Hiking in Bitan

During our trip to Taiwan, we went hiking in Bitan at the scenic area along the Xindian River. Bitan is located in the Xindian district of Taipei. The Bitan Scenic Area is a beautiful park. We walked along the greenway next to the river. There were lots of people in boats. We were also lucky enough to see a performance by a unicycling school group there.

Later, we went hiking on the Hemei Mountain Trail. We crossed the Bitan suspension bridge from the Xindian Metro station to the beginning of the mountain trail. The hike was very nice except for the abundance of mosquitoes and mosquito bites.

After arriving in Taiwan and settling in, the first place we visited was the Bitan Scenic Area. While we were there, we saw a unicycling school group that was resting by the riverside. We talked to them and they told us that they were unicycling around Taiwan and were performing nearby. Then they took off and headed to their performance site. We followed them. On the way, we saw some swan boats on the river. It was really neat because some were paddle boats and some were electric motor boats that you could steer, and they even had a table to put food and drinks on.

The unicycling performance was a showcase of various skills performed by young elementary school kids and older, more experienced teens (they looked like Jr. High or High School). They did very well (better than I could have done) and after their performance they took off again to continue on their unicycling trip.

After the performance we went up a few flights of stairs to see the Bitan suspension bridge. We did not cross it right then because it was getting late, but we came back later to explore some more.

Much later during our trip to Taiwan, we took a hiking trip up to Hemei Mountain. We moved very quickly through the forest on the mountain because of the mosquitoes. The view from the mountain was beautiful. We discovered a way to cross the river by taking a ferry back to the other side. By the ferry dock, we stopped at a peaceful temple, Temple of Creation, that overlooked the river.

Our hike up Hemei Mountain was pleasant and quiet except for the occasional slap from someone slapping a mosquito. There were nice views of Bitan and New Taipei City. The surrounding forest was also very serene. I spotted some interesting birds on our way up the mountain.

We crossed back over the river on a ferry boat. The boat ride was like riding a gondola in Venice, but it was a much shorter ride, on a bigger boat, for a much better price. I saw people fishing and paddle boarding in the river.

After we arrived at the ferry dock, we hiked up to the Temple of Creation, which is near the dock. The Temple of Creation was almost empty, and we stopped to pray at the shrines in the temple.

There were impressive views of the Xindian River as the sun was starting to set. This was a great way to end our day in Bitan.

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