New paths in Taoyuan County’s Siao Wulai District (小烏來) are scheduled to be opened this month aimed at making visiting popular tourist attractions in the area easier, the Siao Wulai Scenic Area Administration Office said.
The walkways offer improved access to Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) former residence in Jiaobanshan (角板山), Lalashan’s (拉拉山) cherry blossoms and the Baling Stargazing Plaza, where visitors can look at the stars or watch the sun come up.
Office director Yeh Tsung-fu (葉宗賦), said the walkways were constructed to address the concerns of visitors over the New Year holidays who complained that there was not a suitable area for watching the sunrise.
Photo: CNA
Aside from remodeling the Baling Village (巴陵) parking lot in Fusing Township (復興) into the Baling Stargazing Plaza, the office also plans to open a 70m-long rope bridge for visitors at the end of this month.
The bridge passes over Daligan River (大利敢溪) and would present the visitors with a view of the Hsiao Wulai waterfalls, Yeh said.
The area has seen extensive additions since 2011, when the office completed its sky bridge project and the subsequent construction of the Huanyu Gazing Platform, which offers a 360-degree unobstructed view of the area, Yeh said.
The Riverside Green Path and the Shuichun Ancient Trail incorporate an area reserved for children and tourists to bathe in the river during the summer, and tourists can also visit the area where Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale was filmed.
The area had more than 600,000 visitors last year, which the office attributed to food vendors and members of staff dressing in traditional Atayal clothing, Yeh said, adding that there were more than 326,000 visitors to the sky bridge.
The area saw the most tourists of all the forest scenic areas north of Greater Taichung and was only slightly less popular than major scenic areas such as Nantou County’s Sitou (溪頭) National Forest Recreation Area, Chiayi County’s Alishan National Scenic Area (阿里山) and Pingtung County’s Kenting National Park, Yeh said.
From this month to next month, trees in the Chienshan area (前山) — the region closest to the mountains on Taiwan’s west coast — will begin to blossom in Taoyuan County’s Dongyenshan (東眼山).
The tree blossom season is expected to peak after Lunar New Year’s Day with cherry blossoms in Kavilan Township (卡維蘭) on the east coast, Yeh said.
It took director Chong Keat Aun (張吉安) nearly a decade to complete Snow in Midsummer (五月雪), a deft chronicle of Malaysia’s May 13 incident told through one woman’s search for her brother and father. Although only his second feature, it led the field at yesterday’s Golden Horse Awards with nine nominations. Chong said it had been a struggle to get people to share their memories of the intercommunal violence following the 1969 national election, known among the country’s ethnic Chinese community as “513.” “My father, for example, would shut the conversation down if my mother or grandma even mentioned the topic,” Chong said
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of
RSS