Taipei, Taiwan - 5 Things You Should Know Before You Visit
*DON'T FORGET TO WATCH THE SEQUEL TO THIS VIDEO: 5 More Things You Should Know Before You Visit:
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Taipei, Taiwan is a super modern city with a deep-rooted culture that is becoming more and more popular as a gateway to East Asia and Southeast Asia.
It’s new express MRT service from Taoyuan International Airport, a 36 minute ride, will make it even more convenient for travellers, especially those on a short layover.
This short but important list of essential things you should know will help keep you on track with a smooth stay.
Although taxis are plentiful and relatively inexpensive compared with other big cities in East Asia the MRT is one of the best ways to get to most of the main sites and business centers of Taipei City.
The Nangang Exhibition Center where many conventions and shows are held is accessible by the blue and brown MRT lines. Neihou, where many tech industry businesses have their head office is also on the brown line, Xihu is one of the most convenient stops for quick and easy access.
Taipei 101 for the last 3.5 years has had it’s own MRT stop on the red line. This is where you’ll also find The International Convention Center next to the Taipei 101 Shopping Mall. It’s also in close proximity to Taipei City Hall and is apart of the Xinyi Shopping District, where you’ll find one of the largest selections of luxury goods stores in East Asia.
If you want to get more of a local perspective pick up an Easycard available at most MRT stations and register it online with Ubike, so you can have access to the city bikes that have stations across Taipei City and New Taipei City. Simply swipe your card next to the bike you want to rent and you’re ready to go. You can drop the bike off at any Ubike station. They’re almost always located near an MRT station.
In the video I mention briefly that the Taiwanese people are very friendly and helpful. It’s true! If you ever appear to be lost or confused while looking at a map you will in most cases immediately attract the attention of a local who will be pleased to help you find your way. That’s wny I said “get lost”, literally you can get lost while exploring this amazing city with it’s maze of alleyways, quiet cafes, food stalls and shops and not worry that you won’t have help getting back to your hotel.
Taipei and the rest of Taiwan is an extremely safe place to travel. There is literally no or very rare violent crime against tourists. Personal ownership of guns is banned. There has been reports of pick pocketing and petty theft, particularly in night markets and crowded places, but I think this is even rare now.
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{Trip} Taiwan Travel -- Trip to MATSU, Day 3, NANGAN (馬祖南竿)
Third and last day of our recent trip to the islands of Matsu. We left Dongju Island and then spent half a day in Nangan, Matsu's largest island.
Read Travel in Taiwan at:
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Music by Brunk (
Gear used for this video
Camera:
Panasonic Lumix GH4:
Lenses:
PANASONIC LUMIX G X Vario Lens, 12-35mm:
PANASONIC LUMIX G Vario Lens, 100-300mm:
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8:
Panasonic DMW-MS2:
Timeline (if you want to go directly to certain parts of the video)
00:20 Dapu Village, Dongju Island (東莒大埔聚落)
01:10 Mengao Harbor, Dongju Island (東莒猛澳港)
02:10 Stop at Xiju Island (西莒)
03:20 Fu'ao Harbor, Nangan Island (南竿福澳漁港)
03:30 Baimazunwang Temple (白馬尊王廟)
03:50 Niujiao Village (牛角聚落)
04:20 Niufengjing Temple (牛峰境廟)
04:40 Wulinggong Temple (五靈公廟)
06:40 Stronghold No. 12 (12據點)
07:30 Jinsha Village (津沙村)
12:00 Tiebao/Iron Fort (鐵堡)
15:20 Nangan Airport (南竿機場)
Hostel in Jinsha
Happy Inn (津沙聚落(馬祖1青年民宿))
Tel: 0836-23-353
Add: No. 71, Jinsha Village, Nangan Township, Lienchiang County (連江縣南竿鄉津沙村71號)
Website: (Chinese)
More info about Matsu:
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Also watch the latest video on this channel: {Trip} LALASHAN on the Northern Cross-Island Highway (北橫拉拉山)
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Travel in Taiwan (7/8, 2016)
By Rick Charette
Nangan
Matsu’s largest island, Nangan is its cultural and political/administrative hub, and a very busy place compared to the rest of the archipelago.
