The world’s only mineral named after a Taiwanese place—Beitou Stone—celebrates its centennial naming anniversary

 

The world’s only mineral named after a Taiwanese place, “Beitou Stone,” celebrates its 100th naming anniversary today (20th). Want to explore its rare beauty and fascinating origins? The Taipei City Government has specially organized the “No Stone Unturned” event and the “Follow the Stone’s Trail” special exhibition at the Beitou Hot Spring Museum, running from now until November 25.

Beitou Stone is a unique mineral discovered in 1905 by Japanese scholar Yasuhachiro Okamoto in the riverbed of Beitou Creek. It was officially presented and named at an international mineralogical conference in 1912. Today, it can only be found in Beitou and Japan’s Tamagawa Hot Springs. Containing the radioactive element radium, Beitou Stone was rumored in Japan to have medicinal properties and was revered as a “healing stone.” On average, it takes 130 years for just one centimeter of the mineral to form, and it crystallizes only under very specific environmental conditions. Due to environmental changes, Beitou Stone has become increasingly rare. The 800-kilogram specimen housed in the Beitou Hot Spring Museum is the largest in the world and serves as the museum’s prized exhibit.

To celebrate the centennial of Beitou Stone’s naming, the Taipei City Government’s Department of Information and Tourism has set up the “No Stone Unturned” activity area outside the special exhibition hall at the Beitou Hot Spring Museum from today through November 25. The public is invited to learn about Beitou Stone and take photos with the interactive “No Stone Unturned” display boards. By uploading their photos to the “Listen to Beitou, Tell a Story” Facebook fan page, the top three most-liked participants will win a limited-edition “Treasured Beitou Postcard Set.” A local bakery, Provence, is also joining in the celebration with the launch of commemorative “Beitou Bites” cookies.

 

Additionally, a mobile audio guide service for the Beitou Environmental Museum Park, launched in late October this year by the Taipei City Government in collaboration with local associations, has already been experienced by over a hundred visitors. Tourists simply need to call the audio guide hotline (0935-120-909) on their own phones and enter the three-digit code for the exhibition point to enjoy fascinating stories about Beitou.

 

 

● Read more: Following the Footsteps of Beitou’s Nostalgic Cafés and Stepping Back into the Golden Era of the Hot Spring Town

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