[Characters of Baiyue] Baiyue’s eternal teacher, Lin Qiwen

[Characters of Baiyue] Baiyue’s eternal teacher, Lin Qiwen

Text: Snow Sheep/Photos: Provided by Baiyue

The world of outdoor product stores in Taiwan has completely different styles in the north and south. Different from the first-level battlefield on Zhongshan North Road in Taipei where various companies compete side by side, far away on the other side of the island, they exist like oases, scattered in the vast urban area of ​​Kaohsiung.

"Baiyue" is a well-known outdoor products store in Kaohsiung with more than 35 years of experience. Since its establishment in 1982 on Zhongshan 2nd Road, a small store has grown to become one of the largest outdoor products stores in Kaohsiung. In recent years, it has become the largest outdoor products store in Kaohsiung. Taipei Neihu Extension also manufactures many high-CP value equipment, aiming to be on par with REI in the United States.

(Baiyue Outdoor Equipment has ceased operations in July 2023)

If you like to visit Kaohsiung Baiyue, you must have heard the staff in the store shout "Hello, teacher!" to a man wearing classic gold-rimmed glasses with bright eyes and a lean figure. . I think this is probably the most unique feature of Baiyue among all outdoor products stores in Taiwan.

At first, I thought he was a university professor who loves outdoor activities and likes to visit Baiyue in his spare time. It wasn’t until I chatted with the store manager that I suddenly discovered that he was the founder of Baiyue: Mr. Lin Qiwen. As for why everyone calls him teacher? It turns out that it is because he has been the instructor of the Mountain Club of Sun Yat-sen University for more than 20 years. Not only many students will come to work in Baiyue after graduation, but also the product and business managers of Baiyue today, Lin Jiaxian and Huang Yanren, were brought out by him. , no wonder they are still used to calling him teacher.

"Work that stems from passion can go a long way and create more possibilities." I see this spirit in Lin Qiwen. When he was young, he loved mountain climbing and served as a mountain guide for the National Salvation Corps. He climbed all the hundreds of mountains in Taiwan within two years. In that year, he founded the most important career in his life with the word "Hundred Mountains". Climb this never-ending mountain. Later, his busy career did not extinguish his passion for the outdoors. In addition to continuing to serve as a mountain and wilderness instructor to nurture underachievers, he encouraged employees to engage in outdoor sports. He also climbed three of the world's seven highest peaks, Denali and Aconga. Guashan and Mount Gilimanjaro, and even participated in the climbing team of Mount Everest in Taiwan. To this day, he still leads the team of Baiyue Mountain. He is a mountaineer with a solid foundation.

In Lin Qiwen's life, "doing good" is an important spiritual value, and the small five-color flag on his desk also reveals his faith. This spirit is not only about donating to charity groups, but also extends to care and support for Taiwan’s outdoor circle, hoping to make the entire environment better. In addition to sparing no effort to support Taiwan's outstanding mountaineers, such as Lu Zhonghan, the first Taiwanese climber to complete three 8,000-meter peaks without oxygen, he organized various lectures, camping and mountain activities to promote outdoor safety concepts and sustainable mountains. Bringing culture into the hearts of more people is an important goal that he and his colleagues at Baiyue have been striving for.

"If you have two bowls of rice, one bowl for each person will not starve to death; if you only have one bowl, then boil it into porridge so that it can be distributed to more people." I like what Teacher Lin Qiwen said very much Through these words, he gained friends and found a career in the mountains. Now he upholds the spirit of service, shares the joy of life, and is committed to helping more people and entering the mountains and wilderness of Taiwan that are worthy of our love. .

Snow Sheep's Essays, Sharing Vision