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.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,