Located on Provincial Highway 11, Dulan Village is a renowned destination for expats to settle down and call home. Among some of them include an exquisite French chef, Dutch guitarist, and composer, as well as a French artist specializing in handicrafts. Without impacting the local traditional culture, these expats bolster the splendor and liveliness of this quaint village.
On the 10th of October 2010, a British oil painter named Tim was traveling in Taitung. Due to inclement weather and poor visibility and driving conditions, he crashed into a tree near the Sintung Sugar Factory Culture Park in Dulan – breaking his leg. This was the most severe accident that he had ever experienced. He was sent to the hospital and coincidently met his future wife, who worked as a nurse, there. Upon deciding to walk the road of life together, his status in Taiwan changed from traveler to resident, and he remained in Taitung. Tim lived in Taipei prior to ending up in Dulan.
In 2002, Tim had started traveling all around Taiwan to paint. The beautiful of Taitung left him with a lasting impression upon his first time visiting. After returning to Taipei, his memories of the beauty of the east coastline kept calling him to return, and finally, in the end, he did.
“I wanted to live a life different than one found in a big city. I really like the mountains, ocean, sun, and weather of Taitung so I knew I wanted to live here.” In an English manner, he expressed his love of Taitung with an expression of sincerity.
“I really love the people and peaceful living conditions here.”
Most artists enjoy a place where they can mull over their thoughts in serenity and tranquility as to fuel creativity and nurture inspiration. Dulan is precisely this kind of a place. Surrounded by nature, its front door opens to the expansive Pacific Ocean, imparting the peace, harmony, and positive energy of nature. Tim’s oil paintings are invigorated by this energy. His beautiful paintings feature the unique scenery of eastern Taiwan and are quite breathtaking.
Despite having lived in Taiwan for more than a decade, Tim laughed at himself that his Chinese ability hasn’t made any improvement. Tim said that gradually improving the English environment was very considerate when asked about promoting bilingualization in Taitung.
“However, as a local immigrant, I actually think foreigners should try their best to learn Chinese and adapt to the local environment.”
Different from other inflexible and boring Brits, Tim holds an optimistic attitude towards life. His paintings express the enthusiasm he has for this land. Using the Internet, he has even sought out friends to join Dulan beaches cleaning activities. Tim does not want the place he calls home to be littered with glass fragments, broken fishing net, and plastic bottles. Via FB, Tim established the “ONLY SOLUTIONS” event, which got a lot of support from local businesses, surfers, and visitors. He hopes that this event will raise awareness of sea pollution issues. Tim hopes that every foreigner, no matter whether they are a longterm expat or just arriving, is willing to put forth an effort and contribute to maintaining the cleanliness of this precious land, rather than just coming here to make some money.
“My parents live in a place in England, which is quite similar to Dulan Village. It’s called Mousehole, and it’s surrounded by clean ocean and green fields. So when my parents visited Dulan, they liked it very much!” The love that Tim feels for Dulan impressed his family in English. While visiting Tim, his parents went to many tourist attractions along the east coast. The beauty of the mountain and ocean scenery left this him a profound impression.
As to maintain the beauty of the beaches in Dulan, Tim continues to seek out like-minded individuals who hope to protect and upkeep the cleanliness of the beach. If you have time to visit Dulan and bump into a foreigner with painting tools next to the ocean or at the foot of a mountain, don’t hesitate you give him some encouragement, and thank him for his effort to help the beaches in Dulan.
