Removal of Cross-River Hot Spring Pipes on Wulai Old Street Restores Its Beautiful Scenery

▲ All privately installed cross-river hot spring pipes around Wulai Old Street have been removed. (Photo / Provided by New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Bureau)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Wulai’s hot springs are renowned far and wide, and the old street is also a popular holiday destination for many. However, privately installed cross-river hot spring pipes around Wulai Old Street have impacted the landscape for decades. Yesterday, the New Taipei City Government completed their removal, restoring a beautiful and clean appearance to Wulai’s Nanshi Stream.

The New Taipei City Government stated that Wulai is famous for its hot springs. Around the 1950s and 1960s, shops in the old street area installed steel cables fixed to both sides of Nanshi Stream to suspend cables and metal water pipes for extracting and channeling hot spring water from natural springs on the opposite bank to their businesses. However, this practice had a serious negative impact on the local natural scenery, especially since the area serves as the entrance and face of Wulai, directly influencing visitors’ first impression of the place.

To resolve the landscape conflict caused by the cross-river pipes and enhance the local image, removing the cross-river hot spring pipes was seen as the best option and a shared expectation among all parties. To avoid significantly affecting hot spring business operators, the New Taipei City Government conducted stability tests on the public hot spring pipeline system before beginning the dismantling work in October. By November 1, all 69 cross-river pipes had been completely removed.