Vavilov was a keen photographer. We have uploaded some of the images from his trip to Taiwan. If you know of others that may be of interest, please let us know.

1929

The lower part of the island is densely cultivated by the Chinese agricultural population. At each house there is without fail a sty for black Chinese pigs. Pig raising is far more developed here than anywhere in western Europe. The areas under vegetable cultivation are intensely utilized and heavily irrigated areas are occupied by plantations of a “water-rice” (Zizania latifolia Turcz.), here represented by late-ripening forms, to which belong a type ripening during winter. There is an enormous variety of citrus fruits, berries and all possible kinds of vegetables. In my notebook I wrote down more than 150 cultivated plants, which were mainly observed within the narrow coastal belt of the island. A large amount of seeds was collected. Thanks to Tanaka the short visit to Taiwan proved to be very productive.

1929

In addition to the camphor trees, a visit to the tea-growing station was one of the objectives of my expedition. The well-known oolong mountain tea of Taiwan was a most remarkable sight. In the mountains of Taiwan it is possible to see thickets of tea, reaching the dimensions of small trees 4-5 metres tall. The crops are always primitive, the harvests insignificant. The tea is grown in stony soils. Most amazing is the vegetative reproduction of it by means of layering. From the Taiwanese tea a semifermented product is prepared, which has a light brown colour, giving the brew a particularly pleasing taste and a vivid and bright tint. While the ordinary nonfermented green tea serves mainly for consumption in Taiwan, the oolong tea is cultivated exclusively for export. It is especially valuable on the American market. It goes almost exclusively there and is sold for a high price. I received a present of 8 pounds of the best oolong tea from the university and the governor of the city.

1929

When descending from the mountains we went to Kagi, to a tropical research station where all that is valuable in the worldwide flora is collected and where they make stubborn attempts to introduce especially valuable plants and fruits into cultivation for technical purposes. Here are plantations of rubber trees, mango trees and mangosteen, and original collections of tropical citrus fruits of gigantic proportions, the size of a human head. Selections of sweet potatoes have been introduced. A handful of seeds, presented to me, served as basic material for breeding a number of valuable kinds of sweet potatoes at the experimental station at Sukhumi [on the Black Sea coast]. …

The market and the vegetable gardens of Kagi are an introduction to the realm of vegetables from China. There are peculiar species and varieties still not studied. Together with Tanaka I collected hundreds of medicinal plants in the rows of “physician’s” stalls in the market of the city of Tainan. All the Chinese remedies against all kinds of illnesses and for all ages and sexes were found here.

1929

Most of all I wanted to see the forests of camphor trees [Cinnamomum camphora Nees & Eberm.]. Taiwan is the native land of camphor. At altitudes reaching up to 1900 metres there are large forests which consist almost exclusively of camphor trees. From their leaves and fruits camphor oil is extracted by distillation over heat, whereafter it is subjected to a very complicated treatment, a refinement carried out in government factories. The camphor trees are not cultivated, only exploited; but measures are beng taken for a rational renewal of these trees by setting apart the most valuable forests. A number of complicated products are manufactured from the extract. The chemistry of camphor has been worked out in detail, but is kept secret and is one of the governmental monopolies of Japan.

We travelled into the mountains along a narrow-gauge railroad in small cars, so-called pushcarts. The small cars are pushed by Malayans and the travellers are quickly transported at a speed of 15-20 kph into the mountain heights.

We stopped at night in a reservation near the railway line, which the aboriginal tribes who live on this reservation are forbidden to cross. The following morning we went to visit the Malayans. They live in huts raised on piles for protection against wild animals and insects. Such huts have peculiar wooden eaves. This reminded me of the pole dwellings of Asturias [Spain]; the latter are more solid and placed on stones but have similar over¬hangs of stone or wood. Buildings in western Georgia are also essentially similar.

Remarkable braided work is made by the Malayans: baskets, panels and screens. The inhabitants live mainly on wild fruits, wild berries and hunting. Evidently, the ancient inhabitants of southern tropical Asia, Paleo-Asia, were similar. They are distinctly different from the Japanese and reminded me of some of the Indians of North and South America.

1929

Taiwan is, of course, a Chinese island. Of the 4 million inhabitants, 90% are Chinese. Taiwan was united with Japan only 50 years ago. The island retains the agricultural crops of China in an almost untouched form and therefore the visit to this island was of especially great interest to me.

The island extends about 80 km in a north to south direction. Its southern portion is situated around the Tropic of Cancer and is thus within the tropical zone. The mountainous nature of the island causes a great variety of climates and vegetation. Here it is as if a subtropical flora meets and unites with a northern one in the mountain areas.

From the literature, I knew of the works by one of the foremost specialists on citrus fruits, Dr Tanaka, now professor at the University of Taiwan. While looking for a colleague, to my surprise, I encountered a person who spoke English fluently since he had spent several years in the USA among friends of my friends there. Amicable relations quickly developed. The very same day an itinerary was worked out for all of the island of Taiwan, including the interior as well the southern part.