Chiayi County’s Alishan Forest Railway yesterday became the first site in Taiwan to be listed as a “significant cultural landscape” under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法).
The railway, which is under the jurisdiction of the Forestry Bureau’s Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office, runs through the county and Chiayi City.
In March last year, National Taipei University of the Arts Graduate Institute of Architecture and Cultural Heritage director Huang Shih-chuan (黃士娟) fought for the reclassification of the railway, which was already a registered “cultural landscape,” on the basis of its significance to the historical development of forestry and railways in Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of the Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office
The proposal was approved by the Ministry of Culture after an evaluation of the railway’s cultural value, an on-site survey, a public hearing and other procedures.
Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) yesterday made the official announcement and presented a certificate to bureau, county and city officials at the railway’s Jhuci Station, which is a registered monument.
The railway is a rare case in which a registered cultural landscape crosses city and county lines, she said.
The new classification would boost the nation’s efforts to obtain world heritage status for the site, she added.
A section of the railway spanning 66.6km from Chiayi Station to Erwanping Station was completed in December 1912, office Director Huang Miao-hsiu (黃妙修) said.
To accommodate the development of forestry in the area, the route was later extended to Alishan Station and branch lines were added, she said, adding that the railway now spans 71.4km.
The Alishan Forest Railway is a world-renowned mountain railway that features zigzags, U-turns, spirals and Shay locomotives, she said.
Within the site, eight monuments and 42 historic buildings have been designated, she added.
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
RSS