That got me thinking. The stretch between Guguan and Deji Reservior, about 60 kilometres is a spectacular sretch of road. If they are no longer going to allow cars along it, what about opening it just for hikers and mountain bikers? What a fanatastic thing for Taiwan tourism and of courseus resident expats. Imagine a stretch of road or path that long purely for recreation. There are already pavilions and road stops and such built along the route. These could easily be turned into camping sites.
If the road is not repaired for cars, I imagine that people will start to use the highway for hiking even if the government doesn’t act. Once the highway crews leave there will be no one to barr people from walking. I doubt the government would keep police there 24/7 to keep out hikers.
The route could be something like the 12 km of railway track outside Sanyi. This track was abandoned when a lower route was built. People soon realized that 12km of unused track formed a perfect path for strolling through the countryside.
So my proposal is that we write to the tourism board and and the forestry bureau and suggest that they turn the old highway into an alpine hiking and biking trail.
Interesting idea. Could be a spectacular but easily accessible and safe trail.
A couple of thoughts which you’ve no doubt thought of already:
I believe there had already been a lot of reconstruction work completed before the recent rains damaged the road again. If there is a chance that the road can be saved, would that be better (for local residents, for the environment or for recreation opportunities)?
The reason that has been given for not opening the road until now is that the ground was destablized after the big earthquke and that it is not yet stable. If the route is not safe enough to open a public road, will it be safe enough for a hiking path?
Today’s Liberty Times was talking about developing the area for eco-tourism. I think the person to write a letter to would be Zhang Jingshen, the Vice-Commissioner of the CEPD. He is responsible for making policy recommendations in the wake of 7-2 and he is advocating closing the road and developing eco-tourism to replace high-altitude agriculure.
I also read yesterday that the Danda Logging Road in Nantou is going to be closed as well. They will not rebuild the Sunhai bridge that gives access to some of Taiwan’s largest stands of virgin forest. Local aborigines are holding out for a suspension bridge that would give them access for hunting but keep jeeps out.
So lots of good news on this front.
Anyone interested in visiting the illegal road construction in Wulai this weekend?
Feiren that’s fantastic news. Do you have any contact info for Zhang Jingshen?
Joe, I have thought about the questions you’ve asked. The problem of unstable land is no worse than say other area in Taiwan or even in here in British Columbia where I’m at for the summer. Lots of trails are subject to landslides and washouts in certain areas. New subsections of the trail are just built around or sometimes right across the landslide. A landslide isn’t much of a problem for a hiker or biker. Nor are washed out bridges. For our purposes replacement bridges built out of logs would suffice.
I imagine that if this plan went through the forestry department would designate the route as a national park or some such thing and charge admission as they do elsewhere. This would help pay for maintenance. Since the highway borders Sheiba National Park it could just be incorporated into that.
A trail and mountain biking route like this would be the start of putting Taiwan on the map as an eco-tourism destination. If I remember right, the 2002 Report on Tourism said there was NT5 billion slated for construction of a national network of trails. The one in Hsinchu, who name I forget, (Feiren was it you who hiked it) was the prototype. Four more are in the works now. these are long trails. the one in Pingdong is around 4okm and will go right across the county into Taidung.
If as Feiren says, high altitude agriculture is stopped then the whole area around Lishan could become open to camping and hiking. The whole journey from Taian to Guguan across to Taroko Gorge and down from Lishan to Wuling Farm and Taipingshan could be just one outdoor playground.
Chang Jing-sen (which is how he writes his name), who is the Vice Chairman of the CEPD, can be contacted by e-mail at jszhang@cepd.gov.tw, or by fax at 23700357.
I agree it’s a splendid idea, and I’m glad to pitch in my support for it.
South of Shuili on the road to Yushan. There are four major logging roads that go deep into the high country:
Danda
Renlun
[?] forgot the name of this one
Junda
All have several branches and hiking trails. You definitely need a 4-wheel drive with high clearance off the ground. Lots of landslides after about 30km or so. The roads are not very well-maintained. Danda probably is in the best shape. Junda is my favorite though–great views of Yushan looking south.
Whatever our opinions might be, there are a few facts to consider here:
Thousands of people live and farm along the highway, and they depend on a decent road to take their crops to market. They will NOT simply lay down and say “Oh, mei wenti! Losing our livelihood–no big deal!” They will not WALK to TaiChung or HuaLian with their produce. And they will not stop going to big cities to shop. If there’s no road for cars, they’ll use–what else? Motorcycles! This is Taiwan!
If the government wants to curtail high altitude agriculture–OK, one could argue for or against that. But those people (including aboriginal folks) are not going to suddenly stop farming when someone says “Stop! Your home is now a national park.” Vice Prez Lu’s remarks lately about relocating aboriginal people are a hint at the kind of policies this would probably entail.
It’s unlikely, as other posters say, the police could patrol a path 24/7. So what will Taiwanese tourists do when they want to cross the island? What else? Ride their scooters on the path! This is Taiwan!
No matter what the government’s policies or intentions, someone will do a cost analysis at some point. How many extra tourist dollars will they gain in ecotourism vs. how much will they lose in tourist and ag dollars by shutting the road? Although in the long run it might work, it is EXCEEDINGLY unlikely that closing that highway would pencil out in the next 5 or 10 years. And if the KMT is directing policy, the road will be reopened in a hearbeat.