Niujiao Village in Nangan’s northeast, once again flourishing, was one of the first to undergo a renaissance. Note how the homes’ granite blocks are in two shades, yellow and blue. The yellow are from Matsu, blue from Fujian; as a rough rule, blue meant you were more prosperous. Wulinggong Temple, above Niujiao’s harbor, has the bright orange-red exterior seen on many local temples. The color symbolizes flames; since already “on fire,” why would real fire need to visit? As with many homes, exaggerated vertical eaves are also supposed to help block sparks from nearby fires.
A 10-minute walk along the pathway that starts behind the temple takes you to the tip of the cape here, which is occupied by Stronghold No. 12 – not quite abandoned, for its two-floor command post/quarters has been “occupied” by “Thornbirds Book & Café,” an indie enterprise of great character that serves up splendid views of hilly Beigan to the north. The building is attached to such a steep rock face that you feel you’re hovering over the water rather than beside it.
Picturesquely filling up a mountain-backed niche of flat land behind a sheltered cove, compact, narrow-laned Jinsha Village in Nangan’s southwest is another imperial-era settlement now breathing strongly again, with new homestays and shops opening. One example is funky Matsu 1st Hostel, where cheap, cubicle-style single- and double-person rooms are offered. Housed in a true Matsu rarity, one of its east Fujian-style courtyard residences, beautifully restored, it’s one of four Nangan/Beigan youth-oriented homestays run by local entrepreneur Eddy Chuang (matsuhostel.com; Chinese).
The Iron Fort east of Jinsha Village, both on and inside a rocky outcrop in a small bay, once protected frogmen units. Narrow tunnels within lead to sniper slots, gun emplacements, quarters, and a kitchen. Outside, note the dog kennel. When tensions were high, PRC frogmen units staged night attacks, poisoning the guard dogs and taking human ears as trophies and proof of success. Many died in such lightning attacks over the years, here and elsewhere in Matsu.
A fun day in the city of Hsinchu, visiting a few interesting places, such as the city gate and small railway stations close to the coast.
00:50 New Tile House Hakka Cultural District 新瓦屋客家文化保存區
03:30 Yingxi Gate 迎曦門
05:25 Hsinchu Art Gallery and Reclamation Hall
05:45 Old Hsinchu Prefectural Hall 新竹州廳
06:50 Hsinchu City Fire Museum 消防博物館
07:45 Shi Family Fish Balls 石家魚丸
08:30 Zhulian Temple 竹蓮寺
09:35 Qiding 崎頂
10:15 Landscape Platform 觀景台
12:25 Zimu Tunnel 子母隧道
15:40 Xiangshan 香山
16:25 Xiangshan Tianhou Temple 香山天后宮
18:00 Xiangshan Wetland 香山濕地
Website:
Travel in Taiwan:
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WHO ARE WE?
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing you to Taiwan as a travel destination. Read it! Lot of useful information. We also have a website with lots of articles about Taiwan. Visit it! We try to make a video or two every week. Let us know what you think about this channel and what you would like to see about Taiwan. All the best to you!
From Travel in Taiwan magazine 2018-7-8:
New Tile House Hakka Cultural District
The New Tile House Hakka Cultural District is neither new, nor a single house, but rather a cluster of single-story buildings made of bricks (some fired, some mud) and tiles. Not much happens here on weekdays, but visit on a weekend and you might see cultural groups presenting music or dance performances.
Add: No. 123, Sec. 1, Wenxing Rd., Zhubei City, Hsinchu County
(新竹縣竹北市文興路一段123號)
Website: facebook.com/events/1107455919331421/
Old Hsinchu Prefectural Hall
Unlike similar official buildings in Tainan and Taichung, the Old Hsinchu Prefectural Hall continues to play a key role in local government, and is where the city’s mayor has his office.
