Sun Moon Lake, with its picturesque scenery, has long attracted literati and artists to admire the views and draw inspiration. From the lake area to surrounding villages, they bring out their brushes and compose poetry in praise of the landscape. It’s a delightful experience for a few artistic friends to travel together while sketching. Recognizing the increasingly well-developed scenic facilities, the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration will place greater emphasis on spiritual enrichment and quality enhancement in the future, fostering a stronger arts and culture atmosphere.
Chen Chih-hsien, deputy director of the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration, stated that in-depth travel and creative journeys at Sun Moon Lake represent a new and worthwhile field to develop. The lake’s diverse beauty across mornings, evenings, rainy days, and sunny skies can only be fully appreciated when one sets aside worldly distractions and finds a tranquil, comfortable environment to immerse oneself — allowing for the expression of an expansive and boundless aesthetic space.
The Classic Grand Hotel, which opened in early 2014, once co-hosted the Yuchi Arts Festival with Yuchi Township Office, inviting over 40 renowned artists to stay and providing sketching and creative travel programs. These allowed creators ample time to explore high-quality attractions, soak in the ambiance, and capture the cultural and scenic beauty of Yuchi Township and Sun Moon Lake through their art.
Evening networking and observation sessions allowed artists of different styles, painting techniques, and creative concepts to interact over extended periods, exchange ideas, and inspire one another within an atmosphere of beauty. They found common ground amid diversity and embraced greater inclusiveness.
The Yuchi Arts Festival gave those in the art world a deeper understanding and appreciation of the environments around the lake and nearby townships. Through interactions with local artists and growing familiarity, visits to Sun Moon Lake for sketching and travel have become increasingly frequent.
At the end of last year, the Nantou County Sun Moon Lake Homestay Development Association, in collaboration with the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration, invited 37 painters to stay again. Beyond professional artists, some families and parent-child groups also began to explore nature through travel, immersing themselves in art and culture for a more profound and spiritually enriching experience.