In addition to picking out the favorite piece work from the art creation of Professor Lin, we also designed our very own “Image of Taiwan” art from our personal ideas and feelings about Taiwan.

 

The Image of Taiwan by Cheng, Hao-Wen 　The hospitality and vitality of Taiwan are what make this place so special. Maybe many people do not feel positive about the future of Taiwan but I believe that as long as we love this land, no matter the differences between age, gender or ethnicity. When all of us would express the deepest and the most honest enthusiasm to treat the people, matter or object around us, the future of Taiwan would become invincible and unbeatable. Therefore, when I was creating this art work, I combined my passion which is dance into the painting. I drew many people dancing happily together, moving their body freely to the rhythm of the music and expressing the feelings inside of them. Only when everyone who loves Taiwan could express himself or herself this freely, could we make Taiwan a better place. Only when everyone who loves Taiwan could come together as one in the dance, could we create more miracles and wonders that belong to the island of Formosa.
The Image of Taiwan by Ueng, Yu-Chen 　When I think of Taiwan, I think of the many fun places to travel and a lot of very yummy food to eat. It is truly a island of treasure. In my heart, among all these wonderful things, I think Taipei 101 represents Taiwan the best. It is not only the landmark of Taipei but also the landmark of Taiwan. I remembered that every time that me and my family go visit the Taipei 101 district, it was one of the happiest family time. No matter if we were going to Vieshow Cinema to watch movie, or go to Eslite Bookstore for window shopping, or even watching the Taipei 101 firework of new year countdown from 2012 to 2013 from afar, all these events made me feel proud and excited. I am proud because Taipei 101 is one of the tallest building and excited because there will always be new things and ideas for us to explore and discover. Therefore, my image of Taiwan is Taipei 101.
The Image of Taiwan by Huang, Tzu-Liang 　 　Professor Lin said that as long as Taiwan remain in your heart, no matter where you are, you can always see the Taiwanese symbols in everywhere. I often saw my grandmother steam cook sweet potatoes and I would ask her why she loves sweet potatoes so much. My grandmother would say that because sweet potato is cheap, nutritious and healthy. When she was young, there was not much to eat around home. We all ate sweet potato and sweet potato leaves while growing up. Sweet potato is very important to Taiwanese people. It provides us with nutrition. My grandmother relies on eating sweet potatoes when growing up. After listening to her story, I realized Taiwanese people are like the sweet potatoes. 　Looking at the sweet potato in my the hands of grandmother’s and thinking of the words that Professor Lin said, I realized that the shape of sweet potato looks so much similar to the shape of Taiwan. Sweet potato and sweet potato leaves nurtured the land of Taiwan so that we could grow well and propagate. Therefore, sweet potato is like the root of Taiwan, stored with plenty of nutrition. The flourishing sweet potato leaves that grew out are like the vibrant lives that exist on this land. As a result, I drew some Taiwan only subspecies on the leaves of the sweet potato, for example, Mikado's pheasant, Formosan black bear, Formosan sika deer, Formosan rock monkey and Formosan tree frog, to represent the special vitality that Taiwan has.
The Image of Taiwan by Yu, Hsiang-Jung 　Hello, everyone. My name is Hsiang-Jung. I really like aboriginal cultures. Aboriginal cultures are one of the unique cultures in Taiwan. Aboriginal cultures include, the harvest festival of the Amis people, flying fish festival of the Yami people, Pas-ta'ai Ceremony of the Saisiyat people and the tradition facial tattooing of the Atayal people. 　There are 13 tribes in total in Taiwan, most aborigines live at the plans or in the mountains. Only the Yami people live in the outlying island on the sea. Each tribe has its own unique culture heritage.
