Located at the Ao-Feng Hill Park in the Qingshui District, the Taichung City Cycling Trail features the sole UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) certified wood cycling trail nationwide. After 2 decades of high usage rate, conditions such as loose wood slabs and deformed trails have occurred, therefore the Taichung City Government combined the Central Government’s resources to invest NT$180 million for renovations to repair the wood race trails, sunshades, observation decks, fields and halls all together. Through the reopening today (23rd), it has become the newest international-grade cycling trail nationwide.
Director-general Yu-Jui Li of the Sports Bureau stated that the Qingshui Cycling Trail is the only certified wood cycling trail nationwide with the length of 333m. It is not only capable of holding domestic competitions but is also available for organizing international contests. It has contributed to the cultivation of several national contestants, including Chih-Hsun Lin, the gold medalist for the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, as well as Mei-Yu Hsiao, the gold medalist for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou. Therefore, it is also known as the “cradle for national cycling contestants!”
Speaker Ching-Chao Chang of the Taichung City Council, who advocated for the cycling trail renovation fund, stated that the Qingshui Cycling Trail has a completely different look after the renovation. Appreciation must be given to the City Government for its devotion in demonstrating the best outcome with the least amount of funds. The trail has been turned into the new highlight of Ao-Feng Hill, in the hopes of cultivating more national contestants to win more gold medals and transforming Taichung into a sports city. Deputy speaker Li-Min Yen stated that the renovation of the Qingshui Cycling Trail will provide contestants with a better sports venue, hoping to stimulate the local tourism and economy.
The Sports Bureau indicated that the Qingshui Cycling Trail was constructed in 1999, it has an area of approximately 80,578m2; after 2 decades of high usage rate with exposure to the wind, the sun and the rain, the original wood race trail started to show signs of loosening wood slabs, severely deformed trails and damaged supporting trusses, so the trail was no longer useable. Therefore, the City Government invested NT$108 million and the Sports Administration, Ministry of Education subsidized NT$72 million, so a total of NT$180 million was invested in the renovations. The engineering project undertaken by the Construction Bureau began on March 12, 2018 and the trail was reopened today.
The Sports Bureau held the reopening ceremony for the Qingshui Cycling Trail today, the attendees included deputy secretary-general Kang-Chen Chu, speaker Ching-Chao Chang, deputy speaker Li-Min Yen, city councilors Pi-Ling Yu, Ting-Hsiu Chen and Tien-Chung Yang, as well as director-general Yu-Jui Li of the Sports Bureau. The ribbon-cutting ceremony also marked the reopening of the cycling trail. The Sports Bureau stated that the Qingshui Cycling Trail is the ideal training venue for nurturing base-level contestants and for cultivating domestic contestants participating in international competitions, in the hopes of stimulating the cycling sports industry and turning Taichung into a cycling city.