Taipei art + Pixel stamp

Thanks to ChiaYu via Postcrossing for the art view of Taipei

and the special Pixel stamp showing newly elected female President

Tsai Ing Wen and her Vice President.

Sent: 1 June 2016    Received: 13 June 2016   Travelled: 13 days

Atayal man

The Atayal, also known as the Tayal and the Tayan, are one tribe of Taiwanese aborigines. In 2014, the Atayal tribe numbered 85,888. This was approximately 15.9% of Taiwan's total indigenous population, making them the third-largest tribal group.

Taiwan is home of a number of Austronesian tribal groups since before 4,000 BC. Genetic analysis however suggests that the different tribes may have different ancestral source populations originating in mainland Asia, and developed in isolation from each other. The Atayal people are believed to have migrated to Taiwan from Southern China or Southeast Asia. Genetic studies have also found similarities between the Atayal and other people in the Philippines and Thailand, and to a lesser extent with south China and Vietnam.The Atayal are genetically distinct from the Amis people who are the largest tribal group in Taiwan, as well as from the Han people, suggesting little mingling between these people.Studies on Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms suggest ancient migrations of two lineages of the various tribes into Taiwan approximately 11,000-26,000 years ago.

The Atayal tribe is also known for using facial tattooing and teeth filing in coming-of-age initiation rituals. The facial tattoo, in Squliq Tayal, is called ptasan. In the past both men and women had to show they can performed a major task association with an adult before they can tattoo their faces. For a man, he had to take the head of an enemy, showing his valor as a hunter to protect and provide for his people, while the women had to be able to weave cloth. A girl would learn to weave when she was about ten or twelve, and she had to master the skill in order to earn her tattoo. Only those with tattoos could marry, and, after death, only those with tattoos could cross the hongu utux, or spirit bridge (the rainbow) to the hereafter.

In the past the tattooing was performed only by female tattooists. The tattooing was performed using a group of needles lashed to a stick called atok tapped into the skin using a hammer called totsin. Black ash would then be rubbed into the skin to create the tattoo. The healing may take up to a month.

The Japanese banned the practice of tattooing in 1930 because of its association with headhunting. With the introduction of Christianity, the practice has declined and it is now rarely seen except on old people even though it is no longer banned. However some young people in recent years have attempted to revive the practice.

Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Vicky via Postcrossing for this superb Aboriginal man for

my People collection!

Sent: 22 May 2016    Received: 2 June 2016   Travelled: 11 days

Travelling by train

Received a card showing a vendor selling goods to folks in the train.

Thanks to the Taiwanese postcrosser who sent this card showing a

"Scenes of Life". Unfortunately I couldn't read what was written as

it is in Chinese characters :p

Sent:13 May 2016    Received: 26 May 2016  Travelled: 13 days

Lugang Mazu Temple

Excerpt on back:

Lugang Mazu Temple is one of the National Heritage. It was built

400 years ago during the transition of Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty.

Generations of worshippers come here and lie their faith and hope in Mazu,

the goddess of the sea.

Thanks to Candy (via postcrossing) for the beautiful card!

Sent: 3 April 2016   Received: 9 May 2016   Travelled: 36 days

Taiwan cat

Thanks to Suyun from Taiwan for another addition to my cat collection :)

Sent:   18 April 2016   Received: 27 April 2016   Travelled: 9 days

Orange monkeys

Yippee received my final card for my Taiwan Monkey collection.

Thanks to Shang Yun for the swap!

Sent: 6 April 2016   Received: 15 April 2016   Travelled: 9 days

Jiufen

During the first years of the Qing Dynasty, the isolated village housed nine families, thus the village would request "nine portions" every time shipments arrived from town. Later Kau-hun (meaning "nine portions" in Hokkien) would become the name of the village.

espite the earliest reference to the production of gold in the island dating to 1430, and multiple rediscoveries by early inhabitants, visiting Japanese, Dutch occupiers, and Koxinga's retainers, awareness of the wealth of Taiwan's gold districts did not develop until the late Qing era. In 1890, workmen discovered flakes of gold while constructing the new Taipeh-Kelung railway, and in 1893 a rich placer district was discovered in the hills of Kau-hun that produced several kilograms of gold a day. In the next year, the promise became greater than ever after a Chinese "expert" with experience gained in California found gold-bearing quartz in the said hills.

The resulting gold rush hastened the village's development into a town, and reached its peak during the Japanese era. In The Island of Formosa, Past and Present (1903), American diplomat James W. Davidson wrote, "Kyu-fun [Kau-hun] is as odd looking a settlment as one could find. [...] never before has the writer seen so many houses in such a small space. Some appear to be partially telescoped in adjoining buildings, other standing above as though unable to force their way to the group, and each structure seems to be making a silent appeal to its neighbor to move over." Water ran "in many small streams, directed so as to provide each building with a little rivulet, passing sometimes by the doorway or even over the floor of the building." The claim was owned by the Fujita Company, the first Japanese company to mine quartz in Taiwan and which occasionally made an income of a few thousand yen per month from the Kau-hun gold operations.

Jiufen also became popular in 2001, when its downtown was used as a model in the anime movie Spirited Away. The famous Japanese animation producer Hayao Miyazaki used Jiufen as an inspiration in Spirited Away. Jiufen soon attracted Japanese tourists. Many Japanese travel magazines and guide books about Taiwan introduced Jiufen. It became a must visit place among Japanese tourists.

Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Caroline for this lovely surprise from her holiday to Taiwan!

Sent: 31 March 2016   Received: 11 April 2016   Travelled: 11 days

Orchid monkey

Wow what an amazing surprise to receive this card via Postcrossing.

This is the 4th Taiwan Post Monkey Zodiac card in my collection.

Thanks to Shuyi for this great card!

Sent:25 March 2016   Received: 11 April 2016   Travelled: 17 days

Blue and White Porcelain

In the early 14th century mass-production of fine, translucent, blue and white porcelain started at Jingdezhen, sometimes called the porcelain capital of China. This development was due to the combination of Chinese techniques and Islamic trade. The new ware was made possible by the export of cobalt from Persia (called Huihui qing, 回回青, "Islamic blue"), combined with the translucent white quality of Chinese porcelain. Cobalt blue was considered as a precious commodity, with a value about twice that of gold. Motifs also draw inspiration from Islamic decorations.A large portion of these blue-and-white wares was then shipped to Southwest-Asian markets through the Muslim traders based in Guangzhou.

Chinese blue and white porcelain was once-fired: after the porcelain body was dried, decorated with refined cobalt-blue pigment mixed with water and applied using a brush, coated with a clear glaze and fired at high temperature. From the 16th century, local sources of cobalt blue started to be developed, although Persian cobalt remained the most expensive. Production of blue and white wares has continued at Jingdezhen to this day. Blue and white porcelain made at Jingdezhen probably reached the height of its technical excellence during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty

Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to SinPing for the beautiful card of the Blue White Porcelain :)

Sent: 23 March 2016   Received: 5 April 2016   Travelled: 13 days

Qing Dynasty Embroidery

Thanks to Carson for this swap. Love this card series. The second card I've 

received. The stamp issue is based on the Qing Dynasty Era Embroidery.

The stamp comes in a set of five, all in NT10 denomination.

Sent: 1 March 2016   Received: 15 March 2016   Travelled: 14 days

Lotus monkey

Thanks to Pei Yu for another monkey card from this lovely Taiwan

Monkeys series. They are so cute!

Sent: 21 January 2016    Received: 23 February 2016   Travelled: 33 days

Alishan train

The Alishan Forest Railway  is an 86 km network of 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County, Taiwan. The railway, originally constructed for logging, is itself a tourist attraction with unique Z-shaped switchbacks, 50 tunnels, and over 77 wooden bridges.
Source: Wikipedia

Thanks to Joan via Postcrossing for this beautiful Gold embossed train :)

Sent: 3 February 2016   Received: 18 February 2016   Travelled: 15 days

Taiwan subway

Thanks to Helen via postcrossing for this subway map!