The Image of Taiwan by Hsiao, Yi-Hua 　 　I really like to go out to the nature and play. When I see the animals, I feel very happy. I once saw on the television that mentioned Taiwan as an treasure island that is full of diverse animals and species. There are many local wild animals that live on this land. However, due to the recent threat that human brought to the nature, a lot of habitats that the wild animals live are destroyed and the number of wild lives are decreasing. This makes me feel really sad. Therefore, I wanted to draw out the wild conservation animals that are unique in Taiwan. For example, Formosan black bear, Formosan sika deer, Formosan rock monkey and so on. I hope that more people would learn about these animals and protect them. I hope that together we could cherish the animals that live on this planet with us and learn to respect their rights to live and their living environment.
The Image of Taiwan by Weng, Yi-Ming 　 　Hello, everyone. My name is Yi-Ming. I feel that Taiwan is a gourmet heaven. This painting of mine represents that for the people, food is the most important aspect of life. There is delicious food in every city and county in Taiwan. No matter where you go, to the mountain or to the sea, you could find yummy food to eat. The Taiwan I drew has many eyes, noses and mouths. That is because Taiwan is a place where you can fill up your appetite and it is an eye opening place for you to discovery new adventures.
The Image of Taiwan by Hou, Kuei–Ying 　I am Kuei–Ying. When talking about Taiwan, the first thought that came to my mind was the highest mountain in Taiwan, Jade Mountain. It is where the Formosan rock monkey and sambar live. Besides, Shei-pa and Kenting are all national parks. There are Formosan black bear, Formosan sika deer, and Formosan landlocked salmon. These animals are in danger of extinction. I got my inspiration from the work of Professor Lin. I also design Taiwan shaped like rock to express my love for Taiwan.
The Image of Taiwan by Lu, Meng-Jie 　“One, two, three to Taiwan. There is a mountain called Alishen”, this is a Taiwanese jingle that most Taiwanese learned when they were little. Alishen is located in Chiayi county in Taiwan. The altitude is 2,458 meters above sea level. It is famous in the world for its breath taking sun rise, eye catching sun set and magnificent sea of clouds. There are also the tourists' favorite, the Alishan Forest Railway, and the sky high ancient and powerful Giant Taiwan Cypress, or as the locals call them God Trees. These are the so called the five wonders of Ali Mountain. They are the must see tourist destination that tourists from over the world must visit. Alishen is also a great summer resort. Green jade chain of mountains stacked and crossed each other, sky high ancient and powerful Giant Taiwan Cypress standing solemnly, silk like waterfall running through the rocks. These are the amazing sceneries that would make you forget the exhaustion from the city. In addition, the tea of Ali Mountain is very refreshing, it is also praised by many tea lovers. This is another thing that Taiwanese people are proud of.
The Image of Taiwan by Ueng, Yu-Ting 　My elder brother and I both love drinking pearl bubble milk tea. I could not stop drinking the sweet milk tea added with chewy pearl bubble. I especially love wandering in the night market while drinking pearl bubble milk tea. When we go to the night market, we often go with all the family members. I love seeing the lively atmosphere, vibrant crowd, people eating and drinking with a satisfied smile on their face. This joyful vibe makes me feel happy. There are always many pearl bubble milk tea stands in the night market. I have heard that some foreigner come to Taiwan to learn the ways of making pearl bubble milk tea. Then they went back to their country to open up pearl bubble milk tea shop. There are pearl bubble milk tea shops in London and they are very popular with the foreigners. Therefore, pearl bubble milk tea is a signature drink of Taiwan. I love drinking it.

 

　2、Thoughts from the classmates

　　Likewise, under the guidance of the teachers, we used the opportunity of Iron Kids Writing Camp to host a Image of Taiwan voting activity. We worked in groups to design the ballot box and ballot cards. That day, 9 students presented their own art work of the Image of Taiwan and let the students from the writing camp to vote out which painting is their favorite. The result of the poll showed that painting number 8 "The Sweet Potato" by Huang ,Tzu-Liang won the most votes. The painting represents that the sweet potato is like the root of Taiwan, stored with plenty of nutrition and filled with strong vitality. The parents of the students from the writing camp all praised us, saying that each of us puts a lot of heart and effort into the art work and each painting has its own uniqueness. This made us all very happy. Later on, the students in the writing camp also started drawing their own image of Taiwan.

Show and tell	Time for voting