Add: No. 120, Zhongzheng Rd., Hsinchu City (新竹市中正路120號)
Hsinchu City Fire Museum
The museum, inside a functioning fire station, contains bilingual displays that cover both the history of the local firefighting service and how best to survive a conflagration.
Add: No. 4, Zhongshan Road, Hsinchu City (新竹市中山路4號)
Website: hcfd.gov.tw/museum
Shi Family Fish Balls
Located southwest of Hsinchu Railway Station, this restaurant has been praised by hundreds of netizens. It's an old-school eatery: There’s no English sign or menu, and not one dollar has been wasted on fancying up the décor.
Add: No. 27, Xingxue St., Hsinchu City (新竹市興學街27號)
Website: sfishball.com.tw (Chinese)
Zhulian Temple
This hall of worship is at the Buddhist end of the theological spectrum, but you’ll also see traditional folk practices. One is the casting of pairs of crescent-shaped wood blocks known to Taiwanese-speakers as poe.
Add: No. 100, Zhulian St., Hsinchu City (新竹市竹蓮街100號)
Qiding Station
There's no staff at this station, nor vending machines from which you can buy tickets. Hsinchu to Qiding is NT$21.
Landscape Platform
It takes just a few minutes to get from the station to the platform. Gazing out over the Taiwan Strait, as the wind turbines that dot this stretch of coast slowly rotated and the occasional express train rumbled past, was a soothing experience.
Zimu Tunnel
When this railway line was double-tracked in the early 1970s, it was moved slightly closer to the sea because the tunnels (there are actually two) were too narrow. Exemplars of the solid infrastructure built during the 1895-1945 Japanese colonial period, they're now preserved as part of a walkway/bike trail. The first tunnel is 67m long, the second nearly double that. No flashlights are needed; there's enough natural light for you to see where you're walking.
Xiangshan Station
The lovingly maintained station building in Xiangshan is an attraction in its own right. Dating from 1928, it’s the only remaining Japanese-era railway stop in Taiwan that was built using cypress from the Alishan area in the central mountains.
Xiangshan Tianhou Temple
The current building dates from the 1920s, but there’s been a shrine on this site since sometime in the late 17th century, when Han Chinese from Fujian (the mainland China province closest to Taiwan) began to settle on the coast here. Like the majority of Taiwan’s folk shrines, this temple houses effigies of several deities, but the principal object of veneration is Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea.
#Hsinchu #Taiwan #Taiwaneverything
Iris Goes to Taiwan: GREEN ISLAND
Anytime for Taiwan! Vote for my video:
I traveled to Taiwan last summer and went to a beautiful island known as Green Island. Traveling is truly a life changing experience because you are put in an environment where everything is new and captivating. It allows us to take a fresh breath of air away from our daily lives and it's important to do so to live a happy and healthy life! I hope you all enjoy this video and look forward to more!
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Best Things To Do in New Taipei, Taiwan
New Taipei Travel Guide. MUST WATCH. Top 10 things you have to do in New Taipei. We have sorted Tourist Attractions in New Taipei for You. Discover New Taipei as per the Traveler Resources given by our Travel Specialists. You will not miss any fun thing to do in New Taipei.
This Video has covered top 10 Best Things to do in New Taipei.
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List of Best Things to do in New Taipei
Taipei 101
Taiwan High Speed Rail
Juming Museum
Elephant Mountain (aka Nangang District Hiking Trail)
Taipei 101 Countdown Fireworks
Guandu Temple (Kuantu Temple)
Paoan Temple
Christmasland in New Taipei City
Taoyuan International Airport MRT
National Taiwan University
Video of our latest trip to the islands of Penghu in Taiwan.
Website:
Travel in Taiwan:
Facebook:
Instagram:
WHO ARE WE?
Thanks for asking. We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing you to Taiwan as a travel destination. Read it! Lot of useful information. We also have a website with lots of articles about Taiwan. Visit it! We try to make a video or two every week.
Let us know what you think about this channel and what you would like to see about Taiwan. All the best to you!
Music by Cold Beat:
We visited places on the main island and the smaller islands of Qimei and Wang'an. Unfortunately an approaching typhoon messed up our original plan of visiting another island, Jibei. We rented scooters which is the best way to get around. The double heart stone weir was indeed beautiful, the whale cave was impressive too. There was less people on the fine sand beach than we expected. Overall a nice trip.
Migrator Intertidal Homestay (候鳥潮間帶民宿)
Add: 34-3, Chengqian Village, Baisha Township, Penghu County (澎湖縣白沙鄉城前村34-3號)
Tel: 0921-292-029
Website: migrator.com.tw
“Old-Time Tianjin Xialongbao” (回味天津小籠包)
Add: 43, Juguang New Village, Magong City (馬公市莒光新村43號)
Tel: 0919-872-143
Aimen Beach 隘門沙灘
Baisha 白沙
Erkan Village 二崁村
Four-Eyed Well 四眼井
Lintou Beach 林投沙灘
Magong 馬公
Magong Cultural Center 媽宮文化城
Mazu 媽祖
Penghu 澎湖
Qimei 七美
Qingwan Cactus Park 青灣仙人掌公園,
Shanshui Beach 山水沙灘
Shili Beach 時裡沙灘
Taiwan Strait 台灣海峽
Tianhou Temple天后宮主
Tiantai Hill 天台山
Twin Hearts Stone Weir雙心石滬;
Wang’an望安
Xiyu 西嶼
Yuwengdao Lighthouse漁翁島燈塔
Zhongshe中社聚落群
Zhongyang Street中央街
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Also watch the latest video on this channel: {Trip} LALASHAN on the Northern Cross-Island Highway (北橫拉拉山)
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Travel in Taiwan (2015, 9/10)
By Rick Charette
We woke up bright and early this day to catch an early-morning ferry to Qimei, the southernmost South Sea island. Hopping on scooters right at the pier (rental included in ferry-ticket price), we headed out on the very quiet coastal road – more goats than cars. Qimei’s iconic symbol is the Twin Hearts Stone Weir, made of stones piled laboriously, which fills at high tide and leaves fish stranded at low. The Tomb of the Seven Beauties – “Qimei” means “Seven Beauties” – is built around a well down which seven chaste Ming Dynasty maidens are said to have thrown themselves on the approach of nasty-intent Japanese pirates. Among the other must-visit Qimei attractions we checked off our to-do list were the picturesque Little Taiwan and Waiting for Husband Rock, two coastal rock formations viewed from above.
Rather than traveling straight back to Magong, we stopped off at Wang’an for a few hours’ exploration of this island. The highlights of our meander along the sleepy round-island coastal road? Tiantai Hill and the village of Zhongshe. Your walk up Tiantai Hill, the island’s highest point, leads to wonderful panoramic views over Wang’an and its numerous nearby islands. Wonderful Zhongshe is an old narrow-lane fishing village, almost all homes stone/coral-built. Be sure to stop in for the homemade ice-cream at the shop – shade is at a premium in the village – under the huge Penghu-renowned “Wang’an Township Tree,” an Indian almond tree planted by the shop owner’s mother in 1928.
Penghu is home to many long, fine-sand beaches. Four of the most popular are on the island of Penghu’s south side – Lintou, Aimen, Shanshui, and Shili. On the morn of this day we visited each in turn. I especially like Lintou and Shanshui. Lintou and Aimen are connected by a long beach-edge boardwalk; behind Lintou Beach is Lintou Park, a shady, aesthetically laid-out tree park in which you can sit yourself down to alfresco coffee at a bright and breezy café. At Shanshui’s entrance is a bustling cluster of beach-bum-style eateries and cafés, and backing its west side is an attractive protected lagoon area traversed in part by a long boardwalk. This leads to a high promontory that drops into the surf at the beach’s west end. Topped with a large lookout, formerly part of an off-limits military zone, the promontory is dotted with abandoned camouflaged bunkers, pillboxes, and other facilities, one outfitted with heritage photos and information boards (Chinese) on this spot’s military and ecological past.
