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.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope