Do kids have to wait 100 minutes per ride at the New Taipei Children's Amusement Park? A lazy guide to hot spots during the New Year holiday

▲Taipei Children's Amusement Park. (Photo / Reporter Chen Ruizhong)

Reported by Chen Ruizhong / Taipei

The four-day New Year holiday was the first extended break of 2015, drawing crowds to attractions across Taiwan. In addition to perennially popular spots like Alishan and Jiufen, Shifen Waterfall—which reopened for free on December 29—attracted over 30,000 visitors on the first day of the holiday, 30 times its usual turnout. Meanwhile, the newly opened Taipei Children's Amusement Park saw more than 30,000 visitors on January 2, with an average wait time of about 100 minutes per ride.

According to the Central Weather Bureau, starting from daytime on January 3, the strength of the cold air mass from mainland China will weaken, with temperatures gradually rising.Except for scattered showers in northeastern and northern mountainous areas of Taiwan, the rest of the country will experience sunny to cloudy weather. As a result, many tourism operators expect even larger crowds today.ETtoday News Cloud has also compiled information on crowd conditions and special event promotions at various attractions during the holiday for public reference, to help travelers plan their trips.

The Directorate General of Highways also noted that for scenic areas along provincial and county roads prone to congestion during the consecutive holidays, alternative routes have been planned, CMS traffic updates issued, flexible traffic signal timing and chaining adjustments made, and mobile lane controls implemented among other traffic management measures. The public can also refer to the “Travel Information” section under the “2014 New Year Holiday Traffic Management” page on the Directorate General of Highways website, as well as the websites of various bus companies for related information.

▲Lung Chee Safari vehicles at Leofoo Village. (Photo / Provided by Leofoo Village)

Leofoo Village Theme Park:
Launched a “Spin-to-Win Animal Lottery” campaign where visitors have the chance to enter for just NT$10. Over 20,000 visitors were recorded over the first two days of the holiday, with an estimated total of 50,000 over the four days.

Janfusun Fancyworld:
Offered a 34% discount (66% of the original price) on New Year holiday admission tickets, with regular tickets priced at NT$599. Around 25,000 visitors entered over the first two days of the holiday.

Taipei Children's Amusement Park:
Extended operating hours to 20:00 from January 1 to 3, and implemented crowd control measures for up to 15,000 visitors inside the park as needed. Average daily attendance was 37,000, with an approximate 100-minute wait per ride.

Lihpao Land:
Featured live performances by celebrities daily at 14:00 during the holiday, with Annie Chen and Eelin Models performing on January 3. Around 16,000 visitors attended over the first two days, with an estimated fivefold increase in attendance over last year’s four-day period.

▲Anping Tree House in Tainan. (Photo / Reporter Chen Ruizhong)

Taitung:
Travel times on the Dawu to Taitung City route extended from the usual 50 minutes to 90 minutes. Talan Station and the “Chen Chang-jen Tree” (Jincheng Wu Tree) saw heavy crowds, with the tree attracting around 5,000 visitors over two days, and famous snacks like Donghe pork buns having queues stretching about 500 meters.

Alishan Forest Recreation Area:
The leaves of Taiwanese red maples at Mt. Ogasawara, Mt. Duigao, and Zhapan Park are turning red—now is a great time to view them. On January 2, the park welcomed 17,000 visitors, with around 30,000 over the first two days of the holiday.

▲Shifen Waterfall in New Taipei City. (Photo / Provided by New Taipei City Government)

Tainan:
Amusement parks and historical sites were packed, with serious traffic congestion around old streets. On January 2, visitor numbers were 30% higher than on a normal holiday, estimated at around 30,000 people, along with approximately 6,500 cars and 50 tour buses, plus over 10,000 motorcycles.

Shifen Waterfall:
As the first extended holiday since reopening for free on December 29, the waterfall saw over 30,000 visitors on New Year’s Day alone—a roughly 30-fold increase from the usual daily figure of around 1,000.

Xitou:
The Monster Village offers a nightly Music Story Festival starting at 20:00. With heavy visitor traffic, driving up the mountain can take over two hours, with estimated daily attendance exceeding 30,000.