Already famous for its coastal scenery and seafood, Dapeng Bay (大鵬灣) and the fishing port of Donggang (東港) in Pingtung County are becoming bigger draws for tourists thanks to a color LED installation which illuminates Dapeng Bridge (大鵬橋) at night with a dynamic light show.
Opened in March 2011, the bridge spans an estuary in Donggang. Since then, the number of tourists visiting the town has doubled, according to officials at the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area Administration.
When the 2,600-LED installation for the bridge was completed in October last year, the sparkling multicolored light show was an instant hit with locals and visitors, the official said, adding that the bridge has become a new venue for a leisurely stroll in the evening or a romantic rendezvous for young couples.
Photo: Yeh Jung-chien, Taipei Times
Officials estimated that the new tourist attraction would bring in more than NT$10 billion (US$346 million) in sales and derived financial benefits to the area’s shops, hospitality services, restaurants and guesthouses.
The bascule-type bridge can open to allow ships to pass through the harbor’s outlet to the sea. The operation takes 20 minutes and starts at 4:30pm on weekends and holidays, officials said. On such occasions, viewing spots around Dapeng Bay are usually crowded with hundreds of onlookers.
With a different color display theme every night, including a special light show every hour on the hour, the bridge is a draw for sightseers, officials said.
Statistics from the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area Administration show that prior to the completion of the bridge, the area around Dapeng harbor had about 200,000 visitors per year. The figure for last year was an estimated 600,000, the agency said.
Calculating that each visitor spends NT$300 during a visit, an official said the local economy benefitted by at least NT$180 million.
“The total cost of the bridge’s construction was just under NT$1.8 billion. The electricity bill for the bridge-opening operation and the LED light show is about NT$30,000 per month, but [the bridge] has generated a lot of tourism and business benefits. It was a small investment for a big financial return,” an agency official said.
A few years ago there were no guesthouses or private lodgings in Donggang, but now there are 12, with several new tourist hotels scheduled to open soon.
Lin Chia-chin (林佳進), a former chairman of a local community organization, is entering the guesthouse business and also acts as a tourist guide, taking visitors to the area’s beaches to catch sand crabs and observe the fauna and flora of the local parks and wetlands.
“Most of the infrastructure is completed in the Dapeng Bay area, but tourism programs are still lacking,” he said. “The planning could incorporate ecotourism guided trips, leisure cruises and activities on the water. I’d suggest the tourism administration add more recreational facilities to attract tourists.”
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
RSS