Luodong Forestry Culture Park

:::
  • Luodong Forestry Culture Park
Open

The forestry industry is an essential part of Luodong. In the past, it was the Taiping Forest Area that provided impetus for the town’s growth. The Luodong Forestry Culture Park was formerly used as Taipingshan’s Luodong Branch, equipped with sawmills, lumber yards, an agency office, and workers’ dormitories. Today, the culture park still reserves a complete set of old industry facilities, early village buildings, storage units and transport machinery - they are the living artefacts of Taipingshan’s forestry past. With the development of the Taipingshan Forest Area, sometime later Luodong emerged as a timber city and the industrial and commercial hub of Yilan.
  • History & development

    The forestry industry is an essential part of Luodong. In the past, it was the Taiping Forest Area that provided impetus for the town’s growth. The Luodong Forestry Culture Park was formerly used as Taipingshan’s Luodong Branch, equipped with sawmills, lumber yards, an agency office, and workers’ dormitories. Today, the culture park still reserves a complete set of old industry facilities, early village buildings, storage units and transport machinery - they are the living artefacts of Taipingshan’s forestry past. With the development of the Taipingshan Forest Area, sometime later Luodong emerged as a timber city and the industrial and commercial hub of Yilan.
     
    Taipingshan’s forestry industry began in 1905, with the Forestry Agency of Japan drawing plans to harvest the area’s native cypress forests. A dragging track was built by laborers to pull logs up to a timber processing ground by the Duowang River. The log would then be transported out of town through the Langyan River. In 1921, the agency purchased a railway from the Taiwan Sugar Factory and adapted it for transporting timber. The railway was 36.95km long, stretching from the timber processing ground to Tiansongpi, Waiziwai, and Zhulin Station. From then on, felling of trees was carried out on an immense scale and such continued for 68 years. Taipingshan stood alongside Alishan and Bahsienshan as the three largest forest areas during the Japanese Occupation, and its scale of felling was the greatest of all.
     
    The government restructured related policies in 1982 and the forestry industry started to decline. Taipingshan also ceased to fell trees. Between the years of 1994 and 2001, the Third Luodong Town Urban Planning Review demarcated the Luodong Forest Area as a “special forestry industry culture site.” In 2004, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency unveiled a plan to create the Luodong Forestry Culture Park. In 2009, the park was officially opened to the public. In fact, since in 2004, the Ministry of Culture has successively listed Japan’s agency office, director’s residence, laborers’ club, old vehicle inspection garage, staff dormitory, fortress, and log storage pool as the country’s historical assets. In 2012, the whole site was listed as a cultural landscape area. 

  • Current operations

    At the site, the log storage pool, Zhulin Station, wood-dragging tracks, forestry agency office, Japanese-style dormitories, and segments of old train tracks are all well preserved. According to its present uses, the site is divided into the forestry exhibition area, old dormitory area, art and culture area, administration and management area, nature and ecology area, green area, hiking trails, and parking space. The principal tourist facilities are further detailed below:
     
    The forestry exhibition area is positioned at the core of the park, and it presents a nostalgic look at the operations and facilities used to get lumber from the Taipingshan Forest Area during the Japanese Occupation. This area is further divided into an outdoor and an indoor exhibition space. Objects from the forest area that are now on display in the outdoor exhibition space include a railway car from the forest railway, the old Zhulin Station building, log-transporting train tracks, steam engines, passenger cars, an unloading platform, a log storage pool, a train wash platform, a fortress, and a truck wash area.  The indoor exhibition space is composed of old warehouses and dormitories. They have been refurbished for holding educational events and displaying historical documents of the forestry industry.
     
    The old log storage pool retains elements that reminds visitors of its past. “Floating islets” have been installed in the pool for wildlife to inhabit on. Frogs and fireflies also thrive and breed in the summer, making the pool an ecologically diverse place. Surrounding the pool are two paths, the Wood Shavings Trail and the Round-the- Pool Trail. The Round-the- Pool Trail features a birdwatching path and birdwatching wall, convenient for observing wild birds in action.

  • Future prospects

    Moving forward, the Luodong Forestry Culture Park will align with trends of urban planning to give this old forest area a new look. The log storage pool and the Zhulin Station will be taken as the focus for development. The site’s overall expansion will orientate towards the concept of “preserving the memory of the forest area while introducing new urban planning concepts.” The Luodong Forestry Culture Park will serve as the town’s main green space and where people can recall the past of Taipingshan. It shall even be an important marker of the culture of Luodong’s forestry industry.

Basic Info
Address No. 118, Zhongzheng N. Rd, Luodong Township, Luodong County
Coordinates X: 24.684247, Y: 121.772095
Tel +886-3-9545114
Email service1@forest.gov.tw
Responsible unit Luodong Branch, Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency
Elevation 5m
Area 16.13 hectares
Opening hours
  • The park08:00 to 17:00
  • Exhibition centers
    • Forest Industry Museum, Interactive Display Hall & Old BookstandsWednesdays to Sundays 09:00~12:00; 14:00~17:00
    • Interactive Display Hall & Bamboo Discovery Center Fridays to Tuesdays, 09:00~12:00; 14:00~17:00
    • If the closing days fall on national holidays, they will be postponed to the next days.  Closed on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
    • We provide daily guided tour services as follow:
      Tourist Information Center 09:30, 11:00, 14:30 and 16:00
      Bamboo Discovery Center 11:00 and 16:00
      Forestry Life Center 10:30 and 15:30
      Forest Industry Museum 10:00 and 15:00
Transport info
  • By car

    Southbound: National Highway 5- Get off at Luodong Interchange, turn right at Country Road 196, enter downtown Luodong, take the outer ring road (Guangrong Road), take the underpass, make a right turn at Zhongzheng N. Rd. at the first traffic light and move onward for 50 meters. On the right you will see the Luodong Forestry Culture Park.

    Northbound: National Highway 5- Get off at Luodong Interchange, turn left at Country Road 196, enter downtown Luodong, take the outer ring road (Guangrong Road), take the underpass, make a right turn  at Zhongzheng N. Rd. at the first traffic light and move onward for 50 meters. On the right you will see the Luodong Forestry Culture Park.

    Parking info:
    The parking lot is next to Zhongzheng N. Rd. After parking, you can follow the signs to enter the park.

  • By bus

    Highway bus: Get off at Luodong Bus Terminal located at the back of Luodong Train Station. Walk to the front of the station and go straight toward Zhongzheng N. Rd. Make a right turn and walk along Zhongzheng N. Rd. for approximately 1,000m to reach the park (20 minutes).

  • By train

    Exit at Luodong Train Front Station, go straight to Zhongzheng N. Rd, and make a right turn. Go straight along Zhongzheng N. Rd. for approximately 1,000m (20~25 minutes) to arrive at the destination.

Things to Know for Visitors
  • Please do not use buses, cars, bicycles, or any other form of transportation to enter the park area.
  • Please do not cook, fish, bathe, release or feed animals, peddle goods, bring pets, or climb in the park area.
  • Please do not take, break, or carve any of the organic material within the park, and please do not drop litter. Help us to maintain a tidy and relaxed environment in the park.
  • Please walk within the park and do not run, so as to ensure your safety at all times.
  • Please respect the livelihoods of local residents and understand the beauty of forestry culture and landscape ecology.
  • Please note that smoking is totally banned on site.

Location & map
Map
Visit counts:19178 Last updated on:2024-09-13