Chihsing Lake Park (Fort) Introduction
The Songbailing area is situated at a high elevation, where the military has established numerous artillery positions of varying sizes for defense during wartime. Currently, most of these positions have been abandoned for many years. The local township office has applied to the Ministry of National Defense to repurpose these military air defense bunkers into tourist attractions, allowing visitors to experience a different leisure environment. In the early days, the Ministry of National Defense built 11 positions and command centers (including 27 bunkers and 3 buildings) in the Songbailing area to defend the strategic military location of Zhuoshui River. Now, due to the cessation of military use, these bunkers scattered among tea gardens have transformed into a unique local landscape. To facilitate the transformation of the bunkers and align with local tourism development, they have been re-planned and renovated into a distinctive group of bunkers. Shoutian Palace is the most important religious center in the area and also serves as a significant tourist resource in Songbailing. Shoutian Palace worships the main deity Xuantian Shangdi as the northern god, with the Big Dipper and the North Star as its representative constellations. The planned route consists of seven points, whose distribution closely resembles the positions of the Big Dipper, resonating with Shoutian Palace and integrating with important local resources. Therefore, it is named the "Big Dipper Position Park." Each position has been rearranged according to its attributes of yin-yang, five elements, zodiac signs, and colors. The existing structures have been transformed using elements such as landscaping, paving, stone arrangements, sculptures, and mosaics, along with vivid paintings to showcase each position's characteristics. The seven bunkers adjacent to Shoutian Palace have been re-planned and have become a new attraction among the tea gardens. As Xuantian Shangdi is the northern god, and the Big Dipper and the North Star are its representative constellations, the bunkers are designed to echo the Big Dipper and Shoutian Palace. In line with the "Five Elements" and "Big Dipper," the appearances of the seven bunkers have been designed in white, green, yellow, black, red, gray, and purple to express the uniqueness of each position. They are named: "Yaoguang," "Kaiyang," "Yuheng," "Tianquan," "Tianxuan," "Tianji," and "Tianshu." Travel recommendations indicate that although the roads in this area are narrow, they are very suitable for cycling. Visitors can ride along the seven distinctively styled bunkers and experience the history of the bunkers. The first bunker prominently displays the "Big Dipper Position Park" sign, featuring a black-and-white camouflage design. The interior features stalactite-like shapes, reportedly designed to reduce the impact of artillery shock on the inside of the bunker. Other bunkers have similar appearances, yet the landscape designs outside vary significantly, which is a major attraction for visitors.
