As temperatures across Taiwan begin to increase, flowers have started to blossom, drawing visitors to sites such as Chiayi County’s Alishan (阿里山) and Taipei’s Yangmingshan (陽明山), where flower festivals are under way or set to start soon.
Up to 60 percent of the cherry blossoms in the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, where the Alishan Cherry Blossom Festival is being held, were blooming and on Saturday attracted more than 7,000 visitors, Chiayi Forest District Office deputy director Lee Ting-chung (李定忠) said.
The Alishan Cherry Blossom Festival, which began on Thursday, runs through April 10.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsun, Taipei Times
Chiayi traffic police captain Su Chun-hung (蘇俊宏) said that traffic restrictions were imposed from 6am to 11am on a 66km section of the Alishan Highway (Provincial Highway No. 18), where visitors were required to park their vehicles before boarding shuttle buses to their destinations.
The restrictions began on Thursday and are to continue until the festival ends, Su said.
With the exception of drivers holding permits for work, lodging in hotels or attending special events, no privately owned vehicles would be allowed to enter the section.
Photo: CNA
Visitors should consider taking public transportation to Alishan, he added.
Public transportation is also the best means of travel for those planning to attend Taipei’s Calla Lily and Hydrangea Festival, which is to be held from Friday to April 24, the Taipei Department of Economic Development said.
Due to expected heavy traffic and limited roads leading to the festival site, Taipei has organized a fleet of shuttle buses to transport visitors to the festival, the department said.
Designated buses would make detours to the Bamboo Lake (竹子湖) bus station, which is close to the Bamboo Lake Calla Lily Trail, while buses with scheduled stops at the station would increase their services, it said.
The festival would be the best time for people to view the flowers in full bloom, it added.
The department encouraged visitors to attend the festival, as it would feature many interactive activities, saying that information on how to best enjoy the festival can be found on the department-run Facebook page that promotes leisure activities in the capital.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS