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We spent a day in Pinglin bicyling and visiting the tea museum. We also stopped at Jingualiao River, Feicui Reservoir, and the Bagua Tea Plantation. Download our free Travel in Taiwan magazine app at: http://tit.com.tw/appdownload.html Visit us on Facebook too! https://www.facebook.com/taiwantravelmag Music by Blue Dot Sessions (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/) Dong Mu He Tea House (東木河茶莊) Add: No. 206, Sec. 8, Beiyi Rd., Pinglin District, New Taipei City (新北市坪林區北宜路八段206號) Tel: (02) 2665-6882 Website: www.facebook.com/DongMuHe/ Pinglin Tea Museum (東木河茶莊) Add: No. 19-1, Songqi Keng, Shuide Borough, Pinglin District, New Taipei City (新北市坪林區水德里水聳淒坑19-1號) Tel: (02) 2665-6035 Website: www.tea.ntpc.gov.tw English and Chinese Bagua Tea Plantation 八卦茶園 Beishi River 北勢溪 Daiyujue Creek 逮魚堀溪 Feicui Reservoir 翡翠水庫 Fish Observation Path 觀魚步道 Jingualiao Stream 金瓜寮溪 Old Pinglin Bridge 坪林舊橋 Pinglin 坪林 Pinglin Old Street 坪林老街 Qinshui Suspension Bridge 親水吊橋 -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Also watch the latest video on this channel: "{Trip} LALASHAN on the Northern Cross-Island Highway (北橫拉拉山)" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyJuxvXnlVs -~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Travel in Taiwan (2016, 1/2) By Nick Kembel Pinglin Village The bulk of Pinglin Village lies along a one-kilometer stretch of Highway 9, running parallel to the Beishi River. Most of the shops on either side of the highway are devoted to hawking the area’s mainstay product: Baozhong tea. If you are in the market for a cup of tea, local vendors are more than happy to brew up samples of Baozhong and other varieties. Local restaurants serve up all manner of innovative tea-theme dishes, including chicken fried in tea oil, tea-flavored vermicelli, tea eggs, tea jelly, deep-fried tea leaves, and tea-flavored ice cream. Qinshui Suspension Bridge On the main highway back at the western end of the village, next to a large welcome gate, cross a small parking lot to find the 60-meter-long Qinshui Suspension Bridge, which, along with the viewing platforms on either side of it, provides visitors with an ideal vantage point for observing the high concentration of fish (in certain spots as many as 50 per cubic meter, according to one study) in the crystal-clear water of the Beishi River below. The river is divided by cement blocks into sections of calm water, enabling you to easily spot the fish. Cycling the Fish Observation Path The Fish Observation Path, which starts at Qinshui Suspension Bridge, is best enjoyed on two wheels. Bicycles can be rented in the village. After crossing Qinshui Suspension Bridge from the highway side, turn right and ride along the path as it follows the Beishi River downstream. Look closely and you’ll be able to see lanky egrets perched on stones along the riverbanks, preying on the abundance of fish in the water. The path soon curves to the left, and you’ll be rewarded with a commanding view over a field with rows upon rows of tea shrubs. After crossing a small bridge, you’ll have the choice of turning right for the start of a 40-minute ride along Jingualiao Stream, or left for a shorter ride further along the Fish Observation Path as it follows a tributary, Daiyujue Creek, upstream. Choosing the latter, the further you get from the village the more idyllic the scenery becomes, with elderly farmers in conical hats tending to their tea fields on one side and turquoise pools of creek water begging to be jumped into on the other. Pinglin Tea Museum Back in the village, don’t miss to visit the recently renovated Pinglin Tea Museum. Built in 1997, it is an elegant white-walled facility (admission free). To get to it from the Old Street area, cross the Old Pinglin Bridge and turn left. Passing through the entrance gate brings you into a Fujian-style courtyard. To the right is a multimedia hall, where you can see (and smell) 25+ varieties of tea grown in northern Taiwan, learn how to wrap Baozhong tea in its signature square packages, and observe machinery used for separating and roasting tea leaves. In the Exhibition Hall opposite the main entrance, learn everything you ever wanted to know about Pinglin and the history of Baozhong. Interactive exhibits cover traditional tea-picking clothing for men and women, information about the different tea-producing regions of New Taipei City, and much else, and also give you the chance to take a photo with your own face placed in an old-time Formosa tea advertisement. To the left of the courtyard, you’ll find a souvenir shop selling fine teas, tea soap, ceramic teaware, and other items, and past that you can ascend a flight of stairs to a calm south China-style garden. A small teashop on the outer wall of the museum just outside the entrance serves freshly brewed hot and cold tea to go. You’ll surely want to savor a cup when leaving the museum, now that you are an expert on the subject!