The Marine National Park Headquarters (MNPH) invited more than 30 volunteers from across Taiwan to promote building the Qianshan Trail by hand under the guidance of experts. This trail will become an eco-tourism cultural route, overlooking the harbor and coastal geological landscape and the scenic fringing reef, while it meanders along the traditional paths across rice terraces, walled vegetable gardens, and traditional settlements. Visitors will be able to experience the unique island life of Dongyuping Island as they walk along the trail.
According to the MNPH, Qianshan Trail is the traditional path taken to go hiking up Qianshan, and is accessed from behind the Yu-Ping Visitor Center. Due to the steep slopes, hiking up the trail has become difficult due to obstacles such as soil and rockslides and water erosion. The trails in national parks mainly provide a medium for the public to get close to the natural and cultural environment, as well as to experience the ecosystem, with the aim of guiding visitors to appreciate the beautiful sceneries without affecting the overall natural environment. Therefore, the design of Qianshan Trail is based on the principles of low interference and the use of local materials, as a result, local basalt has been used for the construction in order to present the local landscape characteristics and cultural features.
The working holiday for the hand-building of the trail took place in two stages from September 5th to September 10th and there were over 30 participants, including past residents of Dongyuping Island and volunteers from around Taiwan. The participants were divided into teams across the two stages, and carried out the construction of stone steps, rerouting of the trail, and rebuilding of the pavements. In addition to the actual building process, community exchange activities were also included, creating memories of the Qianshan Trail for the people who participated in the restoration work.
According to Mr. Lin Chin-Hsu, Deputy Director of the MNPH, the fact that the trail construction took place as a working holiday was because the use of local materials in hand-building the trail and public participation conforms with the National Park's philosophy of trail planning and environmental education. Through the participation of the local community, members of the public, and volunteers in the trail construction, it provides a chance for people to participate in national park conservation, so that they can understand the local cultural features, and take action to protect the natural and cultural environment of Dongyuping Island.
