Turning the ordinary into the extraordinary: an abandoned lot in Tianwei transformed into a new community highlight

▲ The Renli Community turned the vacant lot into a community landscape park and extended the Tianwei Highway Garden, making it a new highlight of Tianwei. (Photo / Screenshot fromForestry Bureau website)

Tourism Center / Comprehensive Report

The Renli Community Development Association in Tianwei Township, Changhua County, planted 1,300 seedlings of podocarpus, ixora, and epidendrum on an empty lot next to the historic building "Shuncheng Store", creating a community landscape park that extends the famous Tianwei Highway Garden and has become a new highlight of the area.

The Nantou Forest District Office of the Forestry Bureau stated that Renli Community in Tianwei Township is a typical rural village with natural rural scenery. In recent years, it has focused on environmental protection and greening, creating green pathways, pocket parks such as Fude Garden, etc. Next to the community's faith center, Beixuan Temple,the best-preserved Japanese colonial-era building "Shuncheng Store", along with the similarly aged but now half-abandoned "Jinwanan Store", which features a Baroque architectural style, is a cultural landscape worth preserving. However, due to the discontinuation of the store’s use, the surrounding land has also fallen into disuse and even been littered. Starting in 2015 (104 in Taiwan’s calendar), a community tree-planting and greening project was launched to transform the barren land through large-scale planting. The community was also honored as an outstanding community by the Forestry Management Office.

To extend the Tianwei Highway Garden into the Renli Community, the community association continued to apply for the 2016 (105 in Taiwan’s calendar) community tree-planting and greening funds from the Forestry Bureau. They expanded tree planting on the previously barren land to create a community cultural landscape park, hoping to attract more tourists to the area. Recently, staff from the Danda Work Station, Tianwei Township Office, Farmers’ Association, and community volunteers jointly planted 2,300 seedlings including podocarpus, ixora, epidendrum, and croton. In addition to planting trees to protect the Earth, they also aim to create a beautiful park, adding another scenic spot to Tianwei.

Shuncheng Store
Address: No. 420, Hushan Street, Huatan Township, Changhua County