Photos by MJ Klein
Today’s featured park is located in Taoyuan City. Called Jing Gou (Ching Kou) Environment Protection Park, this small triangular shaped park looked a lot better on the map than it did when I got there.
Admittedly, I was a little disappointed when I arrived at this park. On the map, the park is nestled in the space between 2 cross roads and along (what looked like) a river. But when I got there, I found pretty much, a waste of space.
Shot taken at the entrance.
This park has a mini temple, with burner. I should do a series on mini temples I think!
The Placard.
Just beyond the placard at the SW corner of the park, I took this shot facing almost due East.
As I walked along, looking to my left (North) I noticed a little section that had been roped off. I have no idea why.
I walked along the path which was made of cobblestones, and had a bit of an incline. I found the path to be annoying because the stones are rounded and slippery, plus the incline made walking on the stones anything but pleasant. I can’t see an elderly person doing that. In this shot I am at the end of the path, facing almost due West, looking back into the park and down the center path. Now I’m going to walk down the path on the far right.
Now, about this “river” I saw on the map. It’s a concrete “river” lined with factories. As I walked along the path and looked to the right I saw this wonderful view as shown above.
Polished stone chairs but no table. Nevertless that did not stop someone from eating there, and leaving their garbage right where they ate. Note to people who litter: Your mother doesn’t work here! Littering is one of my strong personal dislikes.
Continuing along the path next to the “river” I came to this structure. Just more places to sit and enjoy the “wei dao” of the Cement River. I’m not sure why this structure is elevated because there is nothing to look at. I’m not even sure why it exists at all.
A little further down the path I was able to see through the reeds and I saw a load of industrial waste flowing into the Concrete River. Yuck.
The NW corner has this well maintained thingy.
Just past the thiny above, I turned to the left (facing East) and snapped this shot in the low evening light. It almost looks good.
I hate to be harsh, but this is a park that I’m not planning on visiting again. I recommend that you visit Jong Shing Park instead!
These guys also build the world’s laptops?
Mitesh Damania » what guys?
The country of Taiwan.. I was expecting engineering marvels. Perfect circles and squares. Safe walkways.. Plush landscapes..
Mitesh Damania » parks are designed to be pleasing to the eye, and maintain an element of nature. what you are describing sounds sterile….
To Mitesh – I think you are looking at a wrong place for engineering marvels. These mini parks are there in almost every other community. Just walk couple of blocks and you can find one. As MJ mentioned before, they are managed either by local township administration or communities and may not be well funded. But I think they are doing a great job by just building them. People take morning or evening walks there and children can play on those plastic play sets without travelling too far away from their houses. It amazes me to see so many mini parks in Taiwan where land is at premium.
Ashish’s last blog post..Hiking on Fei Feng Mountain
Ashish » i am also amazed that the parks per square kilometer density in Taiwan. each one has it’s own personality and reflects on the community that supports them. this is one reason why i like visiting these small parks and writing about them. checking out the local park in a neighborhood might be a good way to judge the neighborhood itself if you were planning on moving there. just a thought….