. Then we went to have a look at the mist forest and lavender garden.

In the evening, we went to have a moth watch and then we watched the star signs in the guide of Senling. She was really an excellent guide that we learnt a lot about star signs and their origins. Tomorrow we’ll leave Meifeng Farm and I think I’ll miss it.

July 8th

Today we went Hehuanshan hiking from the altitude of 2902 m to the altitude of 3146 m, which was really a challenge to us. We had to fight with the AHAD. I felt heart beating so fast when I move for several steps so that I had to stop for a while every quarter. Nevertheless, we saw various kinds of features along the road, such as bumble bees, Liocichlas, arrow bamboos and so on. Finally, we were the second group of people who got on the top of the main mountain which held the altitude of 3146 m. After that, we climbed another mountain for half an hour. When we got down, I felt like a little bit vomiting in the stopping bus. But fortunately, I and then we had a very rich lunchbox.

In the afternoon, we went to the Cingjing Farm which is quite famous in Taiwan for its sheep. But it was not quiet at all as its name since there were many people visiting in the summer vocation. We watched a sheep show which I thought was very funny because of the ’s talking and acting. There were many stalls selling peaches and apples outside the farm which were very expensive. I just bought 3 honey apples because we couldn’t buy fruits in Meifeng Farm.

After the dinner, we had a lecture of introduction of Meifeng Farm and then watched a video about a Liocichla couple living in the Meifeng Farm. The story was impressive and we all laughed since the birds were so cute when eating and taking shower. I look forward to seeing them tomorrow.

July 7th

Today might be the most free day so far. We took about 3-hour drive to Puli to have our lunch where two couples were having wedding there. Then we went to the wine products center. I bought a rice wine ice-cream and it tasted great!

After that we went to the hotel in Meifeng Farm. We watched a very short video after dinner then we discussed about our project with our group mates. We've already had some ideas about our project. We all thought that it was a good beginning and we hope we would go through it smoothly.

July 6th

Today we went to the Taroko National Park. We hiked for 3 hours and it was not very hot there. We also went to a stream and put our feet into the water. Angela and Cynthia even swam there. I hope I could swim with them together, but I was just afraid that I would get all wet. Some people got on the top of some high rocks, which looked dangerous to me.

After a lovely lunch, we went back to Taipei. Tomorrow we will launch again to Meifeng Farm. 

July 5th

Today we went to the King Car Orchid Park in the morning. And we went to the Mr. Brown coffee shop first to listen to a lecture given by Mr. Chang. Unfortunately, there was something wrong with the showing machine, so we finally had the lecture after waiting for half an hour. Then we went to the Orchid Green House. We saw different kinds of orchid and phalaenopsis there. They were all very gorgeous and I hope I could took one back to home.

We had our lunch in the coffee shop and then we took nearly 3 hours to the Cingshui Cliff. I love there since the sea there was marvelous. Everyone was excited when the tide came near to us and covered our legs.

Then we headed to Hualian, where we lived for a night. After the dinner, we went to buy the famous Magi in the famous shop.

July 4th

Today we went to the Gold Ecological Park first in the morning and we expressed how people at old times explored gold mine and coal mine.  The architechtures there were all Japanese style and lovely and the environment was very quiet and peaceful.

Then we headed to Jiufen street and ate a lot of snacks. Anqi and I ate the special triangle toufu and had the taroballs in Aganyi Shop where had a perfect sea view on the top of the mountain. Then we went to Shifen  Traveler's Lodge where we lived for a night. The dinner was special and delicious. After that, we wrote down our wishes on the surfaces of the lantern. Anqi and I wrote "Keep healthy", "Get a higher GPA", "Find the Mr. Right" and so on. We all flied our lanterns and we hoped our wishes could come true.

July 3th

Today we went to the National  Museum of Marine Science and Technology in the morning. We saw how they feeded the fish and we also saw a special show of deep marine animals. The most impressive one must have been the monkfish because of its reproduction. The male monkfish adheres to the female's stomach and soothe its blood and then the male one release its eggs.

After lunch, we went to the Northeast coast intertidal zone to explore the marine creatures by ourselves. We found many different species, such as crabs, star fish, barnacle, brittle sea star and so  on. Thanks to Jenny for telling me these English names. Everyone was fascinated with all the creatures found and screamed out. But the day was really heated. Finally we had the red Algae jelly to cool down.

July 2nd

Today we went to Yeliu Geopark to see the unique stone along the seaside. It was really fantastic to see different shapes of stone created by nature. I was very impressed by the beautiful view of the seaside although the day was quite hot and humid. We took a lot of interesting pictures there.

In the afternoon, we went to the Fisheries Research Institute and had a look at how the fisheries work in Taiwan. I was amazed at the algae ice-cream and squid ice-cream and I hope I could try it some time.

June 30th

Today we had only one lecture in the morning which was about the Taiwanese Snacks. It was a pity that we didn't see snack pictures or how to cook them. But we did have a comparison between Taiwanese cuisines and western cuisines and argued about whether we go outside or stay at home to eat among Taiwan and western countries.

