Oil was first discovered in Taiwan at the Chuhuangkeng Oilfield in Gongguan Township, Miaoli County. Oil extraction has been carried out there since 1877. During the Japanese colonial period, development became much more advanced, and approximately 98 oil wells were drilled. The site of Taiwan’s first oil well has since been transformed into the Taiwan Oil Field Exhibition Hall. (drill head) At the lower end of the site, directly beside the road, you will find the museum, which provides an excellent introduction to the history of Taiwan’s oil industry and drilling technology. Further uphill, several former residential and office buildings have

2026/5/31 very dangerous (collapse, snakes, green frogs, get lost, heavy metal contamination, please read the explanation at the end of this text) After a tour of the smelter, I went to the Gold Museum and took a photo of this diagram. It looked quite confusing and hard to understand. Then I had everything translated and discussed it with Professor ChatGPT. As the professor himself points out, I should verify everything—which I do. So far, the professor has been right. (Jinguashi Museum) The Secret of Mine Numbering Here the translation of the text above: Mining in the deposit proceeds from the top

ed. 2026/7/11 This is a very good place to get an introduction to cement production. Located on the way to Ali Mountain, it makes for a nice stop for families. Children can easily understand how cement is made here—well, maybe not in every single area. Reminder: During my recent visits, it was evident that many entrances and structures were heavily corroded by rust. Climbing up has become risky. The owner is also cordoning off more and more areas. (Packing station, cement silo, clinker silo) You can spot the cement silos from far away. It’s a former cement factory that has now

2026/1/18 For approximately twenty years, I have been hiking in the Wuliaojiang area. Until now, I had passed by without paying attention to the beauty that reveals itself further on. This is actually quite remarkable, especially given how well preserved the mine remains are. Yongda Coal Mine (永達煤礦礦坑口遺跡) is located in Sanxia District, New Taipei City, and was first established on 9 August 1919 by Lin Kaijun. Several structures can still be found along the sides of the site. The history is short. 1942, the mining area was expanded to 235,040 ping. After trial excavations had confirmed workable seams, preparations were

edited: 2026/7/12 Very dangerous (risk of collapse, snakes) Gongguan Tianyi Mine Gongguan Tianyi Mine (公館添益煤礦) is a forgotten mine in Miaoli, not shown on maps, with no signs or labels. I got the information from a Taiwanese postman. It is actually located close to a major road, but no one would ever drive into the small entrance. This time, I’ll describe things differently—namely, how I found the individual paths. Most of the time, you end up visiting a place two or more times. On the first visit, you try to get your bearings in an overgrown area. It sounds easy, but

Unfortunately, not much remains of the old mining area. At the entrance of the Sakura Trail, you can still see two large buildings where the rock was once loaded onto trucks. These solid structures are still in good condition, though heavily overgrown. From inside, you can look up and still see the holes in the ceiling, through which the rock was dumped down from the upper transport route for loading. If you walk around the building, you will find the remains of the old transport path at the back. The modern trail doesn’t exactly follow the original route. You can also