Mózǎidūn Story Island Introduction
In Taichung's Taiping District, there is a "small island" known as "Mozaidun." This island has been cut into a unique topography of Niu'e Lake due to the curious diversion of the Toubian Stream. Because its shape resembles a stone mill, the locals call it "Mozaidun." Thanks to the deliberate protection by the landowner, the original terrain and landscape have been preserved. A few years ago, a man named Mago arrived on the island with grand ideals to create a natural happy island. He rolled up his sleeves and began building his vision with his hands, crafting outdoor tables and chairs from dead wood, constructing pathways with stones from the creek, building railings from discarded timber, and laying down vast green lawns to eliminate weeds and open up the scenery. Retaining the original earthen house, he added unique features and constructed a two-story earthen restaurant, placing many of Mago's creations around the area for people to relax. Notably, Mago also built a playground for children, saying the island could see butterflies fluttering and birds singing, but it lacked the most important thing—children's laughter. Therefore, the wooden playground is equipped with slides, swings, a seesaw, a sandbox, rocking chairs, etc., allowing children to enjoy and fall in love with the place. Under Mago's heartfelt efforts, "Mozaidun" has been revitalized into a lively and laughter-filled happy island. The Mozaidun Story Island, which covers more than an acre, is an ideal spot for group gatherings and family outdoor fun, featuring special garden landscapes, creek views, fun activities, rich ecology, hot meal packages, a relaxed atmosphere, and a dream playground for many children—sports game areas, slides, swings, sandpits, rocking chairs, goats, and large grassy fields. Adults can accompany preschoolers as they play, creating a joyful parent-child interactive playground that is safe and flat, allowing parents to enjoy leisure time chatting over tea while appreciating the scenery. Mozaidun embodies the concepts of "Nature, Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Education," all designed and personally created by Mago. Every plant and structure is filled with beauty and harmoniously integrates with the natural environment, allowing visitors to naturally relieve stress and feel a wonderful closeness to nature. Mozaidun employs natural construction methods, providing animals with the most natural and best habitats without the use of pesticides, maintaining the integrity of the ecological chain, and creating comfortable habitats for plants and animals. The island's construction emphasizes local materials and recycling, such as picking fresh leaves or drying cinnamon tree leaves for tea, and during the longan harvest season, visitors can pick and taste fresh longans, with leftovers turned into dried longans. Cut dead branches serve as natural fuel for barbecuing and roasting. All these efforts uphold the principles of nature, ecology, and environmental protection, earning recognition from the agricultural association, which established the "Toubian Stream Nature Conservation Education Center" on Mozaidun Island. Activities on the island include traditional DIY brick oven baking, stone slab barbecues, guided tours, ecological film viewing, plant and animal education, ecology environment tours, stream play, storytelling of the earthen house's background, searching for antlion traces, games on the large lawn, physical challenges in the play area, feeding Formosan black goats, and clay and stone painting, among others. Groups of more than ten can reserve for brick oven or stone slab barbecues. Unique to Mozaidun is the self-made slab barbecue, where a stone slab is placed on top of an earth oven and branches are used for fuel, resulting in less ash and quicker heating without burning, allowing for fragrant barbecued meat to be enjoyed soon after preparation. This promotes sharing the joy of barbecuing with parents and children alike. Experience the fun of early brick oven baking by collaboratively building an earth oven, wrapping red eggs, roasting sweet potatoes, herbal chicken, and earthy braised pork hocks—upon opening the oven, you can enjoy aromatic earth oven chicken, steaming hot sweet potatoes, and red clay eggs, making for an exciting and enjoyable experience. Hands-on pizza baking is available, and in spring, lychee flowers bloom while orchids parasitizing on lychee trees also blossom. From March to May, caterpillars of butterflies and moths abound. From May to September, the waters of Toubian Stream are clear and perfect for play. In June and July, the mighty armies of stag beetles and butterflies fill the skies. Visiting during June and July offers views of a sea of red lychees, while August features tasting of freshly picked organic longans.
