A waterfront corridor brings a breath of fresh air to downtown Taichung.
Early February saw the opening of the Xinsheng Green Waterway in central Taiwan’s Taichung City. This revamped 610-meter section of the Green River offers a welcome escape for a relaxing stroll.
Originally an irrigation canal known as the Xinsheng River, the 6-kilometer waterway flowing through downtown Taichung lost its agricultural function as the city developed around it. With domestic sewage seeping in unchecked along its banks, it became an odorous ditch. Urban planners covered over a section in the downtown area and used the land for commercial and transportation purposes. The smell, however, persisted and people and businesses stayed away.
A rehabilitation project launched in 2015 has breathed fresh air into the Green River. Facilities including a new water treatment plant have cleaned up the sewage and improved flood controls. A highlight of the overhaul is the Xinsheng Green Waterway, where the city government uncovered a stretch of the river near the old Taichung Railway Station so that people could have access to the water.
It is still too early to tell if businesses will come back to the former downtown area, but the fresh fragrance of vegetation is attracting locals and tourists alike.
—by Jim Hwang
Operating between 1905 and 2016, the retired Taichung Railway Station near the waterfront corridor is a designated historic site.
Structures added to the revamped section allow visitors to explore the former irrigation canal.
Built in 1908, the 22-meter Zhongshan Bridge that spans the Green River is still in use today.
Streetlamps and manhole covers with the Chinese characters for Green River are specially designed for the waterfront corridor.
Opened in February, the waterfront corridor attracts tourists as well as locals.
Fish and plants now thrive in the Green River thanks to three years of rehabilitation work.