To attract domestic tourists, the Taichung Cultural Affairs Bureau is promoting 26 sights around the city that have an “artistic flair.”
The sights include walking trails, cycling trails, railway lines and coastal spots that have public art installations, the bureau said.
The sights would be a welcome diversion for visitors, who have recently faced large crowds when traveling elsewhere in the country, it said, adding that it is promoting four different tours, each outlined on a map that it has published.
Photo courtesy of the Taichung City Government Cultural Affairs Bureau
The bureau would hold eight public events to promote the tours, it said.
Taichung is known as the “cultural city,” as it has been promoting public art for more than 20 years, bureau Director Chang Ta-chun (張大春) said.
Throughout the city there are more than 500 public art installations, many of them in parks or on school grounds, he added.
The tours would enable the public to become more familiar with the city’s public art, and introduce people to some of the more outstanding small businesses, he said.
For example, tea shop Pah Ji Hue (百二歲茶食事), the Farmer’s Story House (農村故事館), patisserie Pao Chuan (宝泉百年餅舖) and the Taichung Fishermen’s Association are places where visitors can buy quality local products, he said.
One of the tours would pass through Situn District (西屯), which has the city’s highest concentration of public art, he said. The tour would start at the National Taichung Theater, pass through Charlotte Park, the New City Hall Park and by the Taichung City Council, with stops for people to enjoy the public art at each location, he said.
Another one is a bicycle tour that takes off from the Taichung City Zhongshan Land Office in West District (西區), where participants can examine the fixtures on the building’s exterior, before moving on to the Taichung Literature Museum to look at its historical architecture, and then on to the Taichung Fifth Market and nearby school campuses, he said.
One tour begins at the Taichung Railway Station before participants are whisked away by a charter bus to Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港) and the Gaomei Wetlands (高美濕地) to take in art fixtures inspired by coastline vistas, he said.
Registration for the tours began on Monday and runs through Friday next week. The bike and coastal tours cost NT$100. The walking tour in the city center is free.
More information can be found on the bureau’s Web site (culture.taichung.gov.tw), on the city’s Web site (publicart.taichung.gov.tw), or by telephone at (04) 2323-5656 extension 9, or 0905-166-106.
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