During a rally in Miaoli County yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) reintroduced a policy that she had presented ahead of the 2012 presidential election. Her idea is to make a section of Provincial Highway No. 3 — which runs through predominantly Hakka communities in Taoyuan and Hsinchu and Miaoli counties — a Taiwanese version of the Romantic Road in Germany.
Tsai said that during her trips around Taiwan, she found that rich history, culture and art are to be found along the section of the highway in the three regions, which are also home to many prominent artists and writers. She said it reminds her of the Romantic Road in southern Germany, which also connects many cultural and historic heritage sites, and therefore it would be a good idea to create Taiwan’s own Romantic Road in the area to promote the economy.
Tsai’s idea is certainly an interesting one, and could significantly benefit the region if it succeeds. However, if the idea is to become a reality, there is much more to do than just focusing on the economic aspects.
First, what makes the Romantic Road in Germany a successful attraction is the heritage that the Germans keep, which might eventually become an obstacle to large-scale economic development.
The Romantic Road in Germany is attractive, because the natural landscape and the towns along the route have almost perfectly maintained the appearance of how they were centuries ago. There are many walled cities with original buildings dating back hundreds of years.
In the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the ancient occupation of “nightwatcher” has been kept alive for centuries, passed down from generation to generation. However, while the nightwatcher’s duty to patrol the town during the night to keep it safe is no longer needed, the nightwatcher now serves as a tour guide who leads visitors through the town’s streets and alleys wearing the role’s traditional garb.
In the town of Nordlingen, an old man still lives in the 90m-tall tower of a church at the center of the town, as his predecessors did for hundreds of years. His job is to look out during the night to see if there are any invaders approaching. If nothing goes wrong, he sings in the local German dialect that “everything is well.”
Certainly his service is no longer required, but he still loyally does his job, day in and day out, and the special tradition has become one of the top attractions on the Romantic Road.
Although an overwhelming number of visitors might try to visit the area, residents of these historical towns are not eager to just rake in the money. They keep their ancient houses in the original state, and their hotels and restaurants in these ancient buildings only have limited capacity.
However, if you travel along Provincial Highway No. 3, you might find many interesting small Hakka villages, but the buildings you would see are mostly modern buildings that are not so well maintained — perhaps you might also see houses built with tin sheets.
Once in a while, you see old brick houses, but the number is declining. You might also enjoy the rural landscape of rice paddies, but sadly, when you drive past again, the rice paddies might have been replaced with newly built European-style bed-and-breakfast establishments, or even larger boutique hotels, and the roads would soon be filled with tour buses and tourists posing in farms for pictures.
Surely, Taiwan’s version of the Romantic Road is a good idea, but it would be worrisome to put more focus on “economy” than “heritage.”
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