Amusement parks across the nation have rolled out rebates and deals for special events to boost domestic tourism during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday.
The Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village in Taichung on Friday said that it has organized the only cherry blossom festival outside of Japan certified by the Japan Cherry Blossom Association.
The festival takes place from today to Feb. 28 and visitors can take the gondola to see the park’s 5,500 cherry trees, it said, adding that the flower season is to last until March 10.
Photo courtesy of the Leofoo Village Theme Park.
Lihpao Land in Taichung said that it hopes the Lihpao International Circuit, a three-course race track which was completed in November, would draw visitors to the park.
The main circuit — a 3.5km-long, 23-curve affair with an 20m elevation difference built to the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile’s grade two standards — is cleared for purpose-built racers, supercars and sport cars, it said.
Additionally, the circuit has a cross-country track and is the only Commission Internationale de Karting-certified go-kart course in Taiwan, it said.
The E-Da Theme Park in Kaohsiung bills itself as the sole amusement park inspired by ancient Greece. It consists of three areas — the Parthenon, Santorini and Trojan Citadel — which at 15,000 ping (4,545m2) is the nation’s largest indoor amusement facility.
Leofoo Village Theme Park in Hsinchu this year has an Arabian-themed Sweet Charms Palace, a romantic outing for couples that is also family-friendly, it said.
The facility features bubble machines, kaleidoscopes and a 3m crystal ball, and stylists, princess gowns and parades are available for families with children, it said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang