Observations
★Xizhi Reflection
Diane│Sean│Demi│Kevin│Iris│Ian│Gordan│Philip│Ariel│Kathleen
Diane Wang
I also found the flowers and trees that grow beside the JW Eco-Technology Pavement more beautiful than the plants that grow beside a permeable pavement.
After the visit with Ms. Ling-Yu Fu, I learned more about the advantages and examples of the JW Eco-Technology Pavement. I understand that the residents in Xizhi paved the JW Eco-Technology Pavement because floods often occurred there. The floods destroyed people's homes, and the aftermath was difficult to clean up. As a result of this, Ms. Ling-Yu Fu, who had served as the Borough Chief for many terms, decided to think of ways to solve the problem. The final decision was the installation of the JW Eco-Technology Pavement, which solved the long-term problem of severe flooding.
When I set foot on the JW Eco-Technology Pavement, a pavement that "breathes," I felt refreshed and cool. It proved that the JW Eco-Technology Pavement does have the ability to lower surface temperature and cool the surrounding environment. I also found the flowers and trees that grow beside the JW Eco-Technology Pavement more beautiful than the plants that grow beside a permeable pavement. The JW Eco-Technology Pavement can help cleanse the water, so, in the end, plants can absorb clean and unpolluted water that had been recycled. We were lucky enough to witness the high load-bearing capacity of the JW Eco-Technology when a motorcycle rode by. The pavement remained completely unaffected, which proves that it can withstand high traffic volume.
The JW Eco-Technology Pavement has features and characteristics that surpass other permeable pavements. It can absorb water faster than other types of permeable pavement. It also has features like being able to bear heavy weight and decrease outdoor temperature. I believe that the JW Eco-Technology Pavement will play an important role in reducing flood in the future. To conclude, everyone should try to learn more about nature and the JW Eco-Technology Pavement. This special pavement will not only restore the natural appearance of the landscape; it can also solve severe flooding problems in cities.
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Sean Lin
I found that the surface temperature of the JW Eco-Technology Pavement was 10 degrees Celsius lower than that of the asphalt road.
On October 25th, 2015, we visited the Limen Village in Xizhi. The Director of the Limen Village Zhongzheng Community Development Association, Ms. Fu, welcomed us with enthusiasm. We visited the road paved with JW Eco-Technology. The pretty flowers along the road and Mr. Lin's detailed introduction and explanation enriched our learning experiences that day.
Once we arrived at the JW Eco-Technology Pavement, I immediately felt the cool temperature and the fresh air there. When I looked at the thermometer aside, I found that the surface temperature of the JW Eco-Technology Pavement was 10 degrees Celsius lower than that of the asphalt road. By then, I finally realized how powerful the JW Eco-Technology was.
After visiting the road paved with the JW Eco-Technology, we went to the village office. The second I stepped into the office, I smelled something aromatic. Ms. Fu, who was also the former Borough Chief, was preparing food for us. The first dish was hand rolls they had made themselves. The second one was tomatoes with mashed century eggs. The last one was mini rice dumpling – some of our classmates even ate six dumplings. They were so yummy. After that, Ms. Fu told us the difficulties the community had been through and the details of how they overcame the difficulties. She prepared and told her stories very well. There were many slides, so many that my phone was out of battery because I was busy taking pictures. The presentation went on past five o'clock!
I learned a lot from this trip. I will always remember our interview with the head of the village, Ms. Fu.
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Demi Lin
When I saw that the thermometer was showing 23 degrees Celsius on the surface of the “breathing road” instead of the 33 degrees Celsius on the asphalt road, I thought it was as if the JW Eco-Technology had installed an air-conditioner on the road surface.
For our visit on October 25th Ms. Ling-Yu Fu, the Director of the Limen Village Zhongzheng Community Development Association, was in charge of the commentary. She told us the Limen Village in Xizhi was originally a flooded, muddy land. It was all because that, after the flood, she and the residents worked together to clean up and make the community green. The community became a “community for quality living.” They won prizes in competitions for green energy, energy conservation, carbon footprint reductions, and others year after year.
