Taiwan--It’s not the first place that comes to mind when you think about eco-tourism, but the government is busy trying to change that perception, especially since they are hosting the 2009 World Games in the southern port city of Kaohsiung.
Many Silicon Valley high tech employees have made a quick visit to Taiwan, considered one of Asia’s economic tigers, thanks to computer chip manufacturing. With six million people living in the metropolitan area of Taipei, it’s crowded, the buses and trains are packed and 1.5 million motorcycles and scooters clog the streets.
Despite that, Taiwan is an up and coming destination for eco-tourists. If you haven’t been there recently, you’re in for a surprise. In the past decade, the government has been working hard to restore this country of nearly 23 million people to its nickname “Beautiful Island,” or Ilha Formosa, the words exclaimed by Portuguese sailors in 1544 who stumbled upon this nearly 14,000 square mile island shaped like a leaf. “If we lose these natural resources they will never come back,” says Trust Lin, Section Chief of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau (www.go2taiwan.net). Taiwan, the size of Vermont, is home to seven national parks, covering 8.5% of the country, a larger percentage than the U.S. Getting around the island without a car is easy. In 2007, the government installed a bullet train that travels from the northern most city of Taipei to the southern most port city of Kaoshiung with five stops along the way and numerous other buses and trains take you to outer provinces. So grab a seat next to me on the bullet train as we experience what the Portuguese sailors discovered nearly 500 years ago.
First stop: Sun Moon Lake Just one hour away from the capital city of Taipei, this tranquil body of water is called the Lake Tahoe of Taiwan. Located in the middle of the island, it’s the lake locals think looks like a round sun and a crescent moon attached in the middle, thus the name Sun Moon Lake. A man-made lake, it was originally constructed to provide electricity for aborigines, but it was so scenic, it quickly became a destination spot. The lake has 27 different kinds of fish and many visitors come just to taste the rare “Presidents fish,” named after former President Chiang Kai-shek. In 1999 a 7.6 earthquake, the biggest in 50 years, devastated the area, but it has since been rebuilt with several new five star hotels and more under construction.
The Hotel Del Lago (www.dellago.com.tw) will pick you up from the train station and the next thing you know, you’ll be sipping a glass of local beer on the patio overlooking the three square mile lake. The Taiwanese are natural environmentalists, content to just sit and stare at beautiful landscape rather than disturb the natural resources. “Water-skiing, jet skiing, and surfing are just becoming popular with our young people,” says Dina Peng, a Taipei resident who visits Sun Moon Lake every year. “My husband and I come to the lake to reflect,” she said. You can get a boat ride on this lake but it will be leisurely.” “I come here to be peaceful," said Pang’s husband George Wang. "This morning I told my wife-this is like a picture. In Taipei it’s all rush-rush." He awoke at 5 am to see the color of the lake change from deep blue to gray to white as the sun rose.
This area is still inhabited by aborigines who discovered it while chasing white deer and stayed because of the fertile soil. The government has made special provisions for these indigenous people, for instance a designated wharf where only they can fish. On New Years day the aborigines show respect to their ancestors at the two ancient trees because they believe the number of leaves represent their future population. The aboriginal population in this area is dwindling, currently only 280 people.
As tempting as the still lake is, don’t bother putting on a bathing suit. Swimming is only allowed here once a year, in August, for the annual 1.8 mile swim across the lake. Last year 20,000 people jumped in the water, including a 90 year old woman who needed two men to carry her to the shore so she could start her swim.
There are seven trails around the lake including one that takes you through the Assam tea farms where you can watch the famous ‘Tea Ladies’ of Taiwan. This area has more than 99 mountains and each weekday a group of elderly women take the bus to the peak and with knowledge passed down through families for generations, they know how to spot the top three leaf stems that make-up the premium black tea and pick them by hand. According to locals, the higher the mountain the better the quality of leaves and the best ones are processed or brewed ten times to make it smooth and produce tea as expensive as a fine wine. Similar to wine tasting, the Taiwanese recommend that you smell the tea first before drinking it, swill the beverage around your mouth and use all your senses to judge the quality.
Next stop: The port city of Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, the second largest city in Taiwan with about 1.5 million people, is the last stop on the bullet train. The local government is building the world’s largest eco-stadium, which will host the 2009 World Games. Under the Olympic umbrella, but a separate competition, the events include sumo wrestling, flying disc, bowling, and 28 other unusual events that you won’t find in the Olympics. The stadium was created by the internationally renowned Japanese architect Toyo Ito who says about his unique building, “Some associate it with a scarf, some a dragon. To me it is more of a snake than a dragon.”
However you describe it, it’s like no other stadium you’ve ever seen. Construction is scheduled to be complete in January and the games begin in July. The 55,000 seat stadium has a solar panel roof, recycled and reclaimed water retention system, and an area that will be used as a public park when the Rolling Stones or Celine Dion are not performing. The roof does not cover the middle of the stadium because the stadium was constructed to make sure the winds flow north to south to cool off spectators. “We’re creating the stadium to help educate the world about protecting the environment and also to encourage more visitors to Taiwan,” says Ting-Shin of the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee.
After a decade of being one of most polluted cities on the island, today Kaohsiung is known as one of the greenest with 10% of the city covered with parks. Hop on a boat on the Love River that glides past the revitalized waterfront area. If you’re lucky an outdoor concert will serenade you and put you in the mood to visit one of the night markets where you’ll be tempted to buy your sweetie a jade necklace.
Third stop: The South East This area of Taiwan has more than its share of rivers, gorges, beaches, mountains, and culture. The Taroko Gorge, with 2700-foot high cliffs lined with marble is a “must-see.” Visitors walk through the famous “tunnel of nine turns” created by the men who built the highway. The Liwu River runs through the gorge where you can spot caves and imagine who may have used them as an overnight resting place.
At one point along the walk, you can see where the first cut was made into the marble walls that started the Central Cross-Island Highway and at another, you can actually see the shape of Taiwan between the tops of the mountain. And if waterfalls, clinging trees and vegetation that looks like Chinese calligraphy isn’t enough, then visit the nearby Changchun Shrine, built to commemorate the 212 workers who died during the construction of the highway and the Changuang Temple, where spring water flows all year long. This is an area where you should stay overnight and there are accommodations for all budgets, ranging from $20 a night at the local hostel to $200 a night at the five star Grand Formosa Hotel.
With the restoration of wetlands, preservation of open spaces, including 6,000-year-old trees, and the installation of modern sewage treatment plants, the wildlife has returned to Taiwan. For instance, the Danshui River now has 48 kinds of fish instead of 14. From April to October, during butterfly season, over 400 different species dot the countryside. Butterfly watching is rapidly competing with bird watching as a year around activity. Whale watching and spotting dolphins are also popular visitor attractions on the east coast. Due to its diverse topographies from sea level to mountain tops, Taiwan supports tens of thousands of animal and plant species-making it one of the most diverse biological regions in the world.
Even the most ardent tree huger has to visit the big city sometime and the Taipei offers eco-tourism highlights. Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world, resembles a stalk of bamboo. The construction is more than ascetic; it’s meant to withstand earthquakes and typhoons. The fastest elevators in the world will take you to the indoor observation deck on the 89th floor in 38 seconds, but to reach the top level, you have to walk the last two flights of stairs. It’s worth the effort to feel the wind and fog and listen to the humming sound as the wind whistles through the protective steel rod barrier.
The Five Cent Driftwood House (actually a restaurant), designed by local artist Hsieh Li-shiang, resembles the female form. Constructed of discarded materials like driftwood and oyster shells, each of the four floors is a different color from lavender to orange to aqua. To make a reservation you need a minimum of six in your party and at least three weeks advance notice. The good news is a seven-course lunch only costs about 20 dollars a person!
