SCOOTER-'YINGGE' ABOUT: A TAIWANESE PORTMEIRION DOPPLEGANGER
- higgsfiona
- Jan 31, 2015
- 4 min read
Today I managed my first trip out of township of Daxi on the scooter. Nick and I ventured out to Yingge, a township (district) located in the southwest of New Taipei city. Yingge is famed for being the pottery capital of Taiwan, with a reputation of the same magnitude as Portmeirion in North Wales in the UK. However, rather than being home to one feature brand Yingge is home to over 800 pottery and ceramic businesses.
The main tourist area features wide, palm-lined streets that are mainly pedestrianised. This has been the most pedestrian-friendly shopping environment I have seen in Taiwan so far. However, no road is completely pedestrianised here; animals included (dogs, cats, dogs, horses, dogs). On a Saturday most towns like this are filled with tourists, and today was no exception. We gradually made our way around the circuit, stopping a checking out the local galleries and shops, whose offerings range broadly in quality and price. In fact the first place we walked into was a high-end gallery space filled sparsely with large ceramic and enamelled metal artworks of cartoon-like animals… and weirdly, cherub-like babies struggling to hold clouds above their heads. The price tags explain why I am unable to share any images of these unusual works, as photography was banned in the gallery, but I did manage to take a snap of the door handle to the entrance, which featured ceramic birds. Nice!
Most shops we entered were, for the best part, traditional in layout and content. Many focused on provision of tea-related paraphanalia: tea cups, teapots, tea strainers, etc.
Other places featured works serving a more decorative purpose; elegant vases lined the walls and central display tables. The cost of the items seems to be directly correlated with the amount of time the store assistants would follow you around – more likely to be to ensure nothing got broken than out of any belief that we would spend anything. The fact that the first thing suggested to us was sale discounted items kind of speaks for itself! Glad to know that my reputation precedes me!
Then there were the places that you could make your own pottery pieces using the pottery wheels in the studios for the cost of 250 New Taiwanese Dollar (NT; around £5). It sounds like fun, but the only problem with this being that you have to wait 21 days before you can collect it. I want a mug for my tea, and I want it now, and to be made by a pottery pro from Taiwan… so we carried on walking.
The most interesting shop front was by far the least obvious store entrance we found in the Yingge. Far from conventional, Nick spotted and headed straight into a small doorless doorway between two shop faces. After briefly turning to wave at the camera he disappeared in to the darkness.
Of course I followed, and we walked along a narrow and low-roofed hunching like two Gandalfs in Bilbo Baggin’s house.
The dirt floor of the walkway, which was about 20 feet long, was lined with two tracks – these were presumably used historically to cart pottery materials to and from the main street. At around hip-height every few metres on either side of the walkway were small enclaves featuring stone (I think?) arches. Inside most enclaves were small ceramic statues of monkeys or simple pottery vases.
Rustic, authentic, exciting… where were we going? Another shop of course! It was a massive store, and also featured a DIY pottery studio. Of course there was a ‘proper’ entrance onto another street, but I much preferred the route we had taken.
Out on the street again, after passing street performers and an animal charity stand, we found a local delicacy called ‘stinky tofu’. You can smell it long before you see it… Long, long, long before you see it. The smell is much like stilton – this has something to do with the fermentation process (not because it’s “cooked in sh*t” as my cousin claims. Pleasant. So, of course I was delighted when he offered to treat me to this delightful foodstuff. Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I had thought. In fact, once it’s in your mouth, it really doesn’t taste of anything, other than the sauce in which it has been cooked (not sh*t, of course), and the pickled cabbage served alongside it. But I can’t say that I will be rushing to try it in all the varying forms in which it can be served – apparently there are many ways to prepare and cook it.
En route we also encountered the Police strutting their stuff on (gigantic!) horseback. We were treated to a seemingly impromptu dressage demo in the middle of a busy cobbled street. It was definitely one for the tourists, not the crims. But then again, what half-decent pocket-pincher wouldn’t be impressed to the point of ceasing their mislead behaviours after witnessing some mad wicked street-dressage skills? I’m asking you – do you know?
Regardless, photo opportunities were taken (by me), and we found ourselves making a final stop at a local, and reputed (they never look it from the outside) food place to try a sweet hot drink, called Douhua, which is served warm in the cooler winter temperatures, but in the summer it is served with ice. The drink itself was made from a dark-coloured sweet liquid base (I think it had plenty of sugar in it), with peanuts and tofu.
On a final note, I got there and back in one piece. So I am delighted.
Comments