Many volunteers in the village devoted their time and effort to improving the community environment. For example, Mr. Lin, our tour guide, still helps by trimming the leaves on the trees before typhoons come even though he is already seventy years old! After a typhoon, he helps the community to put up trees that had been blown down and clean the fallen leaves.
It was because of the residents’ initiative and enthusiasm that the Limen Village in Xizhi could become the number one low-carbon community in the country. They used the three million grant money they earned to pay for the JW Eco-Technology Pavement, and they even turned the village into a tourist site.
Mr. Lin said they found three advantages of the “breathing road” after building the JW Eco-Technology Pavement:
1. When the rain falls on the JW Eco-Technology Pavement, the water will infiltrate the pavement through the holes, and there will be a small reservoir underground. The residents do not need to go all the way to the Keelung River to get water.
2. It provides a natural habitat for living things below the “breathing road,” such as earthworms.
3. In the summertime, the surface temperature of the “breathing road” is low, and it has become a nice place for residents to relax and enjoy the cool air.
When I observed the “breathing road” in person, I felt that it was really different from the asphalt pavement. Once I stepped on it, I felt cooler right away. When I saw that the thermometer was showing 23 degrees Celsius on the surface of the “breathing road” instead of the 33 degrees Celsius on that of the asphalt road, I thought it was as if the JW Eco-Technology had installed an air-conditioner on the road surface.
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Kevin Chang
Their hard work should really be encouraged, and we deeply admire what they have done.
Limen Village is located in a place that had been neglected by the government. There was a group of unknown people who were weak, old, women, and children. They tried to slowly restore their homes from the debris after the flood and, eventually, turned the then worn-out landscape into the magnificent scenery now. How did they do that?
The then Borough Chief Ms. Ling-Yu Fu told us, “We started by holding meetings and restoring the old, worn-out scenery first. Then, the people started discussing, ‘we could start from here. This house was even thought to be haunted before!’ But after we remodeled the house, it turned into a very beautiful house. “Don’t think that we spent a fortune. We hardly spent any money. We even planted plants in plastic bottles!” Their hard work should really be encouraged, and we deeply admire what they have done.
What is more important is why would they use this kind of eco-technology pavement? The Borough Chief said it was because they wanted to improve the drainage system. Floods often occurred there. After building the road, not only was the damage brought by the flood reduced, the ecological value of the place also increased. After using this eco-technology pavement, the flood damage was noticeably lower, and it was not as serious anymore. The eco-environment became even better, and many microorganisms started living here.
During our on-site tour, we found that all the aforementioned functions really worked. The temperature of the road surface was lower than that of the asphalt road. The eco-environment is also richer than that of the asphalt road.
More importantly, the pavement is permeable. It allowed water to infiltrate road surface into the earth. It can also filter the air, creating fresher air and making people’s lives more comfortable. What moved me the most on that day was their hard work and the final result. Their hard work could not be measured and could definitely be used as a model for other communities.
Besides feeling happy about what they have done, we are also grateful to the men and the Borough Chief who gave us the guided tour. Thank you for helping us learn more about your village. We are really encouraged by the change you have made. Thank you!
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Iris Chen
Comparing with the silt-filled, devastating Limen Village in the past, it is now a place with green corridors.
We departed from the Xizhi train station, walked through the local market on Zhongzheng Road, and reached Limen Village office in the Zhongzheng Development Association in Xizhi. When we walked into the "Green Corridors of Limen Village," we saw a green paradise. The Keelung River bank adopted the “breathing road"— the JW Eco-Technology— to create an underground wetland, and it became a habitat for the south-heading migratory birds.