National Geographic Traveler calls Taiwan “Asia’s best kept secret,” but Trust Lin wants to change that. In 2007, Taiwan had 3.7 million visitors to the island, “next year we hope to reach four million,” says Lin. The good news is none of us will leave much of a footprint, but we’ll still get to walk along ancient trails populated by butterflies, monkeys, and frogs.
Taipai, TAIWAN
The Gorge Taroko National Park
Friendly locals in Taipai
Venues Today Magazine June 2008 Harnessing the Sun Green Stadium in Taiwan
Venues Today Magazine June 2008
Kaohsiung Stadium Taiwan Harnessing the Sun
Green Stadium in Taiwan is Wake-up Call to Western Architects
By: Rich Carlson/talkintravel.com
On April 15, 2008, Mr. Carlson donned a hard hat to attend news conference at the Kaohsiung Stadium construction site in Taiwan along with 19 other US journalists.
Like most great ideas, in retrospect it seems obvious…build a “green” stadium to preserve the environment and reduce costs—but no one has done it until now. Kaohsiung, Taiwan, host of the 2009 World Games, claims their stadium, with a seating capacity of 55,000, is the first large scale eco-venue self-powered through solar-electrical generation.
Charles Lin, Director-General of Public Works Bureau of Kaohsiung City Hall, Taiwan, says the stadium's solar energy panels will make the setting self-sufficient in electricity needs. The panels, along with six green building measures, means the stadium is the first environmental eco-stadium in the history of The World Games. Kaohsiung, the second largest city in Taiwan, after Taipei, has an average of 2,282 hours of sun per year, averaging 5.6 hours daily. If the solar energy plates receive enough sunlight, they will be able to provide 80% of the electricity needs during the operation of the stadium and 100% during the remaining time. Any surplus electricity generated could be sold to the local power company, says Lin.
It’s a wake up call to Western architects who build closed domed stadiums without solar panels. With the political shift toward alternative energy sources, getting funding for a stadium, arena, or convention center can be easier with grants used for solar panel installation, light emitting diodes, water reclamation systems and trash recycling. It also gives the public more reason to support a new facility (should a bond measure need to be passed by taxpayers) since they too are becoming more ecologically aware.
Stephanie Graham of the international sports architect firm HOK agrees. “This stadium confirms what we are also experiencing in the States. Stadia, arenas and ballparks are often publicity owned or funded facilities serving privately owned teams. Public–private partnerships are often key to the success for these developments. We often see large event centers as the focal point of larger urban redevelopment programs that revitalize cities. When neighboring properties might resist the developments, providing green space or plazas for community use and recreation can ease the acceptance.”
Renowned architect Toyo Ito from Japan won an international contest to design the stadium. Designboom (Europe’s trendy ‘on line’ design magazine), considers him “one of the worlds most innovative and influential architects.” His firm has designed VivoCity, the largest shopping center at the Harbourfront Center in Singapore, with over 1.5 million square feet of commercial and office space. His latest project, the first in the U.S., is designing the new Berkley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, both part of the University of California, Berkley, with groundbreaking scheduled for next year.
In Kaohsiung, Ito constructed the stadium around the existing space rather than clearing the land. Feng Shui methods, the Chinese art of placement, played a key role in where to position the Stadium and leaving as much open space on each side of the facility for park land and an ecological pond. The layout takes advantage of the cooling winds and places the stadium in a position to shade the majority of fans during a day’s peak sunny period. “I always insist on integrating architecture and nature,” says Ito. “When people come to the games I don’t want them to see a still building, but a bouncing dynamic architecture. It stimulates your imagination anyway.”
People have called it a floating stadium and also compared it to the flow of a river. “Some associate it (the stadium) with a scarf, some a dragon,” says Ito. “To me, it is more of a snake than a dragon. A wavy snake body with broad front and narrow hind would be the most precise metaphor. Snakes aren’t my favorite animal but I am a snake according to the Chinese horoscope.”
