The Tourism Administration yesterday announced the launch of the “Taiwan Camino” project, unveiling four themed walking routes through four islands in Lienchiang County (Matsu) to offer religious, wartime history, nature and ecology, and geological tours in a bid to promote sustainable tourism.
The project follows the popularity in recent years of the Camino de Santiago trails spanning Spain, Portugal and France, and Japan’s Kumano Kodo, a region home to a network of ancient pilgrimage routes, looking to offer a “Taiwan version,” Matsu National Scenic Area Headquarters Director Hung Chi-kuang (洪志光) said.
The administration, under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, held a media conference yesterday to promote the initiative, which it said would echo the spirit of Matsu pilgrimages, to “pay respect to the ocean.”
Photo: CNA
Matsu is the only county in Taiwan with no traffic lights, while each island has networks of well-developed pilgrimage routes, distinctive Fujianese architecture, billion-year-old granite coastlines and colorful flower blooms in each season, Hung said.
The four routes across the islands of Nangan (南竿), Juguang (莒光), Beigan (北竿) and Dongyin (東引) would offer a mix of rich culture and awe-inspiring natural landscapes to retrace Matsu’s history on foot, listen to the stories of its ancient buildings, and experience the islands’ unique ecological charm, he added.
The routes are: the Nangan Religious Pilgrimage Tour, the Juguang Wartime Culture Tour, the Beigan Nature and Ecology Tour, and the Dongyin Geological Landscape Tour, he said.
The administration said it would also organize a stamp-collecting activity, which travelers can trade in for rewards and gifts.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
Passengers on Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) will be required to use headphones and make phone calls in gangways under new “quiet travel” rules starting Sept. 22. THSR Chairman Shih Che (史哲) told media that THSR will run a three-month promotional campaign to ensure widespread adoption of the new rules. Those repeatedly ignoring the guidance face the potential termination of their transport contract, which can result in them getting escorted off the train, according to THSR. Shih shared his hope to cultivate an environment conducive to rest and reading for the train’s passengers, stating that these changes aim to “promote self-discipline” among passengers
RSS