Although still a young man at age 28, Yen has seen considerable change in "the land of a thousand lakes" since he first started collecting aquatic plants at the age of 12. "I strongly doubt that you'll be able to find any more Taiwan brandy bottle at all in this area after another five or ten years."
從十二歲到二十八歲，顏聖紘目睹了千湖鄉的轉變；「希望五年、十年後，還可以看到萍蓬草在這裡欣欣向榮」，望著黃花點綴的湖面，顏聖紘說出心裡的憂慮。