Yearbook
XXXIV
See the Beautiful
Mountains and
Rivers of Taipei
There is almost no other city in the world like Taipei that you can see mountains
stretching into the distance when you look down a road. The Xindian River, Jingmei River,
and Tamsui River surround the city while the Keelung River passes through. Such a unique
landscape is what nurtured Taipei’s special culture.
The Taipei City Government established the Tamsui River Revitalization Committee in
2005 to remediate, restore, and revitalize the Tamsui River. The committee has 3 divisions,
namely water quality and volume, landscape and recreation, and environmental education,
each responsible for implementing various plans. From 2011, the committee made every
effort to create a whole new appearance for the river under the vision of “New River,” “New
River Bank,” and “New City.”
In 2013, the Taipei City Government not only continued to carry out the policy to
remediate the mountain and river, to promote the river cruises, and to improve the riverside
parks and bikeways; but also focused on the repair, transformation, and revitalization of
cultural spaces along the Tamsui River, in which different artistic features and appearances
were created based on the historical context of each space. With a variety of marketing and
promotion channels, these beautiful mountains, rivers, and culture could be widely known
among citizens, and by this all citizens may enjoy the exceptionally rich natural resources
and cultural heritage of Taipei.
Comprehensive Flood Control Achieves Success
In river remediation, the Tiao-Mi Historic Trail at the end of Wuxing St. in Xinyi District
was a shortcut that farmers of Sanzhangli took to sell rice in the Nangang and Wenshan
Districts during early periods. The trial offers a great view of Taipei and is a perfect place to
see the Taipei 101 Building. However, the trail is steep and often has debris flows whenever
XXXV
More and more people are taking river cruises, which offer a view of Taipei’s natural
and cultural scenery, as the Taipei City Government has stepped up river remediation and
improvement of the riverside landscape, and continuously introduced new travel packages
via different marketing channels. The Taipei City Public Transportation Office launched the
“Taipei River Cruise Micro-trip” Project in 2013, adding bicycle tours, ecological walks or
historical and cultural tours to the travel package. Specialty river cruises with night boat
trips, DIY cotton candy, modeling balloons, and magic performances offer greater value for
the price and have received excellent feedback. The River Cruise Extracurricular Activity
Project was implemented for students, providing education on river environments through
entertainment.
Falling in Love with Riverside Parks, Water Activities are the Latest
Craze
Taipei is already highly developed, but still has a window for convenient access to nature
– riverside parks. The HEO planned 6 riverside parks with different themes to provide a
leisure environment for recreation and exercise. In 2013, the Dajia Riverside Park with the
theme “parent-child” and the Chengmei Left/Right Bank Riverside Park with the theme “love”
were completed. Also, large areas of flowers were planted in Dajia Riverside Park and
Guting Riverside Park. The public showed great approval towards the parks. The HEO also
constructed a landscape embankment on the right bank of Jingmei River (from Wanfang
Interchange to Wanfang Rd.); the top of the embankment has a mild slope and bikeway to
provide visitors with a diverse leisure space. The Taipei City Government has gradually torn
down the barrier between the city and rivers through the numerous measures above.
Remediation results of the Tiao-Mi Historic Trail
Dagou Stream ecological wetland
Dagou stream way and streamside trail
43
Come! Enjoy Water and Land Scenery on a River Cruise Micro-Trip
特別報導
torrential rain scours the river valley, threatening local residents. The Geotechnical
Engineering Office, Public Works Department, Taipei City Government remediated the trial
over a course of several years to eliminate this threat, and the Tiao-Mi Historic Trail today
has become an outdoor ecological classroom for hiking and riverside activities.
A similar successful example is the remediation of Dagou Stream in Dahu Village,
Neihu District. The Hydraulic Engineering Office, Public Works Department, Taipei City
Government (HEO) adopted the concept of comprehensive flood control and constructed
retention ponds at Dagou Stream, which had caused flooding in the past. The riverside trail
was laid using natural rocks in coordination with the Dagou Stream’s natural terrain, and
an ecological wetland was built which can be easily accessed by visitors. The area is now
home to many species, including Little Egret (Egretta garzetta ), Taiwan shovel-jaw carp
(Onychostoma barbatulum ), and Taiwan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea ). The HEO not
only relieved the area from long years of flooding, but also provided a new place for leisure
activities and environmental education in Taipei.
Yearbook
XXXVI
River cruises with English tour guide
Jingmei River (MRT bridge to Wanfang Rd.)
Wharf of river cruises – Dadaocheng
The length of bikeways in riverside parks has reached 112 km, circling around the
entirety of Taipei and becoming the number one choice for cyclists. There were originally
a few bikeways that shared roads in Shezi Island, and the HEO added a bikeway on the
Keelung River side of Shezi Island in 2013, so that cyclers would no longer need to fight
with cars for space on the roads. This significantly improved the quality and safety of
cycling along the riverside.
Aside from the transformation of riversides, the Department of Sports, Taipei City
Government is attracting public participation in water activities, offering a new option
for recreation during the holidays. Many interesting and fun activities were held in 2013,
Shezi Island Bikeway by the Keelung River
Bikeway between Taipei College of
Maritime Technology and Shezi Park
XXXVII
including the “2013 Taipei Dragon Boat Festival” and the “2013 Taipei Citizen Aqua
Activities Experiencing Program,” which attracted over 60,000 participants and gradually
recalled the public’s passion and motivation to engage in water activities.
Injecting New Life into Old Buildings, Traditional Art in Riverside
Cultural Spaces
In addition to the revitalization of riversides and water activities, the Taipei City
Government has spared no effort in the repair, transformation and revitalization of cultural
spaces along rivers. For example, Treasure Hill Artist Village, which is located on the river
bank in Gongguan, is the first “settlement” designated by Taipei in accordance with the
Cultural Heritage Preservation Act . This settlement is mainly formed by illegal buildings
constructed in the 1970s and 1980s. The buildings are surrounded by the hills on one
side and waters on the other and randomly spread out, but they represent the special
appearance of settlements in Taiwan. Treasure Hill Artist Village was preserved based
on the concept of coexistence of art and residents, which created its rich and diverse
appearance and injected new life into the village.
2013 Taipei Citizen Aqua Activities Experience Program (Banana Boat)
Dajia Riverside Park sea of flowers
Yearbook
XXXVIII
Mountain and Rivers Reflect the True Appearance of Taipei
The beauty of the Tamsui River is not past tense, nor is it future tense. It is present
continuous tense, and the Taipei City Government will actively endeavor to promote Taipei’s
beautiful mountains, rivers and culture. The burden is heavy and the road is long; the efforts
of the Taipei City Government and contributions from various communities are not enough,
and we must rely on the supervision of public opinion and public participation. Revitalization
of Tamsui River can only be achieved if we all work together toward the vision of creating a
beautiful, cultural and ecological city. Only then will Taipei’s true appearance be seen.
2013 Taipei Citizen Sailboat Experience Program
Site of the “Treasure Hill Lantern Exhibition – Landscape of Spectacle”