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Transportation
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After the THSR began service in 2007, trains shuttle between the north and south frequently, symbolizing the new start for Gueiren.
As the THSR Tainan Station is located in Wudong Village, Gueiren is suddenly transformed from a quiet rural area into the gateway to Tainan City with over one million people and the transit point of ground access system of the Southern Taiwan Science Park. Due to this position change, the once slowly developing rural area has now become the focus of people across Taiwan, and many major construction projects have relocated here to bring opportunities for the beautiful transformation of Gueiren.
The rapid population growth foreshadows a flourishing future. To deal with future local development, infrastructures cannot be overlooked. Stay with us and let us build a new townscape for Hongwacuo.
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Upgrading Roads for a Better Ground Access System for the THSR Station
The THSR has been replacing flights and trains and has become a major form of passenger transportation in western Taiwan. As ridership increases significantly, this challenges the transit function of the THSR Tainan Station and the convenience of the ground access system.
As the major outbound public transport system of the THSR Tainan Station, the TRA Shalun branch links with the Jhongjhou Railway Station. At present, the highway system is the major ground access to the THSR Tainan Station special zone. This highway system includes Expressway No. 86, THSR Bridge underpass and County Highway No. 182. Although the system capacity can still accommodate the present traffic flow, the increasing traffic flow will surely affect local traffic conditions. “If the THSR is the main artery, roads leading to the THSR stations are the blood vessels. If a blood vessel is too narrow, blood will clog and problems will occur. Therefore, the City S10 village street has been selected for road expansion to provide an alternative road for diverting traffic from the TSHR stations,” according to the Economic Development Section Chief Wu Jin-si. After its expansion, the City S10 village street (Heshun Road) will increase from 15m to 20m wide, allowing citizens from downtown Tainan and Yongkang District to travel to the THSR Bridge underpass and enter the THSR Tainan Station area more quickly. Also, the City S10 road will be extended to Guanmiao District and link up with Provincial Highway No. 19 for citizens from Tainan and Yongkang District to reach National Highway No. 2 faster.
Better transportation network for faster district development
Although the development of the ground access system to the west of the THSR Station is well under way, we should not overlook the east section, particularly the Taiwan Sugar Corporation Shalun Farm located on the spot which will be transformed into an academic village and bring in considerable crowds. Therefore, the district office proposed the City S157 village street expansion project to provide a ground access for passengers to quickly enter Gueiren District from east of the TSHR Tainan Station.
In addition, by expanding City S157 village street and along with future transportation projects, such as the eastern extension of the THSR ground access to Wujia Road in Guanmiao, Provincial Highway No. 86 expansion, etc. They will accelerate the development east of the THSR Station and promote the extension and balance of local development. In addition to the above major ground access projects, the district office has built or improved roads in the district to keep local transportation of Gueiren in pace with other cities.
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Water Engineering
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Striving funds for the Gucuo-Liujia Drainage Project
Since the beginning of human civilization, fighting floods has never stopped. Today, with every technology becoming much advanced, floods still come like rogues going in procession, the devil always holds the cross and it seems that they will never stop. To provide citizens with a place safe and sound to settle and away from floods, governments of all levels never stop their flood exorcism role, vowing to prevent floods from harming people.
The upstream section of the Gucuo-Liujia Drainage is part of the urban planning of Gueiren District. When water flows from the upper to the lower courses, fields and households on both sides of the downstream section are inundated when there is torrential rain due to the low draining efficiency of the downstream embankment causing severe sludge deposition. Locals are very upset about this. "The project was difficult to proceed due to a land acquisition problem. After over a dozen years of hard work, the district office finally obtained funds for the project during the term of former township chief Chen, and this drainage project delayed many years was eventually confirmed." After the completion of this project, about 1,500 households and 15 hectares of land will be saved from inundation and lives and property protected.
Solving inundation problems in the spirit of Yu the Great
Although inundation is not serious in Gueiren, when there is torrential rain, however, some areas in the district are flooded. The city office thus implements various flood control projects to solve local inundation problems once and for all.
As part of the Regulation Project of Flood-prone Areas (an eight-year master project with a total cost of NT$80 billion), the Taizi Temple Drainage Improvement Project is a major flood control project in the district. After project completion, the inundation problem in Damiao and Xipu Villages will be significantly improved. The Wuxianggong Drainage was originally an old gutter. Remodeling it into a modern drainage can significantly improve the inundation problem in Lunding, Shalun, Liujia, Kanxi, and Kandong Villages. The Kangziwei Drainage Improvement Project can solve the inundation problem at Datan Village near Chang Jung Christian University and promote local development.
Apart from drainage improvement, the district office builds rainwater sewers for flood-prone roads in the district center to ensure that these roads can dry quickly after torrential rain for citizens to get rid of flood waters.
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Greening and Beautification
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Greening: Beautifying Gueiren Townscape
Greening and esthetics are essential to beautifying the townscape of a city. In recent years, therefore, Gueiren has been aggressively implementing various greening and landscaping works.
