SM A LL-TOW N CH A R M / GRE ATER TA IPEI A RE A
Small & “
Slow
”
Towns
The 2019 Taiwan Small Town Ramble Last year the Taiwan Tourism Bureau promoted travel to Taiwan’s offshore islands with the 2018 Year of Bay Tourism campaign. This year the focus is on the charms of Taiwan’s small towns with the 2019 Taiwan Small Town Ramble. TE X T RICK CH A RE T TE
PHOTOS V I S ION
Beitou Museum
I
n Small Town Story, one of her many mega-hit songs, the beloved Taiwan singer Teresa Teng told how “Small towns have many stories; they are filled with happiness and joy. If you come to a small town, you will surely find much to harvest.” Recorded in the late 1970s, the tune today remains a favorite in the Chinese-speaking world. This year, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau is seeking to create a distinctive “local town”
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TR AVEL IN TAIWAN
tourism brand for Taiwan by showcasing the rich and diverse cultural landscapes, ecologic a l la ndsc apes, a nd recreationa l re s ou rc e s of s p e c i a l ly s e le c t e d tow n s . According to the Bureau these include “classic towns of va rious counties a nd cities in Taiwan, as well as theme towns recommended by various ministries in Taiwan, such as Hakka towns, indigenous tribal villages, and towns certif ied as slow-paced cities by Cittaslow International.” Signif icant
weighting was also given to polling of the public conducted online. In this issue we present five towns chosen from the greater Taipei area. Note that the definition of “town” is expansive. Some are former towns now absorbed as districts in cities and some are neighborhoods or “old streets” long part of a larger town or city district. Other selections will be introduced in coming issues.