Lien Yu-han, who grew up in the hills of Sanzhi and loves nature, considers hiking her favorite activity and way to date. At an outdoor sports brand event on the 26th, she showed off her standard hiking pack essentials—including not just the usual water bottle, snacks, and camera, but also an air plant she named “Stinger.” Whenever she feels like bringing it along, she does. She admitted that her hiking friends used to find it unbearable and often teased her, but she believes plants, like people, need sunlight.
She keeps many plants at home and talks to them every day when she gets back, asking how they’re doing. She started growing air plants around her freshman year of college and once had one that lived for over 10 years. She brought it to her dorm in Kaohsiung while filming ‘The Longest Day in Chang’an,’ but it unfortunately died from the heat. Despite trying to revive it with water, it didn’t make it, which surprised her since she thought plants would live forever. She comforted herself by thinking it had completed its life mission—“it was with me from college through the ‘The Longest Day in Chang’an’ period. Just like people, plants eventually fade away, so we should cherish the time we have with them.” An advocate for nature and environmentalism, she said she too will one day return to the earth, perhaps choosing a tree burial to rejoin the forest.
Worried about being seen as a weirdo, she emphasized that her life isn’t all plants—she still has friends. The only celebrity friend who joins her on hikes is Tsgao Shao-tsung. They met years ago while filming a short video, and half a year later, he asked if she still wanted to take photos with a film camera. She suggested the stunning Taiping Mountain, and even though he complained about the distance, he agreed to go. She praised Tsgao as the best hiking buddy—always ready to go at a moment’s notice, passionate and skilled at photography, and someone who knows how to enjoy life. He always captures beautiful photos of her, and his stamina matches hers perfectly, so they never have to wait for each other on the trails.
(China Times)