The Guannan Trail in the Jhaomen Recreation Agriculture District in Hsinchu County’s Sinpu Township (新埔) has been repaired using ecological engineering methods.
The district is famous for Hakka cuisine, snacks made of indigenous aiyu (愛玉) jelly and the Guannan Trail, a hiking trail around Jiuqiong Lake (九芎湖) that has become popular since it was constructed more than 20 years ago.
However, typhoons and heavy rains have washed away parts of the trail over the past few years, Jioucyong Lake Cultural Development Association chairman Liu Hua-chu (劉華柱) said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Agriculture
The trail was rebuilt as part of the Ministry of Agriculture’s Rural Rejuvenation Engineering Program to be integrated into the natural landscape and to ensure hikers’ safety, Liu said.
The Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation’s Taipei branch yesterday said that the trail repair efforts were subsidized by the program, which aims to assist rural communities in reviving local economies while preserving natural resources and cultural heritage.
As part of the program, low-carbon designs and eco-friendly measures were adopted in line with the agricultural sector’s net zero goal by 2040, it said.
Taipei branch Director-General Tsai Chin-lung (蔡金龍) said that about 319m of the trail was repaired using ecological engineering methods and no cement was applied.
The trail was widened to increase walkability, while stairs, slope protection and draining systems were reconstructed with dry masonry to reduce the impact of washout or erosion by heavy rainfall, Tsai said.
The retaining wall along the repaired segment of the trail was constructed using large cobbles, with voids and cracks left in between for insects, small animals or climbing plants to move through, Taipei branch associate engineer Cho Ping-yi (卓秉毅) said.
The new pavement was made of on-site soil mixed with gravel to boost the trail’s permeability, Cho said.
That would improve the soil’s water retention and better nourish nearby vegetation, as rainwater can flow into the soil underneath the trail, he added.
“Ecological engineering methods have become prioritized over the past few years due to heightened awareness of environmental protection,” he said.
To ensure minimal impact to local ecosystems, the Taipei branch also invited local residents and experts from the Society of Wilderness to help with trail reconstruction designs, he said.
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