The Tourism Bureau yesterday launched an online encyclopedia of detailed information about all of the nation’s 13 national scenic areas to help visitors make travel arrangements. At the moment, however, the content on the Web site is only available in Chinese.
The bureau said the Web site was inspired by Wikipedia, and allows travelers to recommend plans for each national scenic area. Travelers are also encouraged to enter updated information on transportation services and accommodation available to tourists.
The bureau asked some of the nation’s travel bloggers to help promote the Web site. As an incentive, those who make recommendations on the Web site can enter a drawing for a prize valued at NT$300.
For more information, visit the Web site at funfungo.taiwan.net.tw.
In related news, Lidao Village (利稻部落) in Taitung County will launch its annual Ear Shooting Festival on June 13.
The village is located at the 176.5km marker on the Southern Cross-Island Highway (南橫公路). A majority of the village residents are members of the Bunun tribe.
The festival is a coming-of-age celebration for the Bunun tribe, where males demonstrate their ability to shoot at the ears of goats, boars and other wild animals.
This year, the village decided to open the festival to tourists and arrange a one-day tour there.
The trip’s tour guide, Dahai (達亥), said the festival begins at 5am, when each family in the village celebrates the harvests by shooting guns in the air. Next, the residents will gather at the playground of Wulu Elementary School in Lidao for the main Ear Shooting Festival activities, which include the ear shooting event and tribal ancestors worship.
For the one-day tour, Dahai said tourists will arrive at the playground by 8am and can join any event as they see fit. In the afternoon, they will visit scenic spots near the village.
The trip costs NT$600 per person, not including transportation and accommodation expenses.
Tourists must register to attend the festival, and the registration deadline is June 8. Those interested in joining the one-day trip can call Dahai at 0915279998.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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