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What the Road Leads To…
The era of viewing forests as inexhaustible resources
has faded, and the
“
treasures
”
at the end of forest
roads continue to change, shaped by different
motives across time. Cyclists on mountain bikes,
hikers clearing grass to open paths
—
each follows
forest roads in search of moments where outer
landscapes align with inner ones.
Treasure may lie in non-human life. In recent years,
ecological corridors have been added along the
Xilin Forest Road, recognizing the mountain
’
s
diverse residents as road users in their own right.
Treasure may also be something more ordinary,
harder to perceive: everyday life itself. When sudden
change occurs, forest roads become routes for
researchers tracing what happened. The Fata
’
an
landslide lake task force traveled via the Wanrong
and Guangfu forest roads deep into the mountains,
returning with information
—
and witnessing how life
below the mountain remains connected to the land
above. Stories woven by roads and lives continue to
extend forward.
Xibao) is a mountain that lies opposite; Yayung
Qicing (Qingshui Stream) is a creek untouched
by sunlight. These place names, rooted in lived
experience and storytelling, became part of walking
tours developed by
“
Akay Play Life,
”
founded
by Apyang Imiq (Cheng Ting) and community
partners
—
an effort to translate lived, post-relocation
landscapes into forms that outsiders can approach.
Labay Eyong (Lin Chieh-Wen) from Hunang Tribe
uses weaving as her path. In the 2021 Dungku Asang
Project, she traveled with her Ubung (loom) to visit
weavers from Amis, Seediq, Truku, Paiwan, and other
communities, exploring different materials, patterns,
and the original intention of taking up weaving.
The textiles woven together were draped over the
ground, rock walls, and machinery of the Juiwen
quarry during the exhibition
—
bandaging the land.
Visitors rode trucks along the Ruisui Forest Road
to reach the mist-covered mine. The forest road /
mining road became a moving exhibition route,
revealing colorful threads woven together with mud,
rain, and dew, and the relationships formed through
weaving. The movement of the weavers
’
bodies,
the generational transmission of cloth, the migrations
recorded in the fabric
—
textiles become records of
life. With feet braced against the Ubung, weavers
follow bodily rhythms, breathing through layered
patterns shaped by history.
林 道 通 往 的 萬 榮
What the Forest Roads Lead to in Wanrong
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