Jia You Bicycle Path Introduction
The Chiayi Oil Bicycle Trail is built using the idle former railroad of CPC Corporation and is located beside the CPC plant area on Section 4, Shih-Hsien Road, Chiayi City. It passes through Meiyuan, Guanglu, Shizi, and Hongwacuo Village, as well as Sanhe, Xialiou, and Huigui in Shueishang Township, Chiayi. It reaches the Tropic of Cancer Station's Astronomy Square, spanning a total length of 3,500 meters, and is planned as a bicycle-only path and a scenic green corridor to enhance recreational and tourism resources in Chiayi City. The newly planned landscape greenbelt features a 2-meter-wide bike lane on each side of the existing railroad, with resting pavilions, wetland ecology, and lotus ponds set up according to the terrain and hydrology along the route. Trees and shrubs of varying heights are planted along the bike path, and entrance flower corridors are erected at important road intersections, fully meeting multifunctional needs for ecology, aesthetics, tourism, and recreation. The Chiayi Oil Bicycle Trail was once part of the "Chiayi Chemical Plant," a rare industrial relic in Taiwan with its unique historical background, making it a valuable cultural landscape resource. The Chiayi City government has meticulously planned to give the old railroad a new life, transforming it into a bicycle path and a walking trail for the public. It was named "Chiayi Oil Bicycle Trail" through a public vote. The trail traverses urban, rural, and agricultural areas, offering a graceful and pleasant landscape, a friendly environment, and significant tourism charm, making it an excellent destination for family sightseeing and leisure. "Chiayi Chemical Plant" Historical Encyclopedia: The Chiayi Chemical Plant was established by the Taiwan Development Corporation in the 13th year of the Shōwa era (1938) during the Japanese rule, using sweet potatoes as raw material to produce butanol, propanol, and ethanol, making it the largest fermentative butanol factory in the world at that time. In the 17th year of the Shōwa era (1942), a dedicated railway was built to connect with the main line of the longitudinal railway. It utilized butanol to manufacture iso-octane, which could be used as aviation gasoline. During World War II, the Chiayi Chemical Plant became an important secret fuel base for Japan, with its produced solvents transported via dedicated railway to the trunk railway and then shipped to Kaohsiung Port for transfer to Japan. Construction Date: April 12, 2008.
