Heping Island Park (和平島公園), which has been closed for more than six years, is to reopen in July, Tourism Bureau officials said yesterday, presenting a tourism campaign to name 10 unique rock formations in the park.
The park, which is close to Keelung Harbor, was closed to visitors after it was deemed unsafe due to falling rocks, but the North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area Administration has reported that safety precautions taken since it took over management of the island from the Keelung City Government in 2016 would allow the park to reopen.
“We have made cliff areas safer and designed routes that avoid dangerous areas,” administration official Lee Ssu-hsien (李思賢) said.
The park, like Yehliu (野柳) and its singular rock formations, is known for its spectacular terrain created by marine erosion, including wave-cut beaches and sea cliffs.
Seasonal winds from the northeast have also weathered the rocks, which are now the centerpiece of a promotional campaign that asks the public to help name 10 of the park’s formations.
Two possible names have been selected for each of the formations, based on animals the rock’s shape resembles, such as a crocodile, rhino or boar.
Members of the public are asked to vote for their favorite rock names online at www.hpipark.org.
The voting has already started and is to continue until the end of the month, Lee said, adding that before July, people can visit parts of the island for NT$20 during trial operations.
The names of those who vote will be placed in a lottery, with the winners to receive cruise liner tickets or one of 20 passes to visit the park for free for a year, Lee said.
Along with the UK’s South Downs and the US’ Bryce Canyon, Heping Island Park was in 2014 chosen by US-based Chinese-language SinoVision television network as one of the world’s most stunning places to watch the sunrise.
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