An Informative Trip to Mudan

Tripoto
14th Jan 2018

On January 14, 2018, professor Chen invited the whole class to have a trip in Pingtung. She wanted us to learn something different from the textbooks by having a wonderful trip. The local guide, Mr. Sheng, led us to the path of Mt. Gui, which leads to the Sunrise Pavilion. There, visitors can easily enjoy the stunning scenes after taking only 20-minute walk to the top of Mt. Gui.

Photo of An Informative Trip to Mudan 1/1 by 戴坊娗
Mt. Gui (https://pic.pimg.tw/onetrip/1432378880-1142660473.jpg)

Most people’s first image of this county may be its beautiful beach and amazing traditional foods. However, there’s an important historical event happened in 1874, which had something to do with another country, Japan. Mudan Tribe Incident is a well-known fight between Taiwanese and Japanese local tribes. But lots of people don’t know what really happened. Mr. Shen brought us to the mausoleum of those victims. He started to explain the reason that led to this misery and wanting us, especially Taiwanese young people, to learn more about the culture of our own country. After his clear explanation, I think the potential trigger is cultural difference. Those Japanese refugees didn’t understand the special custom of Taiwanese local tribes. They assumed that Taiwanese people who had sharp knives in their hands wanted to kill them. In fact, these Taiwanese wanted to hunt some fresh wild animals in order to welcome and comfort these refugees from Japan. However, they mistook the meaning of this movement and started running away. Not accepting people’s kindness annoyed the local tribe. Escaping is a very rude response to their effort. In view of this, Taiwanese local tribes started to pursue these “rude people” and so the famous historical misery happened.

Knowing only the surface of the history is not enough, people should have a deeper understanding of the culture value beyond it. After realizing the whole background, we went to Shi Men Gu Zhan Chang to visit the Mudan Incident Museum. Visitors can see the geography of the county and learn more detailed information about this event.

The Alangyi Trail, the most southern part of Taiwan which combines the culture and science together, is one the most impressive parts of this trip. Not only because of the breathtaking scenery but the meaningful lessons that Mr. Shen gave us, the children in cities. Variable shapes of stones on the beach that makes the road too difficult to stand on, but Mr. Shen could easily walk on it even when he bared his foot. He introduced us lots of professional information not only about Pingtung county but also knowledge about science, history and culture. He is the man who is worthy to be admired.

Unlike the modern city life, people can hardly find a convenience store in Mudan Township. Stores usually close at a very early time. Most people may think it is inconvenient; however, local people are used to this kind of living style. They are not greedy for material life, being satisfied with what they have now instead. This is the ideal life that I have dreamed about. Staying away from the mess of busy cities, enjoying the beauty of science and finding the true meaning of life. I’m glad that I can have a chance to take a trip to Pingtung, which gave me a valuable opportunity to reinvent myself. I’ve learned a lot and fell in love with the beauty of humanities there. Pingtung has so many fantastic places to visit, make sure to have at least one visit there and enjoy a wonderful journey in your life.