The uneven spiral shaped roof presented special challenges to the engineers and contractors who had to install 10,000 solar panels. This unprecedented design had to undergo high tech analyzes to make sure it would be safe, and although solar energy will save money in the long run, in the short term, Ito says it was so expensive to construct it would not have been possible without government support.
The projected annual surplus in energy can be sold to the local power company for approximately $151,000 U.S. Solar panels have a life expectancy of around 30 years, so with the stadium being self sufficient while an event is occurring and creating surplus energy on non-event days the long term benefits are tremendous. “Of course it’s worth the government investment!” Lin exclaimed.
With the world becoming more aware of the effects man has on the environment, the designers included many features that make it the most eco-friendly stadium in the world. Some of these include rainwater retention and recycling, an ecological landscaping system prohibiting the use of pesticides, light emitting diodes with a sensory system, recycled construction materials, trash sorting in an underground treatment facility and solar panels. Lin believes that once the stadium is up and running, it will serve as research model for architectural development and physics. “Recycling energy has become the universal language for the world,” says Lin.
The entire stadium is cutting edge, from its unique design to its eco-friendly qualities. Once in operation, the citizens of Kaohsiung hope it ‘puts them on the map,’ changing its image from a working class port city to a high tech center of world trade. For the past few years the city has also been developing its waterfront with the Love River cruise project and Inner-Kaohsiung Harbor ferry plan.
With the stadium’s park-like setting, including native flora and fauna, walking trails, and ecological pond, residents who live mostly in high-rise condos or apartments, will use the green space as their backyard. Taiwanese citizens feel that parks are an extension of their home and with the excellent local transportation system extending routes to the stadium, it’s expected to draw locals year around for picnics, walks, softball games and a playground for children.
Construction of the stadium began in January 2007, and is scheduled to be completed by January 2009, six months ahead of the opening of The World Games. Under the umbrella of the Olympics, but a separate competition, the World Games include unusual sports such as flying disc, ju-jitsu, dragon boat racing, parachuting, rock climbing, tug of war, sumo wrestling and 23 other events. The government paid for the construction of the stadium and did not receive any funding from the World Games organization.
Ting-Shan Chu, the executive secretary to the CEO of the World Games Organization says, “Ticketing prices for the World Games are still undergoing a marketing evaluation. Reluctantly I have to admit that the sport spectators’ behavior in Taiwan is quite different, so the ticket prices will be a lot of cheaper compared to other countries.” Spectator sports in Taiwan are typically not a major draw so coming up with price point that will attract the most spectators can be difficult. Ticket prices represent only a portion of the projected revenues. A television distribution contract to cover the World Games 2009 through Public Television Services (PTS) paid NT$250,000,000 (roughly US$8.3Million), to broadcast the events.
After The World Games, July 16-26, 2009, the government will manage the venue and hope to attract the World Soccer Cup, concerts and trade shows. Marketing officials are targeting names like the Rolling Stones, Celine Dion and Opera legends. “People are lining up to book events here,” says Ting-Shan Chu. “We’re creating an international green building standard that will raise awareness of environmental issues while promoting our city at the same time.”
The Sports Affairs Council, a government entity, had planned to build the stadium before they bid for the World Games. “Sports and tourism are the future opportunities for Taiwan,” says Lin. “Apart from the World Games, (the largest event ever held in Taiwan) we hope to host future Olympics, the Asian Games (similar to the Olympics but only for athletics in Asia), and Rugby 7, the world rugby championship event held annually.
It makes sense that an eco-stadium would be built in a country shaped like a leaf. When Portuguese sailors discovered Taiwan 500 years ago they called it Ilha Formosa, or “Beautiful Island,” and the government is working hard to earn that title once again.
Contacts: Charles Lin: Director-General of Public Works Bureau of Kaohsiung City Hall, Taiwan +886-7-3373269
Stephanie Graham: HOK, United States 816-221-1500
Toyo Ito, Architect, Japan 81 (3) 34095822
Ting-Shan Chu, Executive Secretary, CEO Office, The World Games Kaohsiung, Taiwan 886-7-224-2009 ext. 209
