With the advent of autumn, the Kinmen County Government is stepping up promotion of an ancient trail on Taiwu Mountain (太武山), the highest in the county, as part of ongoing efforts to boost tourism.
Dotted with numerous granite steps, the Caicuo Ancient Trail (蔡厝古道) is a path that used to connect Shamei (沙美) and Shanwei (山外) villages, which are separated by Taiwu Mountain in the eastern part of Kinmen Island, the county government said in a press release.
In earlier times, traders carried baskets loaded with tofu and fresh vegetables on a stick over their shoulder along the trail to sell their wares.
Photo: CNA
That explains its other name, Tofu Ancient Trail (豆腐古道), the county said.
Kinmen started promoting the Taiwu Mountain hiking tour along the Tofu Ancient Trail last year, Kinmen Tourism Department officials said.
With the Caicuo Old Trail as its main feature, the tour is designed to attract hikers and ancient trail fans from Taiwan and China, giving them a glimpse into rarely seen natural and cultural landscapes in Kinmen, the officials said.
The trail has already been featured on the popular television travel program Made In Taiwan (MIT台灣誌) on China Television, which visited Kinmen for five days in August to document it, county officials said.
Former county government resident artist Tsou Chia-che (鄒佳哲) was commissioned by the county government to paint a mural featuring the Tofu Ancient Trail at the Caicuo tourist center last year and returned to lead a group of reporters and hikers along the trail earlier this month.
On the three-hour walk from the trail entrance to the peak of Taiwu Mountain, the group visited cultural spots from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as more modern attractions.
At the top of the mountain, Tsou once again sketched the beauty of the trail and a wonderful bird’s-eye view of Jinsha Township (金沙), the department said.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) yesterday apologized after the suicide of a civil servant earlier this month and announced that a supervisor accused of workplace bullying would be demoted. On Nov. 4, a 39-year-old information analyst at the Workforce Development Agency’s (WDA) northern branch, which covers greater Taipei and Keelung, as well as Yilan, Lienchiang and Kinmen counties, was found dead in their office. WDA northern branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), who has been accused of involvement in workplace bullying, would be demoted to a nonsupervisory position, Ho told a news conference in Taipei. WDA Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) said he would
RSS