The Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Administration is proposing to build a second ropeway connecting Hsiangshan (向山) and Checheng (車埕) to increase tourism in scenic spots surrounding the Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) area.
The first ropeway connects the China Youth Corps Center at the lake and the Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village (九族文化村). Constructed under a build-own-operate model, the 1.9km ropeway has carried approximately 1.6 million passengers since its launch in December last year. It has also reduced travel time between the lake and the Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village from 25 minutes to 10 minutes.
Checheng is a little village on the west side of the lake and the terminal station of the Jiji tourist railway (集集支線). In the early days, the village was also known for its logging industry.
The town now draws thousands of visitors every year as the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Administration has remodeled some of the logging facilities and turned them into tourist attractions.
Tseng Kuo-chi (曾國基), director of the administration, said visitors to the nation’s largest lake were expected to exceed 6 million this year following the completion of National Freeway No. 6 last year, as well as an increase in Chinese tourists.
He said the second ropeway would connect Checheng to the lake. The public transportation system is expected to draw more tourists to the area.
Checheng receives about 600,000 visitors annually, Tseng said. The number of visitors could potentially top 1 million per year once the second ropeway begins operation.
Based on the administration’s plan, the second ropeway will be about 4.7km long and be equipped with 103 cable cars.
Visitors can arrive at Checheng via the Jiji tourist railway and tour the town before boarding the ropeway.
Tseng said the second ropeway was scheduled to be in service by 2016, with construction costs estimated to exceed NT$2 billion (US$61.83 million).
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