The Maokong cable car system, a municipal project aimed at developing tourist and recreational potential in the Muzha (
The cable car, which travels between Maokong (貓空), a popular destination for tea-tasting, and Taipei Municipal Zoo, is also designed to ease traffic over the mountain and shorten traveling time to Maokong to about 13 minutes.
According to Lee Shu-chuan (
"The completion date keeps being delayed because the nine-month test run period can't be shortened," Lee said yesterday during the launch ceremony of the test run period at the cable car's Taipei Zoo Station.
The cable car system was built and installed by POMA, a French company, and has five sections, six intermediate terminals, 145 cabins and two cable loops. The line is 4km with a capacity of 8 passen-gers per cabin, transporting 2400 passengers per hour at 6m per second. A one-way ticket will cost NT$50 (US$ 1.50), Lee said.
Attending the launch ceremony, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"But I hope that the operation of the cable car will help to develop the recreational industry and bring prosperity to the southern area of the city," Ma said.
The New Construction Department planned to finish the project before Ma finished his eight-year term by the end of this month to add one more construction to his municipal achievements, but the French company insisted that the nine-month test run period could not be shortened.
Although the cable car passes through attractions including the zoo, Maokong and Chih-nan Temple (
Ma yesterday also led the press to visit several other major municipal constructions, including Taipei Arena, Taipei Songshan Airport Underpass, Neihu Technology Park, and Nankang Software Park.
During his "graduation tour" before leaving the city government, Ma recounted the city government's successes in building the city-wide wireless system, expanding MRT lines, and renovating sidewalk pavements, and said he expected Taipei Mayor-elect Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) to continue projects including the renovation of traditional markets.
After finishing his term as Taipei mayor, Ma plans to focus on his duty as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman.
Ma pledged to continue the reform efforts in the KMT.
"As for the mayoral special allowance scandal, whether or not it will influence my bid in the 2008 presidential election is not that important to me ... What matters most is to let people know that I am a person with consistency," he said.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not