[Travel]2016 Taoyuan Land Art Festival: With Traffic Guide

, encouraging people to think about the reuse of waste materials. The exhibition area includes attractions such as Bitan Park and historic houses in Bade, Fanjiang Ancestral House and Yong’an Fishing Port, as well as the Green Tunnel, aiming to create an open-air art museum where visitors can experience Taoyuan’s creative energy and natural beauty.

Exhibition Dates: September 9, 2016 ~ September 25, 2016

Exhibition Hours:
Weekdays (Monday to Friday): 10:00–18:00
Holidays (Saturday, Sunday, including Mid-Autumn Festival holiday): 09:00–18:00
(At Bade Bitan Ecological Park, the Environmental Theater on September 17 and September 24 will be extended until 21:00)

Exhibition Locations: “Xinyi” Yong’an Fishing Port / Green Corridor / Community Settlements; “Bade” Bitan Ecological Park / Community Settlements

Along the roadside near Xinyi Beach, you can see signs reminding passersby of the starting point and venue locations of the “2016 Taoyuan Land Art Festival,” as well as numerous activity items. You can plan your visit according to the listed schedule.

It is recommended to park your car at the designated parking lots when the exhibition begins, then take the shuttle bus to avoid traffic jams and disappointment. The visiting route along the coastline is quite long, starting from Yong’an Fishing Port and ending at Fuxing Temple, taking about one and a half hours to complete the whole walk.

Various activities and land art installations are located along the coastline, offering different coastal views every time you visit.

After turning toward the Green Tunnel sign, you’ll see many people by the roadside offering bicycle rentals. The path stretches about 4.3 kilometers from Yong’an Fishing Port in the north to Fuxing Temple in Kejian Village in the south. Going further south connects to the Hsinchu Xinfeng Bicycle Path. The entire route features flat seaside paths where you can enjoy the sea and play in the sand, shaded tree-lined roads, and refreshing sea breezes.

Yong’an Fishing Port is often visited for seafood and local products, with people strolling around, but fewer actually walk onto the beach to enjoy the scenic view. Here you can take in the full panorama of Yong’an Fishing Port.

The artwork “Eternal Sea” is located on the southern side of Yong’an Fishing Port. It combines landscape design with a bamboo installation, reminding people to cherish precious marine resources.

From a distance, it looks like a giant sea urchin standing on the beach, composed of over 5,000 bamboo poles of varying lengths, creating a spectacular sight.

There is also a bamboo bridge built for visitors to walk across, which has some bounce and sways up and down—quite fun to experience.

The bamboo bridge leads straight into the interior of the artwork, with a door opening up to welcome visitors inside, which feels very interesting.

The intertwined bamboo forms imagery that rises upward like air currents and extends outward like ocean currents, creating a vibrant piece full of life force. Visitors can immerse themselves in the sounds of the waves and sea breeze while admiring the interplay of natural light and sound, reminded of the preciousness of ocean resources.

From afar, you can see this giant crab, entirely woven from bamboo, extending its large claws as if waving hello to everyone—“thanking” those who treat the ocean and protect ecology kindly. The sea creates an abundant harvest of crabs, and the artwork’s name is deeply meaningful.

Next to it is a bamboo fence that resembles ocean waves crashing onto the shore.

Along the way, you’ll spot an old bunker, which is quite interesting—many kids nowadays have never seen one.

The hardworking sailors, unafraid of wind and rain, brave the waves to fish for a living. Like the human body and mind, they break through rocky waves and overcome adversity, bravely steering the course of their own lives.

The jellyfish lying on the shore is a common marine creature near the fishing port. Its transparent body, however, is filled with trash collected from beach clean-ups, symbolizing the dilemma of marine life being forced to consume unnatural objects. It proposes giving the ocean a clean space and provokes public reflection on ecological issues.

The project collects daily conversations of the local Hakka people in Xinyi Coastal area and environmentally distinctive soundscapes, using installations that connect with sound to allow people to experience the beauty of this minority maritime Hakka culture.

You might almost miss it when passing by, but you’ll be drawn in by the pleasant sounds made by glass tubes hanging in the trees, creating beautiful music in nature.

The “Stone Weir Figure” stands alone, holding a hoe and wearing a seedling tube, working toward the sea, representing the interdependent relationship between humans and the sea, humans and nature—this is a microcosm of the life of local residents in Xinyi.

Another exhibition area is in Bade’s Bitan Ecological Park, which is quite large. It takes over an hour to walk around the entire park, most of which is shaded by greenery to block some of the strong sunlight.

Bitan ponds were originally used for irrigating farmland. Over time, their function evolved to include landscape leisure, ecological education, and flood prevention. Nowadays, it’s a popular place for people to exercise and take walks.

Seeing ducks swimming leisurely is so relaxing. It’s a great place to escape the noise and busyness of the city and unwind.