Gueiren Circus sitting at the heart of the district on County Road No. 182 with heavy traffic is the green landmark of Gueiren. Although it was completed a decade ago, as it has since been overlooked, the original fountain, statue and electronic clock on the circus were damaged and unusable. As no one cared about the circus, it became the showcase of advertisements which spoils the overall townscape. To maintain the townscape, the city office decided to re-engineer the circus for township renaissance. After demolishing all damaged items and removing all advertisements, shrubs are grown and lights are added for lighting in the evening to re-engineer the circus into a new charm day or night. Former chief Chen Te-qing added, "The circus re-engineering project is very important to the district office, as the circus represents the entrance image of Guiren. When one of the four huge banyan trees withered, therefore, the district office made great efforts to find a suitable substitute, hoping to prevent the regret of "incompleteness" and re-present the four-green-umbrella landmark."
Decorating townscape with esthetics
The beauty of natural landscapes can always draw people's attention and building artificial landscapes with smart use of esthetics and beauty can also bring their charm to people.
Landscape re-engineering is not necessarily complex. Through careful planning and design (Decorating townscape), viewers can also see and feel the difference. Like the greening of the outer beltway (Gueiren section) surrounding urban Tainan, although only trees are grown on both sides of the road, the shade and greenery can still make people happy when they drive along. Also, the kiosk in the sports park was planned to provide citizens with a shelter from rain and hot weather. Its crimson roof also makes the whole thing look more elegant. In addition, the city office has implemented partial landscape re-engineering for some key scenic spots, such as the Dunyuansheng Temple, old Gueiren Precinct, and the ossuary. By re-engineering local scenic spots, we hope to encourage locals to pay more attention to their living environment. |
Major Projects
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New Landmark for Gueiren:Gueiren Museum
The light yellow building sitting beside the circus is the Gueiren Museum. It was the Gueiren Police Precinct with a history of over 60 years. Opened on February 6, 2010, it is the first public facility built under the "unused space reuse" program. Through cultural space re-engineering, this old building has become a new landmark to provide locals with a place for reading, leisure and learning. By renovating and re-positioning this old building, the district office has turned the museum into a culturally built environment and brought Gueiren into a new stage of development, carrying the memories of history and the soul of culture.
The museum involves the transformation of an old building into a new landmark. After the former Tainan County Government moved the Gueiren Precinct to Liujia Village, the square of the old precinct became the home of the local cleaning unit. As buildings around the circus were damaged one after another over the past five years, and their elegant appearance was ruined, former chief Chen Te-qing decided to renovate the old precinct by landscape re-engineering.The concept "revitalization of unused space" has driven the growth of new facilities in the district. Now, this place has passed the "third general review" in urban planning as a green, and the interior of the museum will also be renovated, with the open-air stage in the square for rent. Apart from adding a place for leisure and LOHAS in the business area around the city office, the museum enables citizens to snatch a little leisure from a busy life and enjoy a stroll in the CBD away from the traffic and crowds.
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Major Projects
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Ossuary—Here lie ancestors of Gueiren.
Showing respect for ancestors through worshipping is part of local tradition and culture, and this also affects local funeral and burial habits. Believing that “burial brings peace to the deceased,” older generations often choose burial as the final resolution of human life. As time goes by, however, public acceptance of cremation also increases.
When the THSR planned its route, as it penetrates the cemetery in Shalun Village in the district, the THSR agreed to provide feedback money (a compensation) for tomb relocation after negotiations with the locals. However, where should they relocate those tombs? As it is against the trend of our times to build another cemetery, the town office thus found another location to build an ossuary for locals to accommodate the souls of their ancestors.
Apart from providing a more beautiful resting place for the deceased who were forced to leave their tombs due to THSR construction, the new ossuary indirectly benefited Gueiren citizens. This is because there was no ossuary of any kind in the district before, and locals wishing to cremate the body of their ancestors must find a place in other townships. With an ossuary of our own, Gueiren citizens can now worship their ancestors more conveniently. Most importantly, their ancestors can truly rest in their hometown.
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Damiao Multi-functional Activity Center: A New Example for Local Activity Centers
It has been years since we wanted to build an activity center in Damiao Village, the northernmost point of Gueiren. Due to the budget problem, it remained a wish for many years. With the concerted efforts of the district office and locals, we finally obtained a budget of NT$4 million. However, it was not enough for building an activity center. To keep the train going, we changed the original design into a multi-functional complex by changing the second floor into a stadium to apply for funds to the Sports Administration. Finally, we were granted a sum of over NT$10 million to realize the dream of Damiao citizens.
After construction was completed, the internal design of the center is novel, with emphasis on accessibility. Lifts are also built to facilitate use by elderly people and people with disabilities to visit the center. After opening at the end of 2008, it has since received warm feedback from locals and has become the most popular venue for leisure, gatherings, and sports in Damiao Village.