Taiwan’s national scenic areas are defined by majestic waterways.
An afternoon stroll along the 1.8-kilometer Bitou Cape Trail in New Taipei City is an ideal way to appreciate a breathtaking view of one of Taiwan’s most important natural resources: the Pacific Ocean. Making an unforgettable day trip for outdoor enthusiasts, the walkway is one of nine major trails in Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area (NSA).
Encompassing more than 100 km of coastline, Northeast and Yilan Coast NSA was established in 1984 as the first such recreational area, administered from New Taipei’s Gongliao District near the popular summer resort of Fulong Beach extending into neighboring Yilan County. While the Water Resources Agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs is responsible for managing related matters in urban locations, Taiwan’s NSAs oversee the protection and development of many of the largest natural water resources countrywide.
A total of 13 NSAs are situated across Taiwan, all of which are overseen by the Tourism Bureau (TB) under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. In October last year, Northeast and Yilan Coast NSA entered the Sustainable Top 100 list announced by the Netherlands-based Green Destinations Foundation in keeping with U.N. Global Sustainable Tourism Council criteria. The recognition also went to Sun Moon Lake NSA in the central county of Nantou.
The 1.8-kilometer Bitou Cape Trail in New Taipei is one of nine major trails in Northeast and Yilan Coast NSA. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
Together with the 10 national parks administered by the Construction and Planning Agency under the Ministry of the Interior, as well as the 18 national forest recreation areas managed by the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture’s Forestry Bureau, NSAs are a cornerstone for protecting Taiwan’s natural beauty, according to Northeast and Yilan Coast NSA Director Chen Mei-hsiu (陳美秀). “Despite somewhat different guiding principles, these systems are all about public outreach and environmental conservation,” she said.
Hidden Gems
With tourism and related business development two of their main priorities, NSAs work alongside local governments to ensure long-term viability, said Lin Jiun-chuan (林俊全), a professor of geography at Taipei City-based National Taiwan University (NTU). The spirit of collaboration also extends to the NSA administration’s relationship with the Forestry Bureau, which oversees geological preservation in such places as Northern Coast Bitou-Longdong Geopark within Northeast and Yilan Coast NSA.
Nine geoparks are located around Taiwan, including one in outlying Lienchiang County. These areas are governed by even stricter protections than those for NSAs, helping to distinguish between places for tourism development and those focusing on ecological protection, said Lin, who also heads NTU-based Geoparks Association of Taiwan. “It’s about striking a balance between regulation and development,” he added, citing Turtle Island, home to one of the country’s two active volcanos, as a model example within Northeast and Yilan Coast NSA.
Pine trees line the banks of Sun Moon Lake in central Taiwan’s Nantou County. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
Formerly a military base, Turtle Island is now open to the public. Relaxing access restrictions has led to a growing interest among tourists from home and abroad keen to discover what the isle, named after its distinctive shape, has to offer. According to Chen, aside from the area’s natural beauty, defunct military installations are a standout attraction for visitors. These include an abandoned 800-meter tunnel carved into the rock that reveals the island’s fascinating geological history.
Turtle Island is not the only site known for its military past now under the management of Northeast and Yilan Coast NSA. One of the most popular locations on the Bitou Cape Trail is a former sentry post doing roaring trade as a cafe celebrated among social media users as a check-in and photo hot spot due to its mountainous location and ocean scenery. “Whether it’s an old army building or a civilian structure, our guiding principle is the same—reuse and adapt rather than build,” Chen said.
Sustainable Development
Each of the NSAs seeks to utilize local strengths and specialties to target different demographics, Chen said, giving the example of Sun Moon Lake NSA, which has made a name for itself among cyclists as Taiwan’s go-to spot for both recreational and competitive cycling.
Sun Moon Lake NSA is renowned for its natural beauty. (Photo by Pang Chia-shan)
Sun Moon Lake’s natural beauty, with towering mountains surrounding a large, tranquil oasis, means the area is no stranger to tourists. But it is the winding cycling path tracing the water’s edge that is steadily transforming the area’s fortunes. Once reliant on buses of tourists ready to stop for a quick picture, Sun Moon Lake NSA is attracting the type of visitor who stays for multiple days to explore all there is to see and do in the area from the convenience of two wheels, according to Director Hung Wei-hsin (洪維新).
The cycling route has repeatedly ranked highly on polls of best biking trails, earning the top domestic honor in 2015 and gaining global recognition from U.K.-headquartered travel search engine Skyscanner in 2017. An upcoming 15-km expansion will soon double its length, joining a series of walking trails funded by TB as part of promotions for 2021 as the year of cycling tourism.
In the past two decades, Sun Moon Lake NSA has gradually spread its jurisdiction from Nantou’s Yuchi Township to include parts of neighboring Jiji, Puli, Shuili and Xinyi Townships. With the latest expansion to forestlands in Puli and Yuchi in July 2020, the NSA encompasses over 19,000 hectares, almost 10 times its original scope.
The cycling path around the lake is the recipient of domestic and international awards. (Photo courtesy of Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration)
The process was not just administrative, but also involved significant upgrades to local infrastructure as the lake is a reservoir and home to a hydroelectric power plant, Hung said, adding that the NSA administration’s ability to work closely with the central and local governments assisted in smoothly navigating the interests of different stakeholders.
Professor Lin also considers Sun Moon Lake a clear beneficiary of the NSA system, as oversight of a single governing authority was crucial in the decision to promote sustainable tourism development. “The old model had run its course, with many domestic tourists opting to stay away,” he said. “The area is set to thrive as eco-tourism and adventure activities become the future direction of the industry.”
Looking forward, the NSA system has the potential to boost citizen awareness of the importance of both fresh and saltwater ecosystems, Lin said. “These areas of outstanding natural beauty demonstrate how water played an integral role in forming the land we live on today—if people feel a deeper connection, they’ll be more eager to learn and bring friends along next time they visit.
“Smart management can ensure Taiwan’s aquatic beauty spots are developmentally and ecologically cared for, but the optimal outcome is sparking a wider societal commitment to cherishing water resources.”
Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw