Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village in Nantou County, Taiwan

The Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village (Chinese: 九族文化村; pinyin: Jiǔzú Wénhuà Cūn) is an amusement park in Yuchi Township, Nantou County, Taiwan which has been in operation since 1986.[1] It is distinctive for its Formosan aboriginal culture theme. The park contains the tallest free-fall ride in Taiwan as well as Taiwan's largest European gardens and bell tower.
Chinese Name: 九族文化村
Opening Hours: 9.30 am- 17 pm
Admission Fee:  The admission tickets include park entrance, the use of all attractions and shows in the park but food, drinks and merchandise.
Recommended Visiting Hours: 3 hours
Season: Spring, Autumn, Summer
Address: Yuchi Township, Nantou County, Taiwan

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Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village

“Formosan” is a local name among the Taiwan people for the nine Gaoshan ethnic groups¡ªYamei Nationality, Amei Nationality, Taiya Nationality, Saixia Nationality, Zou Nationality, Bunong Nationality, Beinan Nationality, Lukai Nationality and Paiwan Nationality, which keep their traditional culture well. The Pingpu people are not included.

Introduction of Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village

Present Value

Similar to the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park in Beijing and the Nationalities Village in Kunming of Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village built in Taiwan is also a large-scale cultural facility, which combines collection, protection, propagation and exhibition of the traditional national culture, as well as sightseeing.

History

The land on which the Formosan Aboriginal Culture village now stands was purchased in 1982 by the village’s current president Jung-i Chang. The park was opened four years later in July 1986 with only the culture village and the European garden. The amusement park section was added in 1992.

The Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village is a place where people can observe Taiwanese traditional tribal lifestyle and observe an abundance of aboriginal traditions. The China Post has indicated that the village sprawls across 62 hectares (1,550 acres); a trip to the village offers visitors the chance to enjoy many educational and recreational riches and it easily requires an entire day to experience all the village has to offer. The village is an aboriginal theme park that is composed of three major areas: the Aboriginal Village Park, the Amusement Isle, and the European Garden. The outdoor atmosphere gives visitors a glimpse of aboriginal heritage in an authentic setting by depicting the villages and lifestyles of Taiwan’s nine main tribes

Rides and attractions

The park is composed of three main themed areas: the amusement park “Amusement Isle”, an activities area “Aboriginal Village Park”, and a European garden. All of the rides except the Gondola to the aboriginal village and the steam train are located in “Amusement Isle”.

Location and The measure of area

The Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village lies by the Sun-moon Lake of Nantou County, south of Taiwan, covering an area of 62 hectares. The overall arrangement relies mainly on the civilian houses of the traditional local-style villages, embellished with some modern facilities imitating the European building and art sculpture style, such as “Shuishalianli Palace” and “Laser Music Fountain”. In the village, the culture, entertainment and life facilities, such as “Mountain Region Cultural Relics Museum,” performance hall, opera theatre, mountain-viewing building and restaurants, are all available. Among the buildings, there has been adorned with lawn and gardens, simple, refined, but not losing the flavor of the times.

Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village Appearance

Referring to a survey by the Japanese scholar Qianqianyan in 1930, the residential building groups in the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village recover to its original appearance, keep and reflect its traditional characteristics. The village sight can be divided into nine smaller villages by different clans. With its unique style, each village has an organic whole of its own. Some buildings are covered with couch grass and take slab stone as the roof beam; Some dig caves as rooms and build stones as walls; Some put up wood as the post and weave bamboo as the buildings; Some carve the beams and paint the rafter; Some are simple and refined. Around these buildings are some static objects and dynamic performances, possessing rich academic and visual value and showing the visitors the clan organization, living facilities, religions and sacrifices offering, wedding and funeral customs, etiquette and taboo, etc.

Amusement Isle

Amusement Isle is the amusement park section of the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village. It is located between the culture village and the European gardens and serves as an access point to the culture village via the cable car.

The park’s current rides and attractions include:

• Mayan Adventure (traditional Chinese: 馬雅探險). Taiwan’s first suspended roller coaster. Built by the Dutch company VEKOMA for NT$600,000,000.
• UFO Adventures (traditional Chinese: UFO歷險). Taiwan’s tallest free-fall ride at 280 ft (85m). Built by Swiss company INTAMIN for NT$300,000,000.^[5]
• Gold Mine Exploration (traditional Chinese: 金礦山探險). A log flume ride with a 50 ft (15m) final drop. Built by German company MACK for NT$1,000,000,000.
• Caribbean Adventure (traditional Chinese: 加勒比海探險). A water coaster consisting of a backward section and a final drop of 100 ft (30m). Built by German company MACK for NT$360,000,000.
• Aboriginal Ropeway (traditional Chinese: 九族空中纜車). Taiwan’s first cable car system. Transports visitors from amusement isle to the aboriginal village. Built by Austrian company DOPPELMAYR for NT$1,000,000,000.
• Aladdin Square (traditional Chinese: 阿拉丁廣場). An indoor facility that houses various small attractions. Notable among these are Space Mountain (traditional Chinese: 太空山) similar to Disneyland’s Space Mountain, and Hawaii waves (traditional Chinese: 夏威夷巨浪). Other attractions include carnival games and fair rides.

Useful Travel Tips

Ticket Price

Opening Hours

• Hours of tickets booth
  Weekdays / 09:30-15:00　　Weekends / 09:30-15:00
  Hours of the ticket may be extended during the Chinese New Year
• Hours of operation
  Weekdays / 09:30-17:00　　Weekends / 09:30- 17:30
  We are open every day of the year. Operation hours may be extended during cherry blossom festival in February.

Notes

• Seating for every attraction will be available on the first come first serve basis.
• Passengers are not allowed to eat, drink or smoke during any ride.
• Children under age five must be accompanied by an adult to take any ride.
• The cabinets around the facilities are for your temporary convenience only. Do not leave your valuables in it. Or, please use the coin lockers.
• We need your help to keep all the exhibitions and horticulture against injury by picking or breaking.
• Any commercial photo or video taking should be permitted with prior authorization only.
• Sun Moon Lake Ropeway is an extra gift of the admission of FACV. We reserve the right of presenting this ride or not and would not compensate any in case the ropeway is closed for whatever reason.

How to Get There

Transportation

Nat’l Hwy 1 → Exit at the Nantun Interchange → County Hwy 136 → Prov. Hwy 74 → Exit at the Kuaiguan Interchange → Nat’l Hwy 3 → Wufeng System Interchange → Nat’l Hwy 6 → Exit at the Ailan Interchange → Prov. Hwy 14 → Prov. Hwy 21 → County Hwy 131 → Township Road Tou-67

Public

• Take the THSR to Taichung Station, continue by Nantou Bus (bound for Puli, Sun Moon Lake) to Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village stop.
• Take the train to Taichung Railway Station, continue by Renyu Bus (bound for Sun Moon Lake) to Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village stop.

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Edited by  Lynette Fu/付云锐