VB27560300
CULTURAL HERITAGE - THE RAILROAD 08: WORDS OF THE WOOD
The Taiwan High Speed Rail offers beautiful scenery. Riding on the train, one just feels like reading albums extensively. The railway commenced service in 2007. It could travel from north to south of Taiwan in 96 minutes, standing as a fast western corridor in the territory. The Southern Link Line of the Taiwan Railways commenced service in 1992. It travels through mountains and along the Pacific Ocean. Passengers can enjoy the vast and primitive scenery of nature on the journey. The Alishan Forest Railway rises from an elevation of only 30 meters above sea level to a height of 2274 meters. It will reach 100 years old in 2012. Unfortunately, several sections of the railway were damaged by typhoon Morakot in August 2009. Now, only Sacred Tree Line and Zhushan Line are running. The three generations of railways have witnessed the passage of time. They, like all the culture, are striving hard to innovate and survive.

In this episode, we are going to listen to the words of the wood. The railways shall show us how wood is turned into puppets to perform glove puppetry, how driftwood records the history of indigenous tribes, and how sacred trees in Alishan symbolize the conservation of forests. The artists we visit not only preserve their culture, they also pass it on so that the future generations can go on pursuing virtues for a better tomorrow. Culture and tradition are always connected to life, as they always originate from nature.
DVD
30 minutes
2011
USD 500.00