With a rich storyline, the author named it "Four-Eyed Guagua," drawing inspiration from the adorable "Frog Prince." Many people must have heard of the fairy tale "The Frog Prince." In the story, the princess drops her beloved golden ball into the pond and becomes heartbroken. The frog offers to help her retrieve it in exchange for something, setting the story in motion.

On the day of our visit, there were still three days before the official opening. We could see what appeared to be staff making final preparations. After the Taiwan Lantern Festival concludes, it will be relocated here for permanent display, becoming one of the landmarks of Bade Pond.

The Frog Prince wears a crown on his head and glasses on his face, full of cute elements. It seems as if he is about to present the golden ball in front of him to visiting friends, which is especially appealing to children.

As we continued to explore whether there were other land art pieces, we discovered other large-scale installation artworks on the big lawn.

Made with colorful mesh netting and bamboo, the top features pink petals while the bottom consists of green leaves, resembling a blooming lotus under the sunlight.

Upon approaching, we noticed it seemed not yet completed, and we looked forward to seeing its finished form.

There was also an area on the big lawn that was clearly under construction, with white clouds being hung on trees. Long construction fences were set up around the area, sparking even more curiosity about what they were doing.

Numerous bamboo baskets, commonly seen in markets, appeared on the grass. Usually, you don’t see so many gathered together. Piled up like a mountain, they resembled a wall.

Under the blazing sun, several staff members were working against the clock. Working under such intense sunlight is truly hard, and it felt as though teachers were leading students in setting something up.

Dragonflies woven from bamboo were "flying" among the bushes.

After viewing some of the master artists' works, we couldn’t help but admire their abundant creative inspiration. We were also impressed by their ability to use a large amount of discarded materials as artistic media, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary to create these large-scale artworks. It might be worthwhile to combine a visit with local attractions for a one-day trip. Not only can the whole family enjoy the outing together, but you can also appreciate the masters’ works. However, each artwork is located some distance apart, so you may need to walk a few minutes under the sun. Don’t forget to apply sunscreen and stay hydrated. (Parts of the article content and artwork descriptions are quoted from the official text of the Land Art Festival website.)

Event-exclusive shuttle buses (free):
"Weekdays: 10:00–18:00, every 20 minutes"
"Holidays: 09:00–18:00, every 15 minutes"

Off-site shuttle:
"Taoyuan HSR Station > Yong’an Fishing Port"
"Taiwan Railways Yangmei Station > Taiwan Railways Fugang Station > Yong’an Fishing Port"
"Taoyuan Technology Industrial Park (approximately 1,300 parking spaces) > Yong’an Fishing Port"

On-site shuttle:
Yong’an Fishing Port > Fuxing Temple
Yong’an Fishing Port > Hakka Manor > Big Banyan Tree > Sea View Pavilion > Oyster Guard Post > Fuxing Temple

By bus:
"Zhongli Railway Station (Front Station) > Take Bus No. '5039' or '5027A' to 'Yong’an Fishing Port Station'"
"Taoyuan HSR Station > Take Bus No. 'L605' to 'Yong’an Fishing Port Station'"
"From Yong’an Fishing Port to Xinwu Community ('Fanjiang Old House – Pu Ding Community – Jiudou Community') > Take Bus No. '5027, 5035, 5039, L601, L605, L606'"

By car:
Coordinates of Taoyuan Technology Industrial Park: 25°02’03.7”N 121°03’16.5”E
"Provincial Highway 61 > Exit 48 at Guanyin Interchange > Huanxi Road"
"National Freeway No. 1 > Pingzhen System > Provincial Highway 66 > Guanyin Interchange > Huanxi Road"

Event-exclusive shuttle bus (free) from Taiwan Railways Taoyuan Station (Rear Station) > Bade Pond Ecological Park
"Shuttle bus hours on 9/17: 09:00–21:00
"Shuttle bus hours on 9/24: 09:00–21:30
"Shuttle bus hours on 9/10, 9/11, 9/15, 9/16, 9/18, 9/25: 09:00–18:00
(Shuttle buses run every 15 minutes. No dedicated shuttle service for weekday events)

By bus:
Walk about 3 minutes from Taoyuan Railway Station to Zhongli Bus Taoyuan Station, take Bus 130 to Rongmin’s Home Stop, then walk about 3 minutes to Bade Pit Pond Ecological Park.

By car:
Bade Temporary Parking Lot (next to Bade Police Precinct), Coordinates: 24°56’18.4”N 121°18’32.4”E
Temporary parking lot for Bade exhibition area (southbound)

"Highway 3 > Highway 2/Daxi-Nanshi Interchange > Turn left onto Taoyuan Route 57 > Chang’an Road > County Route 114
"Highway 1 > Highway 2/Daxi-Nanshi Interchange > Turn left onto Taoyuan Route 57 > Chang’an Road > County Route 114

Temporary parking lot for Bade exhibition area (northbound)
"Highway 1 > Highway 66 > Yongchang Road/County Route 112A > Jieshou Road/Highway 4
"Highway 3/Daxi Interchange > Highway 3 > Highway 4 > Xingfeng Road/County Route 114

Further reading: