00:00An unforgettable performance in a picturesque rice field,
00:09the nation's most remote independent bookstore,
00:14and debris from the sea reborn as unexpected works of art.
00:21These are just some of the things you'll find in Taidong.
00:30Taidong County lies on the southeastern coast of Taiwan,
00:35cut off from the rest of the island by a wall of mountains.
00:40A typhoon is brewing on the day I'm set to meet the county chief,
00:44but she's arranged for us to take shelter in a minimalist tea room,
00:48safe from the wind and rain.
00:51We begin with a guided tea experience.
00:55We will be able to get the tea, the tea tree called the forest.
00:58The forest tree is grown in the forest.
01:03It's not a normal forest.
01:05It's a plant.
01:07The forest tree is a part of the forest.
01:09It's a flower tree, and there's the forest trees.
01:10It's a plant tree, and there's a flower tree.
01:13The sun, the sun, the sun, the atmosphere, the atmosphere, the atmosphere is in the atmosphere.
01:20So if you're in a place to add a new environment,
01:22you can easily adjust your temperature.
01:28Taitung has become a place where people come to slow down and reset.
01:34Since 2021, the county has invited people to make use of the local environment
01:39to get in touch with nature's rhythms.
01:42Every month or so, they host events that use sound, movement, tea, meditation, and the arts
01:49to help people center both body and mind.
01:53It's touted as the only wellness-focused series in Taiwan, organized by a local government.
01:59This is the best way to test your ability. It's giving you a typhoon and seeing how you deal with it.
02:08It's the best way to test your ability. It's giving you a typhoon and seeing how you deal with it.
02:17Yeah.
02:18Yeah.
02:26It's really lovely.
02:28And I think it's the best way to test your life.
02:30This is the best way to test your life.
02:32The best way to test your life is the fresh air.
02:34It's the best way to test your life.
02:37And I thought, this is so sweet.
02:39I thought, oh, sweet.
02:41It's like a tree.
02:44I just want to maintain a tree as a tree as a tree.
02:47So this is the so-called慢 economy, right?
02:50Yes.
02:51It's a natural way to do it.
02:55It's not a natural way to do it.
02:57But this慢 is...
02:59It's just thinking about what is good for everyone.
03:07We're here to drink from this place.
03:09I think this is a taste of a sort of winter,
03:12but this is a taste of the environment.
03:14And it's the taste of it.
03:16It will have a taste of the taste of the taste of it.
03:19And then it will have an taste of it.
03:21I think that's the taste in the taste of it.
03:25Just like I wanted to drink from Taiwan.
03:30Yes!
03:31It's like you have to find an taste of it.
03:34To the taste of it.
03:36There's something about Taitung that grows on you.
03:43People from all over Taiwan and beyond come here to slow down,
03:48connect with nature, and find a bit of inner calm.
03:52So it kind of makes sense that the county chief has brought me here
03:55for a cup of tea in the middle of a typhoon.
03:59Join us for part two in our series.
04:01We'll meet the artists who found inspiration here
04:04in what many call Taiwan's quiet backyard.
04:09Eason Chen, Hank Xu, P.G. Zhuang, and Andrew Ryan for Taiwan Plus.
04:13Eason Jonas
04:22Eason
04:23Eason
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