Most foreigners would love to see the central island protected, but there are thorny realities here. I wouldn’t hold my breath until the government does something as visionary (and problematic) as the ecotourist path. The vast majority of Taiwanese would not support such a move, I’m quite sure.
No doubt this is a complicated issue but I think you underestimate just how sincerely many Taiwanese desire an opportunity to experience a bit of nature in their own country.
But it’s encouraging to read the reports in today’s papers that, after Premier Yu Shyi-kun led a group of officials (including the CEPD’s Chang Jing-sen) on an inspection tour of Danta Forestry Area in Nantou County yesterday, he issued instructions to convert a forest road into a mountain trail for ecotourism purposes. So the people who count have the right idea and are making some promising moves in the right direction.
[quote=“kameamea”]1) Thousands of people live and farm along the highway, and they depend on a decent road to take their crops to market. They will NOT simply lay down and say “Oh, mei wenti! Losing our livelihood–no big deal!” They will not WALK to Taichung (Taizhong) or Hualian with their produce. And they will not stop going to big cities to shop. If there’s no road for cars, they’ll use–what else? Motorcycles! This is Taiwan!..
No matter what the government’s policies or intentions, someone will do a cost analysis at some point. How many extra tourist dollars will they gain in ecotourism vs. how much will they lose in tourist and ag dollars by shutting the road? Although in the long run it might work, it is EXCEEDINGLY unlikely that closing that highway would pencil out in the next 5 or 10 years. And if the KMT is directing policy, the road will be reopened in a hearbeat.[/quote]Are you sure we are talking about the same place? We are referring to a part of the old central cross-island highway, the section from Guguan past Deji reservoir. It was closed to the public after the big earthquake and has remained so until now. I don’t know whether people who live in that area have been allowed to use the road, but it has been out-of-bounds to tourists for several years already.
So the question is not really whether to close the highway, but whether to fully reopen it as a public road, to let the route simply die out (apart from perhaps some access for locals?) or to redevelop it, as MM suggests, as a hiking/biking trail.
Joe is right, the section I am talking about has already been closed for 5 years and will remain closed for some time into the future even if they decide to reopen it. I am not talking about closing the entire highway, that would be ludicrous.
As for relocating people, and closing high altitude farming, I don’t expect that to happen quickly. However, unpleasant it may be for people to be relocated, unless they are willing to fund the repairs on roads to their communities the govenment may have no choice. It is simply too costly. Think of the cost per person to keep a small village of a hundred or so people open. It is all out of bounds to their tax base and contribution to the economy. Not to mention the fact that runoff from farming leads to clogged rivers below, and polluted rivers when you add in pesticide runoff. You are talking about a very small groups of people causing everyone else a lot of time, money, healthy risks.
As for people riding their scooters, one, if the road is converted into a hiking trail this will be pretty difficult. Two, if the path is as wide as a highway, a few scooters wouldn’t really bother anyone.
As I mentioned above the government has slated NT5 billion or so for trail development. Go to any forest reserve around the country. There are new fancy tourist centres, and lovely, well-built and maintained trails. They are serious about this.
The DPP is also serious about improving the living environment in this country. One, for idealogical reasons but also for purely practical ones. As the country shifts from manufacturing to high value and info techology and service industries the living environment has to improve to attract and keep talent. Taiwan needs engineers, scientists, designers, etc. So do many other countries. They need to make this place better so that people will choose to stay or relocate.
It’s a different country now compared to five years ago when the section of highway from Guguan to Deji was first closed.
I guess a decision was made on August 5th to put off reconstruction indefinately. Good news. Whether they will open it to hiking and biking is unknown. Still, I dont think they are going to have patrols on the road 24-7. Wonder what kind of shape it’s in?
Absolutely the right decision. Thank God they didn’t bow to the pressure from local gangster politicians who wanted to get their hands on all those juicy roadwork contracts.
The next thing they need to do is clear all those fruit farmers off the land and let nature reclaim the vast areas that they’ve so hideously despoiled.
[quote=“Omniloquacious”]Absolutely the right decision. Thank God they didn’t bow to the pressure from local gangster politicians who wanted to get their hands on all those juicy roadwork contracts.
The next thing they need to do is clear all those fruit farmers off the land and let nature reclaim the vast areas that they’ve so hideously despoiled.[/quote]
Looks like you’re going to have your wish about the fruit farming. The four government farms (Wuling, Fushoushan, Lishan and Hehuanshan) are to be let go fallow in the next three years if this bill passes the legistlative. Also no new money will go the the Cross Central Highway.
I suppose it will eventually prove too much trouble for farmers to repair the road on their own and they will give up. Plus I read somewhere that the forestry department plans to seal off a tunnel.
The intention is absolutely right, but I fear there isn’t a hope in hell of the government being able to win support for this bill from the pan-blue rabble that still controls the Lifayuan.
It’ll be killed stone dead until the people elect a majority of legislators who care about doing what’s best for Taiwan rather than just pursuing personal gain or thwarting whatever the government tries to achieve regardless of its merit.
