Three veteran stonemasons, with an average age of 87, on Saturday won this year’s Best Trail Builder/Repairer Award from the Taiwan Thousand Miles Trail Association for their contribution to the nation’s trails using culturally and historically unique skills.
The award was presented to 95-year-old Hsieh Chien-hsiang (謝見祥) from Hsinchu; 87-year-old Kelele, a Rukai resident of Pingtung County’s Labuwan Village; and 78-year-old Hsu Jen-hsiung (許仁雄) from Penghu County.
Hsieh said he learned stonemasonry as a child.
The most difficult part of the job is fixing stone irrigation canals damaged by typhoons so that the water will not leak out, he said.
In the 90 years