Taitung: a fault that creeps two to three centimetres a year

The flat floor of the East Rift Valley in Taitung lies along the seam where the Philippine Sea and Eurasian plates collide. The Chihshang fault runs about 35 kilometres from Yuli to Guanshan and slips some 2 to 3 centimetres a year, creeping slowly between earthquakes. At Tapo Primary School in Chishang, cracked concrete walls and a playground slide tilted out of line are among the evidence geologists cite that the fault is still moving.

Taitung County is long and narrow: the Pacific to the east, the Central Mountain Range to the west, and between them the trough of the East Rift Valley. Two roads tie it together. Provincial Highway 11 follows the coast, with the sea on one side and the Coastal Mountain Range on the other, while Highway 9 runs up the valley through Luye and Guanshan to Chishang.

Every summer the Taiwan International Balloon Festival is held on the Luye Highland.

Most of Taiwan's custard apples are grown in Taitung, and Beinan Township is one of the main growing areas.

Many Indigenous communities live here, among them Amis and Puyuma villages. Roughly July and August is the season of the Amis harvest festivals, held on different dates in different villages, with songs and circle dances among the ceremonies.