Afternoon in Toucheng Township - Away from the noisy and busy city centre. 頭城的午後 - 遠離城市的喧囂

I am from Tainan, Taiwan, a city surrounded by historical heritages, so I always feel very at ease when I walk among those old buildings. I am either an expert of history or of architecture, somehow, the glamorous vibes of those old buildings can always make me dream a bit and establish a bridge through the old times. Walking in those old streets can make you feel that you are away from the soulless concretes, those skyscrapers which make people feel depressed and breathless. Today, let's walk into an old street in Toucheng Township, Yilan, spending an afternoon away from the noise and busy streets in the city centre.

身為台灣的台南人，從小活在被古蹟包圍的城市，因此當我在這樣的建築中遊走時，我總感覺到自在及安寧。 其實我也不是歷史或是建築的專家，然而，這些老建築的風華好像是穿梭古今的橋樑一般常讓我有置身夢境的感覺。在老街漫步真的會讓人感覺遠離那些城市中令人感到連呼吸都壓迫的高樓大廈，沒靈魂的水泥建築。今天就讓我們一同來到宜蘭縣頭城鄉的老街中，感受遠離城蕭的午後吧!

Toucheng Township is in Yilan county, where there are actually not many people visiting there comparing with many other old streets in Taiwan. It takes only 1.5 hrs. by Kuo-Kuang eBus from Yuan Shan station to Toucheng Twonship. For the residents who live in the busy city centre, this Township can be considered as a backyard garden to take a break from the urban jungle.

頭城鎮位在宜蘭縣，比較起台灣其他地方的老街，這裡的人潮可說算是相對不多了。 搭國光巴士從圓山首站到頭城鎮也約莫才1.5小時左右。 對於居住在喧囂的城市人來說這裡可好比後花園一樣鄰近，很適合暫離哪現代化的叢林。

The old street is just at the corner once when arriving the Toucheng Township station, follow the sign you can start from the Lu, Zuan-Xiang Mansion, which is already a representing Japanese style mansion for tourists. Unfortunately, it is a private property and not allowed to open to the public.

一抵達頭城站，老街就在不遠處! 跟著路標很快地就可以看見盧纘祥故居所，一棟美麗的日式洋房，可算是頭城這裡著名的景點，可惜此所為私有土地不對外開放。

                                          Lu Zuan-Xiang Mansion (盧纘祥故居所)

The Old Street starts from here. There is a cute glossary house here where people are so nice and always ask me to try their products. The whole glossary house was the place where the Taiwanese TV set "Flavour of Life" was taken.

老街就從這裡開始，故居旁就有間可愛的老街屋，裡面的人員都會殷勤地問你要不要試試看他們的產品，老屋也是三立鄉土劇「含笑食堂」的拍攝場景。

Then you can just walk around the old street casually with a relaxed mind to enjoy the old time glamour in this new era.

接下來就可以慢慢悠閒的在老街行走，享受著在現代時光下的舊日美好風華。

                                     You can also see buildings like this (也可見到像這樣的老宅)

                                           Interesting Street Art (有趣的街頭藝術)

                                              He was picking his nose (哈哈! 抓到爺爺在挖鼻孔)

                                                         Fu De Temple (福德寺)

On the way to the Catholic Church, I also saw some religious signs in an abandoned house. There was a catholic priest from the Netherlands to devote his life for the kids with polio, and the Toucheng Catholic Church was built in 1911. I started thinking after seeing this church, that those churches in the those remote districts (comparing with big cities and the city centres) are not only the just the religious meanings but also represented the devotion of those missionaries who tried to help those people in need and the regions which also require more aids from us. That's very touching to think of their devotion.

在前往頭城天主堂的途中，我在一間棄屋看到了許多宗教像。頭城天主堂的開始是一位荷蘭的神父來台幫助小兒麻痺病童。天主堂是在民國49落成的。我開始去想在台灣的那些偏遠地區的教堂們(偏遠地區當然是指跟大城市或是市中心比較)，不僅僅只有宗教的意義，更是那些在台灣奉獻它們生命去幫助有需要的人以及需要我們援助的地區。想到他們的奉獻都會讓我覺得很感動。

Close to the Toucheng train station, there's a cultural park with Japanese buildings  near by. You can see a cute cafe and the shop there to buy some creative products as souvenir. If you take a train here, you can also plan your trip from there on to another side of the old street.

接近頭城火車站附近，有個日式老屋組成的文化園區。園區內有可愛的咖啡廳，跟一間小店可供人購買紀念品。如果是搭乘火車前來的人，可從這裡出發然後走回我剛剛經過的地方喔！

Later, we continued walking to the Lanyang museum. It was actually nice to walk by the natural surrounding. The museum itself is amazingly designed. The mission of the museum is "Yilan is a live museum, and Lanyang museum is the window by which people can see Yilan well through it". It's designed by the architect Kris Yao. The inspiration is from the cuestas in the Norh-East coast in Taiwan, the four floors design can be divided into the ideas of  mountains, seas, plains, and the geographic and cultural environment of Yilan. The pond around the museum is the site of Wushi reef, it not only reflects the museum to make it reveal as a mountain in the sea, but also reserves the eco wetland here.

稍後，從這裡可以步行到蘭陽博物館。其實在這樣自然景觀下散步真的是很幸福的。 蘭陽博物館真的是很令人歎為觀止啊! 該博物館的使命為: 「宜蘭是座博物館，蘭博是認識這座博物館的窗口」。博物館由姚仁喜建築師所設計。 設計靈感為東北角常有的單面山，四層樓可分為: 山、海、平原及展現宜蘭的生態及文化環境。 環繞蘭博的水池為烏石礁遺跡，不單單只是反映蘭博好比水上隆起的單面山，也是保育生態濕地的一環。

                                   Glance of Guishan Island in the Museum (館內遠眺龜山島)

We ended up in walking around Wushi Port, it rained a bit in the afternoon, however, my mood here was always shiny. It's so pleasant to spend an afternoon here without being with the crowed and the city. Unfortunately there was no chance to go to Guishan Island as people need to apply 21 days (between March and November) before visiting Guishan Island, and I am sure I will be back here and discover more about my land.

最後是在烏石港漫步結束這一天的行程，下午是有下了點雨，只是我在這裡的心情卻是大晴天。 在這裡花一整個下午的時間遠離塵囂及城市真的很舒服。 有點可惜無法登島，登島需要在每年三月到十一月間21天以前申請。 不過我下次有機會我一定會來登島看看，要更深入的來探索我所居住的土地。

                                                            Wushi Port (烏石港)

Lanyang Museum (蘭陽博物館): http://www.lym.gov.tw/ch/Index/index.asp

Application for visiting Guishan Island (龜山島登島申請) : http://www.ez666.com/hwachyi/content/suit1.php

Toucheng Old Street (頭城老街): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toucheng_Old_Street