By KHT Staff. Images via KH City Govt.
KAOHSIUNG — Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said the city should develop a broader tourism plan around the Dashu Old Rail Bridge (大樹舊鐵橋), describing the site as both scenic and part of the shared memory of people who once traveled between Kaohsiung and Pingtung.
Responding to questions from city councilors, Chen said the old bridge could be developed as part of an ecological park and marketed together with nearby attractions rather than treated as a stand-alone site. He said he had asked the Tourism Bureau to draft an overall plan.
Chen said the surrounding area offers several possible tourism links, including Jiuqutang (九曲堂) food destinations, the Jhuliao Intake Station (竹寮取水站), the Taiwan Pineapple Factory (臺灣鳳梨工場) and the Sanhe Tile Kiln (三和瓦窯). He said those locations could be packaged together through supporting marketing plans to create a more coherent visitor route.
He also said the city should study the possibility of reconnecting the old rail bridges on both the north and south sides of the area. Chen said the Public Works Bureau’s Parks Office had been asked to evaluate the engineering requirements and cost of such a project.
The comments came as councilors pressed the city on how to improve the tourism value of the old bridge area, which has long been seen as one of Dashu’s most distinctive historic landmarks.