Near Shili, pretty much at Penghu’s southwest tip, is the compelling, still-being-developed Qingwan Cactus Park. There are two foci. Cacti, yes – the archipelago’s dry, flattish, windswept environment is perfect for cactus growth. And military history – the park site is a former Japanese military base rich in ruins, notably hidden big-gun emplacements, bunker barracks, and command posts.
⛴{Trip} Taiwan Travel -- Trip to MATSU, Day 1, DONGYIN (馬祖東引)
First day of our recent trip to the islands of Matsu near the mainland China coast. Dongyin and Xiyin are great islands!
Read Travel in Taiwan at:
Travel in Taiwan on FB:
Music by Lee Rosevere (
Gear used for this video
Camera:
Panasonic Lumix GH4:
Lenses:
PANASONIC LUMIX G X Vario Lens, 12-35mm:
PANASONIC LUMIX G Vario Lens, 100-300mm:
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8:
Panasonic DMW-MS2:
Timeline (if you want to go directly to certain parts of the video)
00:20 Keelung Railway Station (基隆火車站)
00:40 West Passenger Terminal (西岸旅客碼頭)
01:30 Keelung Harbor/Tai Ma Ferry (台馬輪)
02:30 Zhongzhu Harbor (中柱港)
03:30 Haijiao Guesthouse on Xiyin Island (西引海角民宿)
04:30 Zhongyi Temple (忠義廟)
05:00 Inside Haijiao Guesthouse
05:50 Breakfast at guesthouse
06:30 Reclining Alligator or Crouching Crocodile Island (靜伏鱷魚)
06:50 Sanshan Stronghold or Stronghold No. 33 (三山據點)
08:20 Dongyin Visitor Center (東引遊客中心)
09:00 Dongyin Lighthouse (東引燈塔)
10:20 Taibai Echo Cliff (太白天聲)
13:50 Suicide Cliff or Lienuyikeng Cliff (烈女義坑)
14:20 Dongyin Distillery (東引酒廠)
15:20 A Thread of Sky or Yixiantian Cliff (一線天)
16:30 Lunch at Dongyin Visitor Center (東引遊客中心)
17:00 Northernmost Frontier (國之北疆)
19:00 Andong Tunnel (安東坑道)
20:10 Indian Head & Puppy Head (印地安人與小狗頭)
23:30 Main village of Dongyin
25:20 Tianhou Temple (天后宮)
25:30 Zhongzheng Gate (忠誠門)
25:50 Yanxiu Tidal Echo (燕秀潮音)
26:30 Rat Sands Stone Forest (老鼠沙石林)
27:10 Dinner at Zhen Shan Mei Restaurant (珍膳美餐廳)
28:10 Dongyin Visitor Center (東引遊客中心)
Info about Keelung-Matsu ferry
(Chinese)
Our guesthouse
Dongyin Haijiao (東引海角民宿)
Tel: 0928-267-242 / 0836-76-268
Add: 137, Zhongliao Village, Dongyin, Lianchiang County (連江縣東引中柳村137號)
(Chinese)
Restaurant where we had dinner
Zhen Shan Mei (珍膳美餐廳)
Tel: 0836-77-289
Add: 93 Lehua Village, Dongyin, Lianchiang County (連江縣東引樂華村93號)
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Also watch the latest video on this channel: {Trip} LALASHAN on the Northern Cross-Island Highway (北橫拉拉山)
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Dongyin
Dongyin is actually two islands, joined by a causeway. Two hours from Nangan by ferry, this is Taiwan’s northernmost point, a windswept outpost of tremendous natural beauty, with Matsu’s most thrilling scenery, a place of lofty granite cliffs and rocky spurs projecting out into the teal-green sea.
The cape-tip is at the northern end of a peninsula called the Reclining Alligator – the resemblance is indeed striking – and atop the alligator’s well-defined snout, at the peninsula’s southern tip, is Stronghold No. 33. The highlight of this abandoned facility is the decommissioned US-made twin-barrel M1 40mm anti-aircraft gun on display, which a signboard tells you “weighs 51,350 pounds, has a range of 11,000 meters, (and can fire) 160 rounds per minute.”
