To relieve the crowds of visitors driving along Taiwan’s Provincial Highway 3 for the coming Chinese New Year, the Hsinchu County government announced that the shuttle bus to Shiherliao Recreational Agriculture Area and E-mei Lake will be launched on the 1st (Jan.31) through 5th (Feb. 4) of Lunar New Year, Magistrate Chiu Ching-Chun stated on Jan. 28. Chiu added that visitors who take the bus will get a free bottle of Oriental Beauty Tea, and encouraged all citizens to invite relatives and friends to pay a visit to Emei Township. In addition, to bring convenience to visitors, starting from Jan.30 to Feb.4, the departure time of Taiwan Tourist Shuttle─Lion’s Head Mountain Line will be adjusted to every 30 minutes, which applies to the timetable for Saturday and Sunday.
Emei Lake has picturesque views, and visitors can immerse themselves in the spectacle of mountains, sea and lake while overlooking it, the Director-general of Transportation and Tourism Department (TTD) Wang Jin-Cang said. Wang stated that some sightseeing spots located in the vicinity of Emei Lake, such as Shimaopu Suspension Bridge, Emei Grand Laughing Buddha and Shiherliao Recreational Agriculture Area, are worth a visit. The free shuttle bus to Emei Lake and Shiherliao Recreational Agriculture Area will hit the road on Jan.31 through Feb.4, departing from Emei Stop (Songhelo) to the destination Shiherliao Pond along through Fu-Xing Old Street, Emei Grand Laughing Buddha and agricultural products exhibition area. The departure time of the bus heading toward Shiherliao at the first stop “Emei Stop” ranges from the earliest 9:20 AM to the latest 3:20 PM, and that of bus heading back toward Emei Stop at the last stop “Shiherliao Pond” goes from 10:20 AM to 4:20 PM. Visitors interested in the timetable can visit the website of Lion’s Head Mountain Line by TTD: http://www.lionbus.com.tw/2013/
Magistrate Chiu encouraged visitors to put energy saving and carbon reduction in practice by taking the public transportation on the Chinese New Year holidays. Leading the Director-general of TTD Wang Jin-Cang, Director-general of Environmental Protection Bureau Huang Shih-Han and Chief of Emei Township Jiang Ning-Zeng to clean the public toilets in Emei’s Shiherliao Area, Magistrate Chiu declared his determination with action to call for visitors’ cooperation and participation in the “National Annual Thorough-Cleaning Week.” Chiu practiced what he preached to achieve the goal─“Cleaning the public toilets, Building the Healthy City,” hoping to earn visitors’ cooperation with the local business to keep the public toilets clean.
With mountains spread across and lakes in between, the Emei Township is a wonderland that has not only diverse agricultural products but also many sightseeing spots such as Lion’s Head Mountain Scenic Area, Emei Lake, Emei Catholic Church and Yan Maitreya Buddhism Hospital, remarked the Chief of Emei Township Jiang Ning-Zeng. For family or friends feeling like riding bikes or going on ecological trips under sunshine in winter, tourism sites in Emei Township are highly recommended.
Emei is the hometown of Oriental Beauty Tea, and its tea carries unique ripe fruity and honey flavors, the Executive Secretary of Emei Township Farmer’s Association Guo Su-Yu said. This special fragrance, as Guo added, can be produced only if the tea green leafhoppers suck and bite the tea’s leaves, stems and buds. Accordingly, to attract the green leafhoppers, no pesticide can be sprayed on the tea. For visitors interested in having the Oriental Beauty Tea and smelling its unique flavors, Emei Township is a must go place to visit.
The Hsinchu County government has been sparing no effort to provide visitors with seamless travel services, the Director-general of TTD Wang pointed out. The ridership of shuttle bus for Lion’s Head Mountain Line hit 54,789 in 2012 and 66,148 in 2013 with its growth rate topping 20% owing to the County government’s active promotion.
The County government set up the Visitor Center in Liu-Chia and Zhudong Railway Station respectively to offer visitors several considerate services, thereby escalating the number of visitors from 6,646,062 in 2011 to 7,174,494 in 2013 at the growth rate of 7.95%.
Source: Transportation and Tourism Department, Hsinchu County Government
Tel: 5518101 ext. 2770
Compiler: Yang Hui-Juan