In an effort to prevent tourists from damaging the iconic “Queen’s Head” rock formation at Yeliou Geopark on Taiwan’s northern coast, a fiberglass look-alike will stand at the park’s main entrance from next week.
The unveiling of the artificial Queen’s Head will be held to coincide with the estimated arrival of the park’s 1 millionth visitor, a park manager said on Friday.
“As of Thursday, 980,000 people had visited the park and it is estimated that the total number of visitors will hit 1 million by Monday or Tuesday,” said Yang Ching-chien (楊景謙), the park’s general manager.
Yeliou Geopark was established in 2006 as a state-owned, privately run facility to protect the ecology in the area.
Long before that, however, Yeliou cape was a popular spot for tourists, drawn by the distinctive rock formations, a number of which have been named based on their shapes. The best known is the Queen’s Head, which has become a symbol of Wanli Township (萬里), where the park is located.
The iconic formation is gradually eroding in the wind, with the circumference of its “neck” now 142cm and shrinking by 5cm a year.
To prevent damage caused by tourists taking photographs standing next to the Queen’s Head, visitors are now barred from approaching it and can only take pictures from a distance. Park rangers guard the formation day and night.
But arguments frequently erupt among visitors when some cut the long line to take photographs.
To prevent such disruptions, the park management had a fiberglass copy made at a cost of NT$1 million (US$31,000).
“We hope the look-alike will attract visitors’ attention and help minimize the potential for human damage to the genuine Queen’s Head rock formation,” Yang said.
Yeliou cape juts about 1.7km out from the coast and was formed by geological forces pushing Datun Mountain up from the ocean.
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