In the afternoon we went to the Palace Museum. The guide spoke English incredibly well that I even could not figure out if I was in the Chinese-speaking country or in the English-speaking country. We had a browse of many fantastic artistic work and we were all amazed at how the ancient artists could make such delicate art and works.

At night, we had our dinner in Shilin Night Market which had a lot of tourists. I ate steak, Fried Tofu, Fried Shrimp, ice and local seafood with another three NTU girls. We all enjoyed our meals although it was noisy and crowded there.

June 29th

This morning we had lectures first in the morning, which were about experiments and Tom's wildlife biologist life. I really enjoyed Tom's lecture. He told the stories he experienced in exploring nature and wildlife up to the mountain and down to the earth. The stories were extremely exciting that we were all immersed in them. And I hope one day I can do some of them by myself. But I know that's difficult to fulfill.

In the afternoon we went to Yingge Ceramics Museum. We saw lots of ceramics made in diverse dynasties. Some of the patterns on the ceramics were very adorable and the souvenirs there were beautiful but expensive though. We also painted a ceramic by ourselves.

At night, we went to Fuyang Park to have a frog observation. It was my second time to observe frogs at night. Last time it was in Wulai and I only saw few. But this time in the guide of Teacher Lee, we saw 9 species of frogs and we even saw 3 super stars in Fuyang Park, one of which was Taipei tree frog that was not common in summer. And we also saw a snake and a firefly. The whole tour was exciting and full of screams and wows. The experience was really impressive and unforgettable.

June 28th

Today was sunny day and the sun shined brightly. We went to Jinshan first to do the blue dye. Everyone did it for the first time and we all thought it was hard work as the teacher showed us the steps to fold the cloth back and forth and use the stick to fix and shade. The dye was made from a special plant there named Malan. And after we folded the cloth we put it into the first dye for 5 minutes and took it out for oxidization so that the color would turn blue and then dyed it again for another 5 minutes. The last step was hanging the cloth on the line. To our surprise, we all created very beautiful patterns.

Then we headed to the Dharma Drum Mountain which owns the Buddha Palace built by Master Shengyan. The atmosphere was very quiet and peaceful there. All living thing exist harmoniously together. We climbed up the stairs slowly as the guider told us to feel the footsteps by our heart. And that concentrated our minds from the hot day. At noon, we had a hearty vegetarian meal and then worshiped the Buddha.

In the afternoon, we went to the Juming Museum to appreciate the artistic work, especially statues made by Juming. The statues there were big and quite special since Juming made them very quickly and the men's facial expression were all different. The park was really big that we walked for a whole afternoon.

June 27th

Today we headed to the Yangmingshan National Park located in Taipei city and we had a field tour on plants and insects there. We recognized many species of plants and insects with the help of the teachers, such as Begonia formosana Masams, cicadas, damselflies and so on. We climbed a lot and it was really exhausting.

After a short lunch of breads and cakes, we had a visit to he Siaoyukeng which possesses a unique volcano scenery. The guider Mrs Chi presented a very detailed introduction about how the volcano forms and the history of Penglai Rice and Bamboo Lake. Mrs Chis was really good at guiding and we all gained a lot.

The final stop we came to the Beitou Hot Spring Museum which was the first hot spring hotel providing bathing by Japanese. And the view in the Terrestrial Heat Valley was amazing with the fog floating on the surface of the lake, looking like a fairyland.

Though today I was very tired, the trip was wonderful and meaningful.

June 26th

Today we went to the NTU Zoology Museum first which belongs to the School of Life Science. Although I had classes in that building last year, I'd never been to the museum and I was fascinated with all kinds of specimens there. My school also has a zoology museum but it's amazing that NTU has such a large number of various kinds of specimens preserved well. After that we had a visit to NTU Insectarium which is located outside the campus. The insect specimens there amazed me a lot by the number of individuals and the diversity. We saw many insect specimens that the professor mentioned before and they were very beautiful.

Then we listened to lectures about Geography, Flora and Marine Biodiversity of Taiwan respectively. I learnt more about these respects and I was interested in the Marine biodiversity in Taiwan most that I can't wait to have a look at the mangrove forest, coral reefs and other marine creatures.

The First Two Days In BACT

It was my second time that I came to Taiwan and I was really eager to come here again since I left last time. And it was interesting that I had my birthday for the second time in Taiwan and I just found that Corinne and I share the same birthday with through Stephanie's blog! Oh I wish we could celebrate our birthday together!

Although I'm so familiar with NTU, it is my first time to participate such a special camp here with people from all over the world and speaking English every day. The weather now in Taipei is really humid and hot that I sweat profusely. Yesterday we had an self introduction and a small city tour to the museum. Everyone was very friendly and we got to know each other very fast.

Today we went to the school musuem of history and then went to play the Scavenger Hunt-getting games. We ran through the campus and played games by team. It was quite hot but we did have fun and knew each other better. In the afternoon we began our class. The professor's speech was very impressive and everyone was positive in answering and asking questions. The video shown was fantastic and I think I learnt a lot about Taiwan's biodiversity this afternoon.

I look forward to the coming visit to the museum and exploration in Yangmingshan