This year has seen unusually low temperatures for March in Taiwan, and for an unusually long period. Last weekend, snow again dusted the tops of Yangmingshan's volcanic hills, visible from Taipei's city centre, while in the central mountains, snowdrifts continued to drape the 4,000-metre peaks of Yu Shan and its lofty neighbours.
The protracted cold spell has cost farmers an estimated NT$1.08 billion ($270 million) in losses, with tea, pear and strawberry producers reporting nearly 15 million hectares of damaged crops.
Cold weather does not suit Taipei's citizens. They don dark coats, sometimes with fur collars, and hurry along the streets looking anxious. All the most disagreeable parts of the city take on a new aspect. Under blue skies and with a balmy breeze, it is possible to overlook the pollution, urban congestion, shabby shop fronts of the less-favoured districts, and the weariness that industrialism gives rise to anywhere in the world. But when the north wind is cold and rain clouds threaten, these things appear in their true colours.
Traditionally, the inhabitants of Taiwan's cities all home in on one site when wintry weather is announced. This is Hohuanshan, a high pass, three hours' drive above Hualien, on the island's east coast. As the highest point reached by any of Taiwan's roads, it provides a convenient place for a Sunday drive, with the windows up and the heating on full, to view the snow in all its picturesque strangeness. A quick snowball fight for the benefit of the camera and it is time to drive back down to dinner on the coast. The only problem will be the jams caused by all the other drivers with the same thoughts.
This phenomenon encapsulates the sadness attendant on rapid economic development. People have the adjuncts of affluent modern life - the cars, the leisure time, the means to take their children and old folk out for the day - but they have lost any true contact with the things they opt to observe. Weather, rather than being integral to their lives, is now either an inconvenience or something to be photographed. Cities are comfortable, but there is kudos to be had from getting out of them.
So, the weekend trip to Hohuanshan takes on the role of a mini-holiday. It is possible to wear those rarely used snow boots, exercise one's driving skills on steepish slopes, and return with a renewed sense of gratitude to home in the city.
