#2026-0607B
From the Tropic to the Forest
(北回歸線 + 大農大富)
Today, we visited two very different but equally memorable places in Hualien County—one reaching toward the sky and the universe, and the other quietly rooted in the land. Now, in the quiet of the evening, I am writing this as we look back on the journey we just shared.
Ruisui Tropic of Cancer Marker
北回歸線標誌公園
(花蓮/瑞穗鄉)
Our first stop this morning was the
Tropic of Cancer Landmark Park, located on the Wuhe Terrace in Ruisui. Standing there, we were immediately struck by the openness of the landscape. From this elevated viewpoint, the Central Mountain Range and the Coastal Mountain Range stretched endlessly on both sides, while tea fields spread across the hills like a green quilt.
The most distinctive sights were impossible to miss—a white, octopus-shaped Tropic of Cancer marker and a giant teapot sculpture symbolizing the local honey-flavored black tea. They felt playful yet symbolic, as if science and local culture were quietly meeting in the same space.
What we enjoyed most was not only the scenery or the installations, but the way learning is woven into the park. Along the walking paths and wooden corridors, there were explanations about constellations, the four directional mythological animals, and traditional ways of observing the sky. It felt like walking through an outdoor classroom under a bright open sky.
Da Nong Da Fu Forest Park
大農大富平地森林園區
(花蓮/光復鄉)
Later in the day, we traveled to another world entirely—the
Danongdafu Forest Park in Guangfu Township. If the first place invited us to look upward, this one encouraged us to slow down and return to the earth.
As we drove through the East Rift Valley, the forest suddenly appeared after passing the chimney of the old Hualien Sugar Factory. It felt less like entering a park and more like arriving in a living landscape.
This vast forest—once open plain land—has been gradually restored through large-scale reforestation over recent decades. Today, it stands as Taiwan’s first lowland forest park, covering an area so large that it is often compared to dozens of Da’an Forest Parks in Taipei. Standing there, we were reminded of the quiet power of time—the idea that forests grow slowly but steadily, and that restoration is a long conversation with nature.
Walking along its paths, we were surrounded by layers of green and the gentle rhythm of the forest. It is not only beautiful but also deeply functional—absorbing carbon, supporting biodiversity, and connecting surrounding agriculture and communities. Yet beyond all these ideas, what we felt most strongly was something simple: calmness—a quiet that gently settles the mind.
Closing Thoughts
These two places felt like contrasts in many ways—one pointing toward the sky and cosmic order, the other rooted deeply in soil and renewal. Yet together, they offered a gentle reminder that nature is both vast and intimate, scientific and poetic, shaped by both human care and its own quiet resilience.
Now, as evening settles in, I find myself thinking back on the day—not just as a trip between two attractions in Hualien, but as a quiet movement between two ways of understanding the world: looking up at the stars, and listening to the forest breathe.
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