David on Formosa

Bali (八里) is in the north of Taipei County and lies just across the river from the more well known Danshui (淡水). It should not be confused with the island in Indonesia or Paris (which is also called Bali in Mandarin).

Getting there took me on a route through Xinzhuang and Wugu. These places are an urban industrial nightmare that reveal Taiwan at its ugliest. Further up the road I took a wrong turn and ended up crossing the bridge to Guandu. Finding the way again seemed to involve riding around in circles.

I was relieved to finally arrive at my destination, the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology (十三行博物館). The surroundings of the museum were a pleasant contrast to the pollution and ugliness I had passed through while getting there. The large series of tanks next to the museum are actually a sewage treatment plant. It seems to be a closed system so there is no need to fear any noxious odours. The museum has won awards for its architectural design. The area around the museum includes a large grassy park and a bike path. The area seems popular with cyclists with many riding around on hired bikes and others who seemed to have ridden there from further away.

It was still early when I arrived, so I went to visit the nearby Wazihwei (挖子尾) Conservation Area and Chang Village. The conservation area is composed of mangroves and mudflats. With the tide out I saw a thriving population of crabs and mudskippers. The nearby Chang Village includes some old-style Taiwanese courtyard houses. I also wandered over to the shore area to the north of the museum. I hesitate to call it a beach. This area is sharply abutted by the Taipei Port. I always find it strange that in an island nation with a maritime history most people are so disconnected from the ocean.

The museum finally opened and I bought my ticket for NT$100. There was an exhibition called "Taipei Lake" which detailed the archaeological and geomorphological history of the Taipei Basin. 10,000 years ago Taipei was a salt water lake. However, as the sea levels receded the water levels fell. While most of it is covered in concrete now I am sure it would have once been a very ecologically rich environment. The surviving crabs and mudskippers that I saw in the conservation area would have once been just a tiny fraction of a much larger population. The exihibition did detail (and lament) some of the impacts of urbanisation and industrial activity. Other exhibitions detail how the Shihsanhang site was discovered and the efforts of archaeologists to excavate the site. They also show some artifacts and the daily life of the Shihsanhang civilisation.

I had visited Bali once a few years ago by boat from Danshui. I never went any further than the area around the wharf though. It was great to discover more of the town and I would like to go back again to explore Guanyin Shan (觀音山), the impressive mountain which towers above the town.

Notes
The museum is closed on Mondays and entry costs NT$100. You can get there by bus Red 13 from the Guandu MRT Station or take the ferry to Bali from Danshui and catch the same bus to the museum. A bike path leads all the way to the museum from Taipei and bikes are available for hire nearby the museum as well.