Qixing Battlefield Park Introduction
The Songbailing area, situated at a high elevation, is home to numerous artillery positions of varying sizes established by the National Military for wartime defense. However, most of these positions have been idle for years. The local township office has requested the Ministry of National Defense to allocate these military air defense bunkers for development into tourist attractions, allowing visitors to experience a different kind of leisure environment. In the early days, the Ministry of National Defense built 11 positions and command posts (including 27 bunkers and 3 buildings) in the Songbailing area to safeguard the military significance of the Zhuoshui River. Nowadays, as the military needs have diminished, these bunkers scattered among tea plantations have transformed into unique local landmarks. To adapt the bunkers for tourism development, they have been repurposed and renovated into a cluster of distinctive bunkers. Shou Tian Temple is the most important religious center in the area and serves as a key tourist resource in Songbailing. The temple worships Xuantian Shangdi, the deity of the North, with the Big Dipper and Polaris represented as his constellations. The proposed route includes seven points of interest distributed in a manner resembling the constellation of the Big Dipper, in harmony with Shou Tian Temple and local resources. Therefore, this area has been named "Qixing Zhandi Park" (Qixing Position Park), where each position has been redeveloped based on attributes like yin-yang, the five elements, the zodiac, and colors. Elements such as planting, paving, stone structures, carvings, and mosaics have been used for the redesign and decoration of the existing bunkers to showcase the unique characteristics of each position. The seven bunkers near Shou Tian Temple have been planned to create a new landscape in the tea gardens. Since the deity worshipped at the temple, Xuantian Shangdi, is the god of the North, and the Big Dipper and Polaris are his representative constellations, the bunkers have been designed to reflect this connection, integrating concepts of the "Five Elements" and "Big Dipper." The external appearances of the seven bunkers incorporate colors like white, green, yellow, black, red, gray, and purple to express their unique characteristics. They have been named: "Yaoguang," "Kaiyang," "Yuheng," "Tianquan," "Tianxuan," "Tianji," and "Tianshu." For visitors, although the roads in this area may be narrow, they are well-suited for cycling, allowing exploration of the seven bunkers, each highlighting its historical significance. The first bunker prominently displays the "Qixing Zhandi Park" sign, featuring a striking black-and-white camouflage design, with the interior resembling stalactites. This design was purportedly intended to minimize the impact of artillery vibrations on the bunker’s interior. Other bunkers display similar designs, but the external landscape of each is distinct, which adds to the appeal of visiting this site.
