Beauty at Every Turn

In Taiwan’s rich and varied culinary traditions, some foods have names that might put off even the most adventurous gourmands, and others look unpalatably black. But in fact these dishes and ingredients offer vital clues to our culture and to the daily lives of the Taiwanese people. In order to under­stand their enduring charm, this month’s Cover Story demystifies these bafflingly bizarre foods and the businesses that produce them. Here we explore classic ingredients such as century eggs, black soybeans, and black pickled radishes; heat-­beating beverages like grass jelly tea and Chiou Shui Tea; traditional black dishes including “flies’ heads” and silkie chickens; and Taiwan’s “buried treasure”—black truffles and black peanuts.

This issue also looks into Taiwan’s achieve­­ments in wetlands conservation and the impressive accomplishments showcased at the 2024 SDGs Asia expo. These projects bear witness to the concerted efforts of government, industry, academia, and non-­governmental organizations to work toward sustainability. They demonstrate to the world Taiwan’s determination and ability to play its part in global sustainable development.

We also report on cultural venues that have begun to attract public attention only in recent years, such as Taoyuan’s new Main Library and the Hengshan Calligraphy Art Center. Places like these attest to Taiwan’s indefatigable commitment to developing art and culture in urban contexts, and have become new tourist attractions in their own right. We also travel to Changhua to visit some makers of painted bamboo temple lanterns. We introduce the culture and beauty of Taiwan’s temple lanterns by elucidating the survival and transmission of this traditional craft and the cultural meanings behind the making and display of these lanterns.

Our Readers’ Photos this month are also as eye-catching as ever, highlighting the beauty of libraries across Taiwan: the effects of light and shade amid the tiers of books at National Chengchi University’s Dah Hsian Seetoo Library, the Hsinchu Youth Center, which occupies a newly renovated building dating from the Japanese colonial era, the library inside the Guanxi Service Area on National Highway 3, the environmentally friendly building of the Beitou branch of the Taipei Public Library, the iconic Not Just Library in Taipei’s Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, and the mobile library of the Yilan City Library, among others. By documenting scenes around us, these vivid images help us discover local reading spaces where we may cultivate our minds. More importantly, they shed light on the power of knowledge that is rooted in humanity.