Taiwan's economic miracle has brought with it some inescapable costs. People here enjoy the material comforts of prosperity, but often at the expense of the natural environment. Unchecked economic development has been particularly unkind to Taiwan's rivers. One look at the putrid Tamsui River in Taipei, or the Love River in Kaohsiung, will confirm this. Once places of beauty, today these rivers are little more than sewers.
Thanks to the joint efforts of a certain county government and the national Tourism Bureau, however, at least one river in Taiwan has been saved from this tide of defilement. Besides preserving the habitat of native birds and fish, these efforts have alleviated flooding and beautified the river for people to enjoy.
A combined effort by Ilan County and the national Tourism Bureau has The river in question is the Tungshan River in Ilan county, northeastern Taiwan. Arising from high mountain springs, the Tungshan careens down to the Langyang Plain, where it helps irrigate an exceedingly flat landscape of rice paddies and shrimp farms. Flowing across the plain, the river opens into the Pacific Ocean at a point just south of Ilan city.
The Langyang portion of the Tungshan was originally narrow and winding. When heavy rains brought water gushing down from the mountains, the river would overflow into the surrounding farms and towns. Another problem for the Tungshan was pollution. As with other rural areas in Taiwan, the main contributors were garbage from homes and waste water from rice and animal farms.
In 1975 a plan was hatched to solve the problems facing the Tungshan River. Essentially, the idea was to straighten and widen the river so that it would be less prone to flooding. At the same time, the banks of the river would be cleaned up and parts of it turned into parks.
For Ilan county, the Tungshan project was an ambitious undertaking from both an engineering and bureaucratic standpoint. A total of NT$900 million (US$36 million) was spent, with completion not coming until nearly 20 years later, in 1994.
Already, the results on the Tungshan have earned plaudits for the county, both at home and abroad. The Tungshan area is now being promoted by the Tourism Bureau as a travel destination. Furthermore, the Ilan county government recently had the unusual honor of accepting the Tokyo Creativity Award from a private association in Japan. This particular award normally goes to artists, architects, and fashion designers. Until the recent presentation, it had never been awarded outside Japan.
An Environmental Legacy
For visitors to Tungshan there are three main areas of interest, the most prominent being the newly opened Chinshui Park. The park is built around a straight, broad section of the river and serves as an ideal venue for the boat races held each year during the summer Dragon Boat Festival. Among the park's charms are a giant wading pool, a huge fish pond, and some unusual landscaping flourishes. There is also an education center where, if you read Chinese, you can learn about the Tungshan's wildlife and history.
As a county park, Chinshui is certainly a nice place to stroll and relax. But unless you are coming to see the dragon boat races, I wouldn't urge you to travel far out of your way just to see it. I would also warn you that there is not a lot of shade. The newly planted trees that line the river here will one day make this a very pleasant spot, but for now you'd better bring a hat.A few kilometers downstream from Chinshui Park is the lower area of the river, where it widens into a harbor. Along the banks you can fish and observe a diverse variety of birds. Close by is a beach where you can stroll and look out across the water at the oddly shaped Turtle Island off the coast. The sand here, however, is the color of ash and there is a lot of washed-up garbage, so it's not a particularly good place for swimming.
Ironically, the nicest part of Tungshan River is its upper section, the part not affected by the earthworks and clean-up project. There you will find Hean Forest Park, whose prime attraction is a series of spectacular waterfalls. A nice thing about this area is that it is almost completely undeveloped. Since there are not even hiking trails in many parts of it, exploring the park can be quite an adventure.
Other attractions on the upper reaches of the Tungshan are pristine spring lakes and rare plant life. Some of the cedar trees up here are claimed to date back to the days of Confucius. There are also dramatic views of the Langyang Plain and Turtle Island.
With all these little-known treasures hidden away at its upper reaches, the Tungshan does indeed warrant attention from travelers and vacationers. But all things considered, Tungshan is most important not as a tourist attraction but as an example of how Taiwan's rivers can be cleaned up and returned to the public as places to enjoy.
Are any other county or city governments in Taiwan planning to follow the Tungshan example? According to a spokeswoman at the Tourism Bureau, there are indeed. One river targeted for a big clean-up is the Love River (actually a canal in Kaohsiung). Since it suffers from so much industrial pollution, however, the Love will certainly be much tougher to clean up than a rural river like the Tungshan.
In any case, it appears that the people of Taiwan are starting to realize that such cleanups are worthwhile. Unfortunately, these projects take decades to complete. In the meantime, polluted rivers will remain a part of life.
How to Get There
If you want to explore Tungshan River, the best way is by car or motorcycle. This is particularly true for the upper portions of the river, which are not served by public transport.
If you do have your own car, be forewarned that there are not many signs to direct you to any of the Tungshan's attractions. You will see some signs to the town of Tungshan, but not to the river. For these reasons, your best bet for finding your way is to pull over frequently and ask directions (though this, of course, requires some Mandarin or Taiwanese ability). Otherwise, you will probably get lost.
From Taipei, the Tungshan can actually be seen on a day trip--if you get an early start. If you want to stay in the area overnight, you can easily find a hotel in Ilan city. Alternatively, you could stay at a nearby lake resort called Mei Hua Lake (Tel: 039-510-208), which is hyped as the "Venice" of Taiwan. The accommodations here are floating log cabins which you get to via paddle boat.