In order to prevent water shortage during the dry seasons, Limen Village used the “breathing road" to recycle and reuse water. Whenever it rains, rainwater would infiltrate into the earth through the holes on the pavement. Additionally the H-shaped pipes connecting the water storage tanks were installed underground on both sides. Along with the permeable filtering tubes buried within the gravel roadbed, the breathing road became a water storage site storing up to 50 to 60 tons of water. In the dry seasons, it supplies water to the plants in the natural ecosystem area, and the water can be reused. The water pulled out from under the breathing road can be used to water flowers. The water that is not absorbed by plants will flow back to the breathing road once again, forming a water cycle. Therefore, this “breathing road” can prevent floods, resist droughts, refill groundwater as well as prevent and control river pollution. It can also regulate the road surface temperature to reach green energy and reduce the urban heat island effect.
More than ten years ago, the Limen Village in Xizhi had experienced devastations after a number of typhoons and floods. People’s homes were buried in mud and debris. The Borough Chief negotiated the rights of private land to be used as the whole new community building process. Volunteers have changed the land bit by bit. Comparing with the silt-filled, devastating Limen Village in the past, it is now a place with green corridors, ecological zones, small forests, and the riverside natural reserve along the Keelung River bank. The comparison makes me admire the Borough Chief’s enduring perseverance. I also admire the community’s determination in maintaining the environment for the past decade. The ecological environment protection is the result of a united effort. The village has walked away from the nightmare brought by the floods in the past and became an international sensation of being a community with quality living today.
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Ian Chen
I learned not only a lot about the sponge road from the visit and interview in the Limen Village today, but also the touching human spirit in that place.
On October 25, 2015, we visited the Limen Village. The general director there welcomed us enthusiastically.
Mr. Yi-Long Lin took us to the eco-corridor and thoroughly explained to us how it works. We learned more about the ecological corridor. There were many passion fruits grown along the corridor, which made my mouth water. The general director taught us how to make century eggs with tomatoes, spring rolls, and so on. We made them all ourselves!
What moved me the most that day was that I found people in the Limen Village are all very warm-hearted, especially Mr. Yi-Long Lin, who was the tour guide that day. He could be seen in almost every photo of the day. There were even some volunteers there who were already 70 or 80 years old! They still helped the community to repair the damages after natural disasters. Even though some youngsters had already moved out of the Xizhi District, they would still come back to help voluntarily after typhoons.
I learned not only a lot about the sponge road from the visit and interview in the Limen Village today, but also the touching human spirit in that place. Each one of them still helps the community no matter how old they are or how far away they live. How touching!
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Gordan Huang
They built the “breathing roads” because they wanted to reduce the emission of toxic gases and substances that are harmful to the people and animals in their environment.
We visited the community center of the Limen Village in Xizhi on October 25th to interview Ms. Ling-Yu Fu, the then Borough Chief, and to have a tour of the “breathing road” in their community. The people who gave us the tour were Mr. Yi-Long Lin and Mr. Chao-Fa Li. What impressed me the most on this trip was that the residents of the community turned their own neighborhood into a top low-carbon community in the country, and it has become a role model to other communities. To implement the eco-building projects after suffering from a flood, residents of the entire community worked together, rather than asking people from other communities or the cleaning squad for help on rebuilding their homes.
They built the “breathing roads” because they wanted to reduce the emission of toxic gases and substances that are harmful to the people and animals in their environment. They happened to come across the invention of the “breathing road” and thought it was a good way to save water and absorb toxic substances all at the same time. They started building the roads later.
When I visited the “breathing road” in person, a topic I had learned from watching the news on television, I was surprised and much impressed. The reason was that when we poured some water on the ground, the water traveled into the small pipes very quickly – every single drop! The design of the JW Eco-Technology works very effectively. However, I did see a few holes that were clogged by some leaves, and the water could not go down properly as a result. I think the leaves need to be picked up regularly, so the “breathing roads” can breathe even more smoothly.
This visit left me with a very good impression of the Limen Village in Xizhi!
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Philip Huang
To me, the most touching part of the visit was learning how the residents’ persistent efforts transformed roads that were once covered by thick layers of mud and dirt from the flood into the beautiful roads that we see today.
