Rice is the reason anyone in Taiwan knows the name Chishang. This quiet farming town in the southern East Rift Valley grows some of the island's most prized rice, watered by clean streams from the Central Mountain Range, and a lunchbox of Chishang rice with a few side dishes has become a nationwide institution, sold at railway stations and convenience stores everywhere. Here, at the source, the lunchbox shops near the station make a cheap and very satisfying meal, and you can taste why people care.
The fields around Chishang and neighbouring Guanshan are wide and open, framed by mountains on both sides, and they change colour through the year, bright green after planting, gold before harvest. One farm road became famous after a television advert for an airline showed a well-known actor sitting under a lone tree in the paddies, and the stretch, now called Mr. Brown Avenue after a coffee brand, draws crowds of cyclists and photographers. It is a strange kind of fame for a strip of tarmac between rice fields, but on a still morning, with the mountains reflected in flooded paddies, you can see the appeal.
The town is also a cycling hub. Bike paths circle the fields and the small Dapo Pond, and rental shops line the main street. For motorcyclists, the area is a place to slow down and enjoy, rather than a challenge: the roads are flat and straight, with occasional farm vehicles and many bicycles. The real riding is on the roads that leave the valley, such as the climb over the Coastal Range towards the Pacific, or the start of the Southern Cross-Island Highway near Guanshan, which climbs steeply into the mountains.
The East Rift Valley sits on an active fault, and Chishang has the scars to prove it: buildings and walls in the area show cracks where the ground creeps a little every year. Taitung City is about forty kilometres south, and Chishang itself has fuel, small hotels and plenty of food. Summers are hot and humid, with afternoon storms, while late autumn and early spring bring clearer air and cooler riding. Bring sunscreen, because the valley gives little shade.