Welcome to my blog!: April 2014

Observation of Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village

On 29 March, we had a field trip to Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village in Yuchi, Nantou County, Taiwan. I had been looking forward to this field trip from the beginning of Spring semester when I decided to choose this course. And the experience that field trip gave me has exceeded my expectation. Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village was established in 1986 with 62 hectares area. The Culture Village includes five main parts: The European Gardens, the Aladdin Plaza, the Aboriginal Villages, Amusement Isle and Ti Ka Er Rainforest. With many efforts updating new technology and modern facilities as well as authentic aboriginal village experience, Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village has become a perfect recreational destination in Taiwan

We arrived at Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village around 10 AM. And before entering the theme park, we walked around the European Gardens. There is a big water fountain in the center of the Garden with a lot of flowers surrounding the place. The European Garden is the very first part of the theme park. It was created even before all the amusement facilities. It provides visitors with a very beautiful first impression about the place when they walk in the original version of theme park in the history. The gate of to Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village is specifically designed in Taiwan aboriginal style with two big man statues standing at both sides. The shape of the gate is similar to the roof of traditional houses of ethnic minorities with tall and big pillars carved with man images. I also spotted the logo on the gate which unites a cottonmouth snake and a human head in the center and nine diamonds forming a circle. Nine diamonds on the logo may represent Taiwan’s nine most populous and native tribes. By looking at gate only, guests can be sure that they are guaranteed an invaluable authentic experience about Taiwanese aboriginal culture and patterns.

However, when we went deeper to the theme park, the impression of aboriginal culture seemed confusing and not very vivid. After the entrance, there are models of rockets, planets, and spacecrafts which have no relation to the aboriginal theme of the park. For a brand new start, we tried UFO Gyro Drop. When the UFO slowly rose up, we had a spectacular view of the whole theme park with green dense woods and cloud-covered high mountain peaks. Then the UFO suddenly dropped, we experienced the thrilling free fall with loudest screams. I thought you must have a considerable courage to try it the second time. The Caribbean Adventure is also a must-try in this theme park. It is the most recent amusement facility at Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village. It is a water roller coaster which will be taking off and tearing you apart. You will plummet forward and backward from the height of 35 meter. For this roller coaster, you will be too afraid and not able to scream because it is so scary during the journey.

Another part of Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village is the Aladin Plaza which is more sustainable and family-oriented. Obviously, the UFO is too frightening for a child and you must be taller than 130 centimeters for Caribbean Adventure. So the theme park has the same kind of amusement facilities in Aladin Plaza for kids to secure their safety. There are Space Mountain roller coaster, Pirate ship, Merry-go-around, and Jurassic cruise…for children to be busy trying them all day long. I suddenly noticed that Disneyization concept is applied for this part of the park. It was not difficult to see that Aladin Plaza is a commercialized with many vending machines, fast food restaurants, and coffee shops… Within the theme of Aladin, parents are spending money buying toys, foods, drinks and all the stuffs for their children and family members. As a result, the leisure time is secretly changed into consumption time.

At noon, we decided to take the Cable Car to visit the upper part the theme park instead of walking there. I think this Cable Car system is one clear example of McDonaldization in theme park. Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village has implemented the most innovative ropeway technology manufactured by Austria Dopplemayr Company. It was obvious that the whole system is created to provide service for a large number of passengers fast and efficiently. Although there was a quite long queue of people waiting for the journey and the number of staff was only limited in 2 employees, they still can arrange carriage for every visitor. One special characteristic that you can realize instantly is that there is one big Teddy Bear in each carriage. The Teddy Bears seemed interest girls and children passengers a lot. The journey by Cable Car gave us an astonishing view of the surrounding landscape. It was not a brief view like the UFO, but this time, we were really able to spend time to enjoy and appreciate the lovely and splendid beauty of the Theme Park.

When we reached the top part of the theme park, we got out of the Cable Car station and had a short walked. I noticed that there were a lot of cherry trees along the paths. I thought it would be very pleasant and enjoyable if we visited the Theme Park at the cherry blossom season. Then we took another Cable Car trip to Sun Moon Lake, a very famous tourism attraction in Taiwan which I had heard many times from my friends. At first, we thought we had to pay extra for the next Cable Car station. Surprisingly, the price is all inclusive in the entrance fee. Before entering the carriage, we got an invisible stamp on our left hand so that by scanning the stamp over, the staff would know that we had paid the entrance fee already or not. It is also another example of applying technology in Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village. The view of Sun Moon Lake was fully captured in front of our eyes while we were sitting in the Cable Car. I think it is a good combination of the theme park and another famous attraction so that both two can cooperate and attract more visitors. In this case, Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village and Sun Moon Lake are just perfectly located side by side of each other. And consequently, Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village can become a Regional Theme Park in Taiwan.

In the afternoon, we went back to pay a visit to the Aboriginal Village. The Village is exactly what I expected when we made the decision to visit this theme park. This time I had the ideal opportunity to explore more about Taiwanese Aboriginal Tribes’ life, customs, cuisines and cultures. And I didn’t miss the boat. I gained a rather comprehensive understanding about all the 9 nine tribes here in Taiwan which are Amis, Atayal, Paiwan, Bunun, Puyuma, Tsou, Rukai, Saisiyat, and Tao. The culture message of the village which is featured by traditional houses, sculptures, and games is unmistakable .Visitors can rent aboriginal clothes and try them to have a more distinctive taste of aboriginal costumes. Especially, visitors can attend the impressive performance of aboriginal people. They danced, sang, and played the traditional musical instruments so enthusiastically that all audiences can feel the positive life attitudes in their tribes.

I noticed that the Aboriginal Village also offers employment opportunities for aboriginal people. I actually saw a senior aborigine sitting in the village house and demonstrating her weaving skill to guests. By this way of recruitment, the theme park is helping to introduce and preserve all the aboriginal talents which are in danger of extinction. Unlike the amusement isle in the lower part, the Aboriginal Village attracts a lot of foreigner tourists who attentively watch and listen to all the authentic traditional performances.

Generally speaking from all I can see, the environment of Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village is very friendly and clean. Rubbish bins can be easily found in the theme park. But around the Aboriginal Village, the smell is not really fresh. We smelled something like fertilizers for plants. It would be much better if the atmosphere didn’t have that smell. I also would like to suggest the theme park to have a clearer signage system because we lost two times in the park trying to find the Caribbean Adventure and Mayan Adventure. Another point the theme park can improve is providing more hands-on activities. There will be far more interesting if we can try making a pottery cup, a traditional net, or preparing an aboriginal dish.

In conclusion, the field trip was a huge success and Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village is a great destination for leisure and recreation. Through the field trip, I have enhanced my knowledge about theme park industry and the way how a theme park operates. And I understand that it is not only profit that a theme park can bring back but also the preservation and protection of invaluable traditional values and custom. I will definitely recommend this theme park to my friends and family. For me, it is a must visit destination in Taiwan.