Life comes from living water. Mataian Wetland is supplied by Fudeng Stream (富登溪) and a mountain spring nearby. The 12-hectare wetland is full of various creatures. Walking on the wood trail on the wetland, you can find so many birds, frogs, insects, and water lives here. There are numerous fish, shrimps, shellfish, and snails in almost every ditch here. The name “Mataian” is actually from Amis (阿美族) language: “Vataan”. That means pigeon pea, which grows on trees. That is once the dominant trees spices around here and you can still find them here and have them in your lunch.
Amis uses a special way to catch water life. They put big bamboo cages with several layers and openings between each layer. The entrances with different sizes on layers can only allow animals smaller than the entrance to get back to the last layer. In this way, they can catch fish in the bottom layer and shrimps or others in the middle layer by just putting the cage with bates inside for one day. In 1990’s, the management team started to grow lotus here and they are really splendid in summer. There is also a classroom here for you to learn more about Amis culture by local lecturers. Other than the beautiful wetland, you can have a wonderful meal here will all kinds of organic meat, fish, and vegetables. With this abundant mount of experiences by seeing, learning, and eating, Mataian Wetland is truly a place for non-touristy travelers.