The Andong Tunnel, on the east side of Dongyin Island, is a superlative work of engineering, shooting right through a small mountain and exiting far down below at sea level. The area outside the entrance is protected habitat for the Black-tailed Gull and Black-naped Tern. Inside the tunnel are now-unused barracks, bathrooms, a kitchen, a meeting hall … even a pigsty.
Located at the easternmost tip of Dongyin Island, the brilliant-white Dongyong Lighthouse’s physical setting – stark, lonely beauty. The lighthouse is perched, at first glance seemingly quite precariously, on the precipitous-angle flank of a mountain, the great sea looming before, nothing in view. The mountain’s upper half looms behind and above, nothing of human creation in view. On the dizzyingly steep complex walkways, you look straight down into the sea at your feet. Completed in 1877, designed by an Englishman in 18th-century British style, this lighthouse is Taiwan’s northernmost national heritage site.
A stone-step trail behind the lighthouse leads to the Suicide Cliff, where ocean waves have cut deep into a mountainside, sculpting a vertical 100-meter-high wall on one side. The site is so-named because, according to island lore, pirates infested the local waters during much of the imperial Qing dynasty, and during one attack a Dongyin woman, her husband killed, chose to leap from the cliff rather than surrender her chastity.
A Thread of Sky, a deep and exceedingly narrow sea-erosion trench, splices two giant blocks of granite, towering rock walls facing each other just meters apart. The outer block is being cut from the mainland like a slice of birthday cake. Fallen slabs high up actually connect the cliffs in places. From the bottom only a thin, bright-blue ribbon of sky is seen.
Sightseeing in Taipei (3)
Production Date : 29 Dec 2013
Happy New Year !!
A variety of night activities in
Xinyi shopping district, Taipei.
Taiwan’s Penghu Islands
Taiwan is an island country of 23 million people and majority of them live in a handful of cities. When they seek to leave their hectic urban life behind they escape to their country’s villages, mountains, forests…and islands. Joseph returns to Taiwan to visit the Penghu Archipelago in the Taiwan Straits – a chain of 64 isles and islets – 20 inhabited – 50-minutes by air from the capital of Taipei. He explores the main and outer islands historic and natural attractions and enjoys summer fun in the sun on the Tropic of Cancer while also continuing to learn about and experience Taiwan’s cultural heritage. Along the way, he discovers yet another side of Ilha Formosa — the beautiful isle of Taiwan.
{Trip} Taiwan Travel -- MATSU Islands, BEIGAN and NANGAN/馬祖北竿南竿
This is a video of our trip to the Matsu islands in the summer of 2012. Hope you get an idea of what it's like to travel to this lesser known area of Taiwan.
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More info about Matsu:
Matsu National Scenic Area website
Tai-Ma Ferry website (Chinese)
We stayed at:
Chinbe No. 25 Guesthouse (芹壁村25號)
Add: 25, Qinbi Village, Beigan Township (北竿鄉芹壁村25號)
Tel: 08365-56280/0975-421-178
Website:
We ate at:
Da Zhong Restaurant (大眾飲食店)
Add: 80, Matsu Village, Nangan Township (南竿鄉馬祖村80號)
Tel: 0836-22185
A-Po Fish Noodle (阿婆魚麵)
Add: 168, Tangqi Village, Beigan Township (北竿鄉塘岐村168號)
Tel: 0836-56359
We bought souvenirs at:
Xie He Foods (Master Fa) (協和食品行 [發師傅])
Add: 229, Tangqi Village, Beigan Township (北竿鄉塘岐村229號)
Tel: 0836-55236/0933-095-034
Website: 083655236.com.tw (Chinese)
Matsu Specialty Center (台灣菸酒海產金銀買賣店)
Add: 233, Tangqi Village, Beigan Township (北竿鄉塘岐村233號)
Tel: 0836-55412
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Also watch the latest video on this channel: {Trip} LALASHAN on the Northern Cross-Island Highway (北橫拉拉山)
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