As a result of the local residents’ effort, the Limen Village in Xizhi has been successfully transformed from a flooded, muddy place to a top low-carbon community in Taiwan. In order to reach this goal, the community members planted trees and flowers in open areas in the community. Without asking for any help from the government, the residents went down to the riverbank and carried water back to water the plants. To solve the problem of having to go down to the Keelung River to carry water back and forth, the then Borough Chief, Ms. Ling-Yu Fu, used the grant money received from the low-carbon community competition to build a 120-meter sponge road.
They found that the water retention balls in the JW Eco-Technology could provide a resting habitat for small insects such as earthworms. Also, they noticed the surface temperature of the sponge road was much lower than that of asphalt roads as a result of the chimney effect, which is part of the design of the JW Eco-Technology. It was obvious that the JW Eco-Technology is extremely helpful to the ecosystem. Later, when I visited the Limen Village in Xizhi, I saw that there were some tiny holes on the sponge roads. The air flow brought through by the holes had reduced the surface temperature for several degrees.
To me, the most touching part of the visit was learning how the residents’ persistent efforts transformed roads that were once covered by thick layers of mud and dirt from the flood into the beautiful roads that we see today. They overcame great difficulties so that people’s homes could be as beautiful as they had remembered. In fact, the village looks even better than it did before. I want to thank the tour guide, Mr. Yi-Long Lin, for taking us around that day and informing us of the difficult situation Xizhi once faced. I also want to thank the Borough Chief, Mr. Chao-Fa Li and the Director of Limen Village Zhongzheng Community Development Association, Ms. Ling-Yu Fu. We learned more about the history of Xizhi and its water problems through their thorough explanations, and we also became more informed of the magic of the sponge road.
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Ariel Tsai
When we saw the “breathing roads” first-hand, I was so surprised I could not believe what I saw.
In the Limen Village of Xizhi, what we saw were not just some tiny insignificant buildings. Behind those houses, there stood an ecological paradise. The roads were paved using the JW Eco-Technology Pavement providing water for plants aside. We were extremely startled when we saw pictures of the village after it was devastated by typhoons, a time before the JW Eco-Technology Pavements was introduced. The Limen Village used to be a flooded, muddy place before the construction of the JW Eco-Technology Pavement; it looked so much different from the way it looks now.
Through the careful selection of suitable pavements, trees, and materials, and, with the help from villagers and volunteers, the Limen Village in Xizhi has changed from a muddy place to a top low-carbon community in the country. The Borough Chief Mr. Chao-Fa Li and the Director of Limen Village Zhongzheng Community Development Association, Ms. Ling-Yu Fu, also the former Borough Chief, introduced us the changes of Limen Village over the years. They told us how it had changed from a “sparrow” into a “phoenix.” When we saw the “breathing roads” first-hand, I was so surprised I could not believe what I saw. It is hard to imagine that the roads in front of me used to be covered completely by mud. The red brick roads blended perfectly with the rich ecology, and the beautiful flowers smelled so good.
Looking at the beautiful ecological scenery in front of me, I cannot help but praise the greatness of the JW Eco-Technology Pavement. It waters everything I saw, gives us fresh air, and makes winters warmer and summers cooler. This is an upgrade of life for the residents in Limen Village. Looking at this view, I feel incredibly moved!
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Kathleen Chien
From this visit, I learned that, even in a developed country like Taiwan, there are still many places that do not have a dependable source of water.
On a Sunday, we visited the ecological environment of Limen Village in Xizhi. We visited the award-winning green corridor and also interviewed Ms. Ling-Yu Fu. She had been the Borough Chief of the village before. During our visit, a tour guide introduced us the past, the present, and the future of the Limen Village to us, so we could better understand the bits and pieces of the village
Five floods had occurred in Limen Village over the few past years. The Borough Chief and the residents worked for an entire year and finally finished cleaning up the damages caused by the floods. The lessons were learned the hard way, and the water became something both loved and hated by the locals. They started to think about how to build a community that would neither have floods nor have issues with water shortage.
From this visit, I learned that, even in a developed country like Taiwan, there are still many places that do not have a dependable source of water. Therefore, we should be grateful and conserve our water use. We should save water for people in need of it and create a wonderful water-rich world.