Public–private cooperation
A public hearing held in 2006 on saving Taijiang’s rivers won support from then-legislator and current ROC vice president Lai Ching-te (William Lai). He brought together various organizations to discuss the problem, and they ended up planting numerous trees along paths beside the drainage channels of the Jianan irrigation system.
Following the enlargement of Tainan City in 2010 by its merger with the former Tainan County, authority over regional matters was unified, and efforts began to promote extension of the pathway to the Wushantou Reservoir in Guantian District. Thus was formed the 45-kilometer long Tainan Mountains to Sea Greenway, the forerunner of the Mountains to Sea National Greenway.
In 2017 the National Development Council (NDC) began promoting greenways, and the then Forestry Bureau was put in charge of overall planning. In 2018 the Mountains to Sea National Greenway was completed, running along the Jianan irrigation canals from Taijiang National Park up to Wushantou Reservoir, and then following the Zengwen River past Alishan to reach Yushan at an elevation of 3,952 meters.
For many years now, initiatives promoted by non-governmental groups have gained force. One of these organizations, the Taiwan Thousand Miles Trail Association, was founded in 2006 by Huang Wu-hsiung, Hsu Jen-hsiu, and author Hsiao Yeh (Li Yuan). Meanwhile, within the central government, former NDC deputy minister Tseng Shu-cheng and former NDC minister Chen Mei-ling were important advocates for greenways. All working for environmental conservation, their paths eventually crossed.
“This was an important project in terms of public governance in national development,” says Wu Maocheng. “There was collaboration among government agencies including the Tainan City and Chiayi County governments, the NDC, local branches of the Water Resources Agency, the Irrigation Agency, and the Forestry Bureau as well as local communities, NGOs and other groups. It spanned all levels from local to central government.”
This 177-kilometer-long national greenway offers a microcosm of 400 years of Taiwanese history. It encompasses the ethnic and cultural characteristics of the Taijiang area and the Siraya and Tsou indigenous peoples. It also incorporates diverse natural ecosystems, with five forest climate types and four types of aquatic environment. It manifests the rich diversity of Taiwan, and its starting point is Taijiang.
The Mountains to Sea National Greenway promotes diverse modes of travel between Taijiang and Yushan, including walking, cycling, public buses, and pleasure boats.