In contrast with a bridge spanning a river between Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township (三地門) and Majia Township (瑪家) — a tourist attraction that has recently been rebuilt to accommodate the passage of local residents — Koushe Township’s (口社) effort to renovate its unusable suspension bridge has not merited such a windfall in funds.
All township residents more than 40 years old used to walk across the bridge to get to school, Koushe Development Association director Pan Ching-yuan (潘清源) said.
The bridge — crossing the Sagaran River (莎卡蘭溪) — was built during the Japanese colonial era, and provided the only connection the township then had to the outside world, Pan said.
Since its collapse and subsequent reconstruction in 1995, extensive damage to the bridge caused by a succession of typhoons have caused it to fall into such a state of disrepair that it can no longer be used, Pan said.
According to Koushe resident Hsu Jen-hsien (徐仁賢), the township’s original plan to offer an eco-tour along the Sagaran River, which mandated the adoption of conservation and management policies for the river, was rendered infeasible because of typhoon damage.
While the policies saw initial success, Typhoon Haitang in 2005, Typhoon Morakot in 2008 and Typhoon Fanapi in 2010 caused severe damage to the local environment, Hsu said.
The success of Sandimen Township’s glass bridge is unlikely to be replicated by Koushe Township’s plan for its bridge due to insufficient funds, Hsu said.
The development association was allocated NT$1.8 million (US$53,536) in grants from the Sandimen Township Office and the Construction and Planning Agency to renovate the area close to the bridge in a bid to attract tourists, Hsu said.
When completed, the area around the bridge would become a self-sustaining ecosystem including Aztec marigold flowers surrounding a replica of a traditional slate house, Hsu said.
The project aims to allow tourists and village residents to explore the area and discover new things or remember the past, Hsu said, adding that the project should be completed some time before the Lunar New Year holiday.
The bridge would be kept in its original state to show the power of nature and allow visitors to fully appreciate the environment, Pan said, adding that the project hopes to imbue children in the village — as well as tourists — with the sense of respect one should have toward nature.
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