Nurturing a 300-year-old banyan tree and drilling for submarine hot springs — Gao Jianwen: Just try, and you might succeed

Reporter Chen Ziying / Taipei Report

Facing the solitary Guishan Island in the vast ocean, this unique landscape isDongsen Marine Hot Spring Hotel(formerly Luyue Marine Hot Spring Hotel)Founder Mr. Gao Jianwen


fell in love with Toucheng. Visitors to this place can simply step into the backyard to enjoy the sea breeze and admire the beauty of an active volcanic island.

“▲ Guishan Island accompanied by breathtaking seascapes and sunrise — hard not to fall in love. (Photo / Reporter Xu Wenbin)“If the seascape ahead is beautiful but empty, it’s like being adrift in the ocean without direction. But if there’s an island up ahead, sometimes accompanied by clouds, the sun, stars, or even fishermen, then the composition is entirely different. And here, it’s especially beautiful because of Guishan Island,” said Gao Jianwen.

Forty years ago, when Gao Jianwen looked down on this northeast corner from the plane on his flight back to Taiwan from the U.S., he was captivated by the uniquely stunning cape, which destined him to form a deep, almost fatherly bond with this piece of land.

%亩??Ｑ笪氯?频甏窗烊烁呓ㄎ南壬??罨?堤ㄊ备╊?舛?苯歉６?ι澈Ｏ浚??岽0年的情感。(图/记者陈姿吟摄)

Every corner of Dongsen Marine Hot Spring Hotel bears Gao Jianwen’s footprint, and every footprint has a story. Forty years of painstaking effort cannot be summed up in a few words, so let’s start with the 300-year-old banyan tree that coexists and thrives with the building. At the beginning of the hotel’s construction, Gao Jianwen designed a six-story glasshouse and sacrificed space for 60 guest rooms to ensure the banyan tree could live on.

But caring for the banyan tree was more than that. Gao Jianwen described how he had to bathe it and observe changes in each leaf tip. Whenever something seemed off, he would become a “tree doctor,” flipping through books and research papers to explore possibilities. It’s no exaggeration to say he knows this tree better than anyone. As for the plants grown on the rocks in the backyard,

Gao Jianwen broke the notion that “trees can’t grow on the coast.” With sunshine, air, and water, he nurtured every flower and tree with pure “love,” using native wild grasses and fallen wood as fertilizer, preserving the resilient genes that grow against adversity. It was little by little that this garden came to life.▲ To allow the banyan tree to survive, Gao Jianwen planned a glasshouse and even personally bathed the tree, caring for it attentively. (Photo / Reporter Xu Wenbin)

If you think the hot springs at Dongsen Marine Hot Spring Hotel are just ordinary hot springs, you’re greatly mistaken. FromGuishan Island to the Ryukyu Islands is one of the world’s rare underwater volcanoes, and it also possesses one of only two deep submarine hot springs in the world. Intense geothermal heat and seawater deeper than 200 meters devoid of microorganisms qualify as “deep submarine hot springs.” The hot springs at Dongsen Marine Hot Spring Hotel are sourced by drilling 800 meters deep into the rock. Gao Jianwen explained that the minerals from the ocean and rocks, along with the absence of harmful microorganisms in the deep seawater, are what make deep-sea hot springs so valuable.

But thinking back to the hardships of the excavation, Gao Jianwen described it as “pioneering through thorns and brambles.”
During the interview, Gao Jianwen’s dedication, from the trees and plants to the architecture and even the hot spring drilling, was truly admirable.
He said, “Just try, and you might succeed. Learn from nature, and nature will find its way.” This is how he discovered the treasures of this land, pouring 40 years of love into it. Once you truly understand the treasures in Gao Jianwen’s eyes, you’ll unconsciously fall in love with this Formosan Strait and with “Dongsen Marine Hot Spring Hotel.”
Gao Jianwen – A Brief Profile
Founder and Developer of Dongsen Marine Hot Spring Hotel (formerly Luyue Marine Hot Spring Hotel)