Nantou

Nántóu (南投) is the only landlocked county in Taiwan. Located in the geographic center of the island, it is home to a number of Taiwan’s most popular tourist attractions (Sun Moon Lake, Qingjing Farm, Hehuanshan, Aowanda, etc.), and is the gateway to several more (Taroko Gorge, for instance). Getting there can be a bit tough as Nantou is poorly served by the TRA, though the tourist-oriented Jiji Line runs from Changhua through to Shuili, not far from Sun Moon Lake. The county was heavily damaged by the 921 Earthquake in 1999, which had its epicenter nearby and left behind numerous memorial sites and ruins preserved as a reminder of the power of nature.

The mountain Indigenous townships of Ren’ai and Xinyi cover the remote eastern half of the county, home to Seediq and Bunun communities respectively. Ren’ai is the site of the Wushe Incident of 1930, the most significant Indigenous uprising against Japanese colonial rule, commemorated at the Mona Rudao Memorial Park. The region also features extensive Japanese colonial era hydroelectric infrastructure, including the tunnels and aqueducts that divert water from the mountains to Sun Moon Lake’s power stations.