Jincheng Township (金城) has been selected as one of Taiwan’s 30 classic towns for this year, the Kinmen County Government said on Monday.
Jincheng is the county’s second town to receive the designation after Lieyu Township (烈嶼) was selected in a Tourism Bureau poll last year, Jincheng Mayor Lee Cheng-chih (李誠智) said.
The designation is part of the bureau’s “Small Town Ramble 2.0” campaign, which highlights the cultural and lifestyle characteristics of 20 mountainous communities and 10 small towns.
Jincheng is home to numerous historic military sites and traditional villages, but it also has an abundance of natural resources, Lee said, adding that it was picked largely due to its traditional and innovative cultural characteristics.
For example, wildlife conservation elements were last year introduced for the first time into an annual religious festival celebrating the traditional Chinese folk deity Cheng Huang (城隍), the city god, he said.
An activity to raise public awareness for efforts to conserve the Eurasian otter was highlighted during the festival to increase people’s understanding of the crisis facing the species, he added.
Lee also touted the wide diversity of tourism resources and attractions in Jincheng, such as a mangrove forest around the Wujiang River (浯江溪) estuary, picturesque sunsets and white sand beaches.
The central government is to grant the selected 30 communities at least NT$1 million (US$33,398) in subsidies to promote tourism and improve tourism infrastructure, Lee said, adding that he plans to use the funds to upgrade facilities at tourist sites.
This year marks the 340th anniversary of the Cheng Huang Festival — the largest religious activity in Kinmen — and Jincheng Township Office plans to work with the Wudao City God Temple to seek funding from the central and county governments to expand the event.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and