Sent: 31 December 2015   Received: 19 January 2016   Travelled: 19 days

Alice

Thanks to Chuan who sends this Alice in Wonderland art card.

Sent: 23 December 2015   Received: 5 January 2016   Travelled: 13 days

Yawning cat

Another cat comes to say hello from Taiwan.

Thanks to Mr Liu for the nice stamps and decoration :D

Sent:29 January 2016   Received:15 February 2016   Travelled: 17 days

Taiwan watercolour cats

And another cat postcard this time from Taiwan.

Sent: 30 January 2016   Received: 15 February 2016    Travelled: 16 days

Cherry Blossom monkeys

Happy Chinese New Year! It's the 15th day and the last day of the Chinese New Year.

It's been a long time since I last blogged in November and left for my South American

travel. Coming home I had many cards waiting for me but it was a bit overwhelming

to go through the whole lot and I finally got to work on them and finished editing

205 cards since November 21. February is coming to an end soon and so I start with

the Monkey postcards that have been arriving since January. I chose this beautiful monkey

postcard from Taiwan because there are two Monkey zodiac members in my family.

Thanks to Pei Yu for this lovely card!

Sent: 30 December 2015   Received: 12 January 2015   Travelled: 13 days

Luye Gaotai balloon area

Illustration by Yu-hsuan Huang

Thanks to HT for this awesome balloon card from Taiwan.

I wish you well with your school's Postcrossing Club!

Sent: 9 Nov   Received: 19 Nov 2015   Travelled: 10 days

Shuinandong Smelter

You can find many remains of the mining industry in Jinguashi and Jiufen area, however, Shuinandong Smelter (水湳洞精鍊廠) is perhaps the most visible of all. The Shuinandong Smelter was built during the Japanese Colonial Era for refining gold and copper ore which were abundant in the area. Because it was also used in the screening and selection process of high quality ores, Shuinandong Smelter was also called the Mine Selection Plant. The smelter structure is built into a hillside in Shuinandong Recreation Area and its tiered construction lends itself the name “Remains of the 13 Levels” (十三層遺址), although, ironically, there is said to be a total of 18 levels.

Following the surrender of the Japanese in WWII, and the restoration of Taiwan's Republic of China government, the “Mining Bureau of Gold and Copper” was established to oversea the active mining industry. Unfortunately, the once lustrous gold industry was darkened as gold deposits ran dry and the newly renamed “Taiwan Metal Company” shifted its focus to the burgeoning copper market. In years to come, this industry also experience a rapid extinction as the cost of extraction and refining using aging infrastructure became an infeasible burden. And so the days of mining in Keelung and Northeast Coast areas are behind them as economic priorities shifted and opportunities for tourism were realized. What has been left are the surreal remains of bygone days.

Source: Round Taiwan

Thanks to Wenhsiu via PostcardUnited for this historical postcard

and the beautiful stamps! 

Sent: 4 Nov   Received: 18 November 2015   Travelled: 14 days

Lantern Festival

The Taiwan Lantern Festival  is an annual event hosted by the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taiwan to celebrate the Lantern Festival.

There are many activities all over Taiwan during Taiwan Lantern Festival. During the Taiwan Lantern Festival, thousands of sky lanterns light over Pingxi District (平溪) in Taiwan. In Yanshui District, the firecrackers ceremony of Wumiao Temple is also one of the important activities. The Tainan Yanshui Fireworks Display ("beehive of fireworks") was originally celebrated to ward off evil and disease from the town. The Taipei Pingxi Sky Lanterns were released originally to let others know that the town was safe. These lanterns are decorated with wishes and images relating to the owner. These two events are known together as "Fireworks in the South, Sky Lanterns in the North."

The American Discovery Channel's program "Fantastic Festivals of the World" has highlighted the Taiwan Lantern Festival as one of the best festivals in the world.

Source: Wikipedia

Yes yes I also collect lanterns but wait let me explain...

don't they look like miniature hot air balloons?! 

:)

Thanks to Rita for this beautiful postcard swap!

Sent: 12 Oct 2015   Received: 27 Oct   Travelled: 15 days