Personal Exclusive InterviewEast Rift Valley Scenic Area Liyu Lake sub-station

Zen-Ting Chen

• Respondents: Mr. Ma Tianzhong (East Rift Valley Scenic AreaMaintenance Division)
• Date:2011.01.01
• Location: East Rift Valley Scenic Area Liyu Lake sub-station
• Interviewer:SunnyKnight
• Recoreder:Zen-Ting Chen

The Sunny Knights visited Liyu Lake to better understandthe planning of bicycle trails. In the past, bike trails have had some problems so we came to the LiyuLake sub-station especially to ask about the current situation withbike trail planning in Hualien.

Q: What are the plans with bike trails?

A: Not every bike trail started out perfectly but they graduallyimprove, little by little. This year, the eastern region has a plan to improve 7 bike trails and5 of those are in the Hualien area (RuiSui, GuangFu , WanRong ,LuoShan , and Fenglin) and already in progress. The other two arein ChiShang  and LuYe .

Q: Roughly what is the plan?

A: Ah…roughly the plan is that in the GuangFu area we hope to becomean aboriginal tourist spot tourist and combine it with publictransportation.

Q: Have there been accidents on the bike trails?

A: The bike trail from Yuli to Fuli goes along an old railroad trackand so there is some uneven ground. Because of this there have beensome injuries.

Q: What do you think is the most important part of a bike trail?

First, is safety. We want to separate bike trails from roads withcars. If cars and bicycles are together on the same path, it's veryeasy for accidents to happen. Also we want to build bike paths with a slope so that riders have toride a little slower. In the past in GuanShan TaiDong, because theslope was too steep, there were some tourists that were injured. We'd also stress that last year we spent about two million dollars inplanning and we are designing the paths now. In addition, we also believe it's important to have rest areas and ourhope is that we can have convenience stores in certain places. Having rest areas will allow our visitors to go longer and our hope isto have some recreational facilities and public restrooms. But to answer the question what is most important, I think it would bebetter to discuss in a public forum.

Q: Are there any newly built bicycle trails?

A: Presently the Hualien County Government is in the design andplanning process because riding bicycles is more and more important –not only is it good exercise but it's also a good way to enjoy thescenery. This is why the government is pushing this project along.

Q: You want to have dedicated stores?

A: We would likely have to join forces with the tribes in order to dothis. It will be incorporated into our future plans.

Q: Besides Hualien, what counties get the most visitors?

A: Well, in the case of Taiwan, more people are in the northern areasand less in the southern areas. We also hope to be able to attractforeign tourists to come visit.

Q: What are the tourist's reactions when they come here?

A: We have done another tourist survey and discovered that the sceneryis usually most satisfying to them. In regard to transportation, mostvisitors are dissatisfied with most visitors liking the public bussystem the least. The entry process is also satisfying. Normally inthe western part, there is a lot of dissatisfaction with the parkingbut here they are more satisfied.

Q: How do you think we can improve the beauty of the bike trails?

A: From 1997-1998, we completed 11 cases of improving the landscaping.As a matter of fact, this is part of my department's responsibility.Last year we spent approximately $129,970,000 for planning.

Q: Do you have guided tours available?

A: Since most of us are volunteers and on any given day there are 2-3of us here, it depends on whether we are willing to do the tours.Because of the development of the Internet, another way to get a touris to book an appointment online. Let us know how many visitors youhave and what information you need and we can help with a tour.

Q: Do you have bike paths combined with tourist attractions?

A: Actually this has been part of the plan from the beginning becauseonly if we have good tourist spots, will we attract tourists.

Q: Why is there a Central Lake bike trail plan?

A: In the beginning, the Central Lake Central Lake bike path wasoriginally a road. In 1993 travelers were not very civic minded so wecould only have a walking trail. Then we discovered this road had manyconditions that were met so we were able to successfully move forwardwith the planning of the bike trails.

During this interview, we learned a lot that we didn't know before.Like with most things, we learn bit by bit. Even the highestskyscraper begins at the ground. This bike trail planning also requires everyone's efforts in order to succeed.If we only have nice scenery but not cleanliness, I believe that noone would want a scenic tour. In order for our bike trails to be morebeautiful, we must all be more civic-minded. To have beautiful biketrails we must all do our part.

We also learned a lot of information about how the government isactively promoting bicycle tourism and more about the bike trailsthemselves.