Ryan Ho Kilpatrick

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Category: Eurasians

Eurasians

No Mixed Blood, No Mixed Bones

by Ryan Ho Kilpatrick
Posted on June 8, 2018

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Just one of the many scenic swimming spots in the rivers and streams of Hualien county, on the doorstep of Taroko Gorge and Carp Lake.

Taiwan's eastern coast stands at the fringes of the continetal shelf. Whereas the waters of the Taiwan Strait on the western coast reach no deeper than 60 meters, here they plunge down to 4km, giving the deep, dark waters of the Kuroshio Current (the "Black Stream") their ominous sobriquet. Beyond the horizon, 10,000km of untinteruppted, open ocean separates us from the Pacific coast of North America. It truly feels like standing on the edge of the world.

In the era of social distancing, my Instagram feed remains unchanged.

Keelung walks featuring the unique wave-cut landscapes of Heping Island, the colourful houses lining Zhengbin Fishing Port, ruins of the turn-of-the-century Agena Shipyard, a Shinto temple turned martyrs’ shrine, and the Qing-dynasty Ershawan Fort that fought to repel French invasion.

Reconnecting with the sea in Keelung, my new home as my coronavirus exile continues.

Exploring the wilds of Yilan County, ancestral home of Taiwan‘s aboriginal Kavalan tribe until aggressive colonisation by Han Chinese from Fujian at the turn of the 19th century forced them down into Hualien.

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