Zhongshanzi Dao

Why - and for that matter what - the kids are saluting at the entrance to the park will likely forever remain a mystery! Heping Island is located near Jilong (Keelung) just northeast of Taipei. It is known for its historical military significance - there are some caves where the Dutch forces were holed up for a bit - and lots of naturally eroded “beaches” that are supposed to look like tofu. Davy was most interested in the rows upon rows of cannon holes in the fort walls (where cannons would have been placed years ago for defense), as well as the small food stand by the gift shop. Great aunt treated us to some sausages, ice cream and Yakult slushie (no idea what she was thinking with the last one). It was the weirdest place imaginable to get food, but the kids put it succintly in the quote of the day: “If Uncle Gu will eat it, then we’ll be fine, as that guy plans to live to be 100!”

One really cool idea that we saw at Heping was an outdoor saltwater swimming pool. Basically a large, roughly rectangular rock basin (likely man-made) with an entry point through which the ocean water would flow in and thus enable folks to swim in quite calm saltwater. Seemed like quite a good idea and the visual is really beautiful too! Wonder why this concept has not been more widely replicated elsewhere.Read more