At 1:46 PM yesterday in the Heping Mountain area of Taichung City, a hiking group discovered the body of a 48-year-old man surnamed Xing lying beside the trail at the 2.7 km mark of Mt. Chiyu. He showed no signs of life.
Rescue teams and the hiker who reported the incident initially thought the man was merely a porter hired by the hiking party. However, some hikers recognized him, and after police and firefighters checked his identity, they confirmed the deceased was the highly renowned mountain guide "Blue Instructor" Xing Yizhen. With confirmation from the Shei-Pa National Park Police, his body has been brought down from the mountain.
"Blue Instructor" Xing Yizhen was known by many hikers as an outstanding and humorous Bunun tribe high-mountain guide.
The TV program "MIT Taiwan," which was nominated for this year’s Golden Bell Award in the "Educational and Cultural Program Host" category, had previously invited Xing Yizhen to participate in filming. The production team said on Facebook yesterday: "We waited in hope for a miracle all afternoon, wishing for Blue Instructor’s safe return."
The TV program "MIT Taiwan" (which has been nominated for this year's Golden Bell Awards in the "Education and Culture Program Host" category) once invited Xing Yizhen to participate in its recordings. The production team posted on Facebook yesterday: "We've been waiting for a miracle since the afternoon, hoping for Instructor Lan's safe return."