It is currently just a pale shadow of the attraction that once drew crowds of hundreds each day, but things are looking up for the “Takeshi Kaneshiro tree” to return to its former glory.
The Bischofia javanica standing amid picturesque rice fields in Taitung, arguably the nation’s best known tree, fell victim to Typhoon Matmo when the storm swept over the nation early on Wednesday, uprooting it and leaving it lying beside the road.
By Thursday, it had been restored to an upright position, even though some media reports described it as looking like “a bald man on crutches.”
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The 7m tree shot to national fame in the summer of last year when Taiwanese-Japanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro (金城武) was featured sipping tea in its shade for a prominent EVA Airways television commercial.
Since then, the tree and its picturesque backdrop of rice paddies and mountains have become a popular tourist draw despite the remote location.
Taitung’s Chihshang Township (池上) Mayor Lin Wen-tang (林文堂) called the tree “an ambassador of tourism” and credited it with bringing 2,000 visitors a day on average to the town.
Photo: Wang Hsiu-ting, Taipei Times
The tree received special attention immediately after news broke that it had fallen into a neighboring field.
Local officials and EVA Airways executives vowed not only to save the tree, but also to make sure it grew stronger. Work got under way as soon as the storm blew past.
On Thursday morning, horticulturists contracted by local authorities trimmed the tree’s branches and wrapped its trunk to preserve its internal moisture. They also removed excess roots and dressed where the wood had been sawed to avoid infection.
An excavator carefully removed gravel from around the roots and replaced it with nutrient-rich soil, before a crane hoisted the tree upright, to the joy of applauding spectators.
Once the tree was righted, workers applied wooden supports to the trunk and compacted the soil around it.
The manager of a local nursery called in to help with the operation, who identified himself only by his surname, Yang (楊), said the work would give the tree a more solid footing compared with before, when it was like a “potted plant.”
If it shows signs of growth within two months “it will show that the Takeshi Kaneshiro tree is alive,” Yang said.
“If it is alive, it will grow branches, twigs and leaves like before,” Yang added.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS