Camping has become the most popular leisure activity in Taiwan, becoming the first priority of families. Subsidized by the Tourism Bureau, MOTC, the refurbishment of the “Shetou Qingshui Yan Hot Spring Camp Site” conducted by the Changhua County Government is going to be completed. The landscape of the park has been renovated. Connecting with the towns and townships in the neighborhood, it provides routes for minitours. Hopefully, it will become a popular leisure site in central Taiwan.
On December 1, the Changhua County Government sponsored a pioneer tour group, inviting many bloggers to experience the “Baquashan Mountain Ecology Explorer Minitour in Nature” conducted by the Qingshuiyan Ecological Culture and Creative Cultural Industry Association. With interesting environment education and DIY activities, it is expected to exploit the influence of internet leaders, who were welcomed to visit the brand new Qingshuiyan Hot Spring Camp Site. The “Shetou Qingshuiyan Hot Spring Camp Site” was formerly named the Qingshuiyan Boy Scout Camp Site, located by the path on the foothill at the west slope of Baquashan Mountain. The Changhua County Government obtained NT$200 million from the Tourism Bureau, MTOC to refurbish the site. It is estimated to be completed at the end of this year. In the camp site, there are facilities of grassland, water space, and a covered playground. Providing at least 233 quality camping spaces, it can accommodate a maximum of 1500 people in largescale camp activities. To the southwest side of the camp site, there is the Qingshuiyan Hot Spring, regarded as the best hot spring in Changhua, including a public hot spring spa, outdoor hot spring, foot spa pool, and more. The hot spring water is carbon nitrate in nature at a temperature of about 40oC. When the construction is to be completed in the future and the entrusted management is done, it will become a dream camp site with the appeals of a hot spring spa and camping.
In addition to the hot spring camp site, Qingshuiyan, Baquashan Mountain in Changhua has rich ecological resources, with more than a hundred indigenous species. There are things worthy of exploring in different seasons. As a County Historic Monument, Qingshuiyan Temple has simple and elegant architecture, beautiful and tranquil. The “Changhua County Qingshuiyan Ecological Culture and Creative Cultural Industry Association” that has been operated in the region for a long time educates people to preserve the natural ecology and environment. With ecological and cultural education, food, and agricultural education as its major appeals, in recent years, it provides interesting and prolific experience tours, which are always fully booked instantly. In collaboration with the development of the camp site, it has launched the themed tour of “Baquashan Mountain Ecology Explorer Minitour in Nature.” Integrating nature and humanities, it is saturated with educational meaning together with good food and an in-depth tour guide. The venue is closer to the camp site.
In the pioneer group, led by bloggers from different parts of Taiwan, people wandered along the evergreen path with rich ecology. They took deep breaths of fresh air in forests and experienced interesting DIY activities, from beautiful plants and flowers to egg coloring, from praying birds to sock dolls. Both adults and children developed their creativity. At noon, herbivorous plants, butterflies favorite, were transformed into gourmet dishes on the lunch table. They were beautiful as well as tasty, satisfying people tastes and visual pleasure. Enjoying good food, they also learned more about ecology.
The pioneer group also visited “LOHO Original Socks” to experience the making of socks and learn more about the “home of socks.” This is a socks sightseeing factory integrated with the functions of education and leisure all under one roof. In addition to the exhibition and sale of functional socks, the first-generation manual sock weaving machine to the fully automatic sock weaving machines, sock materials, and more are exhibited. Soon, the exceptional persimmon-dye sock experience will be presented. Along the way, they also visited “Fu Jin Restaurant” – a famous spot among railroad culture lovers in Taiwan and abroad. The owner, Chen, Chao-Chiang, grew up in a railway family. He loves to share his private collections of TRA relics. Moreover, there is the popular No. 135 patrol train. No matter whether you are a railway fan or a dilletante of railroads, you don’t want to miss the trip. In the future, with the Qingshuiyan Camp Site as the base, it will be extended to neighboring towns and townships in more minitours, taking you to visit top scenic spots and popular shops. It will be a highly recommended choice for one-day or two-day tours.