A disused train station in Taitung County’s Taimali Township (太麻里), which is hailed for its beautiful views, is expected to reopen next month following more than three months of renovations.
Duoliang Village’s (多良) Duoliang Station — which is solely a tourist site after rail services there were halted in 2006 due to low ridership numbers — was closed on March 31 for upgrades.
People are not permitted on the platform for safety reasons, but the Taitung County Government is upgrading its observation deck, giving it mock tracks and a sign.
Photo: Wang Hsiu-ting, Taipei Times
It has also installed an “I Love Duoliang” sign next to a new path connecting the station to the Sunrise Driftwood Workshop.
Taitung County Commissioner Rao Qing-ling (饒慶鈴), Taimali Mayor Wang Chung-jen (王重仁), Daren Township (達仁) Mayor Chen Hsin-hui (陳新輝), and Taitung County councilors Weng Li-yin (翁麗吟) and Chang Cheng-hui (章正輝) visited the station on Thursday last week.
Slight adjustments have been made to improve the flow of people, Rao said.
The entrance to the observation deck has been moved to the north, giving vendors and visitors more room, she said.
People would also be able to walk between the station and the workshop, and there are plans to connect the station to Calavig, a Paiwan community in Duoliang.
County officials are expected to inspect the site and recruit vendors later this month and the station is to reopen on July 1, she said.
The renovations are part of the first phase of a NT$38 million (US$1.2 million) project by the county government to promote development of the tourism industry in Aboriginal areas, officials said.
Work is also being done in Calavig and Daren’s Nantian Coast Water Park, they said.
Rao thanked the Taimali Township Office, Duoliang Village and the Duoliang Community Development Association, adding that she is confident the work would boost tourism in Duoliang.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
Chinese embassy staffers attempted to interrupt an award ceremony of an international tea competition in France when the organizer introduced Taiwan and displayed the Republic of China flag, a Taiwanese tea farmer said in an interview published today. Hsieh Chung-lin (謝忠霖), chief executive of Juxin Tea Factory from Taichung's Lishan (梨山) area, on Dec. 2 attended the Teas of the World International Contest held at the Peruvian embassy in Paris. Hsieh was awarded a special prize for his Huagang Snow Source Tea by the nonprofit Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA). During the ceremony, two Chinese embassy staffers in attendance
RSS