The '2010 Taiwan Cycling Festival' is organized by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Hualien county government, and Taitung county government. The festival is a series of cycling contests that take place over a period of nine days, aimed at inspiring the passion of sport recreation and promoting eco-tourism.
This year, 16 distinguished cycling teams and 43 international media have been invited to participate. More than 30,000 visitors are also expected to come to see the event, and it is estimated that the festival will generate US$4,375,000 in eco-tourism spending. Minister of Transportation and Communications, Dr. Chi-Kuo Mao, expressed: “It is hard to develop other heavy industries in eastern Taiwan due to the small population there. However, this area has rich tourism resources. Thus, we have selected eastern Taiwan as an ideal area to develop cycling tourism. We will develop cycling tourism under the principles of promoting eco-friendly tourism and fostering sustainable development.” Hualien and Taitung have obtained a four-year construction budget of US$24,718,750 from the Executive Yuan to develop cycling paths, railways, and highways to form a visitor attraction network in eastern Taiwan. In order to further promote cycling tourism, the local governments in Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties have organized a series of cycling activities. The Taiwan Cycling Festival will be the most important event each year in these areas to attract domestic and overseas tourists to visit Hualien and Taitung. This year is the first time the Cycling Festival is being held. The importance the Tourism Bureau places on this festival is the same as the Taiwan Lantern Festival and Taiwan Culinary Exhibition. The Taiwan Tourism Bureau has invited 16 teams from 14 countries to participate in the 210km road race – the Taiwan Cup competition - and 43 international journalists from 15 countries will report about the Festival. The first race was the “Challenging Yourself” 200 km competition on Oct. 16. The route was from Zhihben to Yuli. It then turned to Gaoliao Bridge and went back to Zhihben. It is estimated that it will take the cyclists 13.5 hours to complete. Then, coming up with the second race was the Triathlon 123km competition, which started at Huo Shui Lake. Participants had to swim across the lake, then bike to Chenggong Township, and run to the Liji Elementary School. It is estimated that it will take cyclists 9.5 hours to complete. The international cycling teams activities include the training from Hualien city to Tianxiang. The distance of the route is 210 kilometers along Provincial Highway No. 9 and Highway No. 11. The views offered by this route include mountain scenes of the East Rift Valley and the seaside sceneries of the Pacific Ocean. The race course is tough and challenging. It is estimated that these elite riders can finish the high-intensity race within five hours. In order to create a friendly environment for tourists during the cycling festival, transportation, facilities, tour packages and services will be provided by the relevant public and private sectors. Five cycling service stations are provided by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Xincheng, Shoufeng, Rueisuei, Yuli, and Taitung to offer drinking water, showers, bike rentals, and bike repairs, etc. Additionally, tourists can take a look at information about the cycling tours in eastern Taiwan via http://motcbike.iot.gov.tw. Riders also can download software so they can gain access to information about the cycling tour on their mobile phones if their phones support the Windows mobile 6.1 platform. Moreover, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau will provide package tours to Chimei, Gangkuo, Duli and Tunghe so that tourists can experience east coast’s sceneries. It has also organized a series of performances in the Music Village in Taitung City and organic meals in Chishang Township. Both are featured attractions of the International Spotlight in the Eastern Region.
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