Pingdong County Min Park Introduction
In 1909, the Pingtung Sugar Factory began operations, driving the activation of land industries on the north bank of the Shashe River. The county government transformed part of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation's land into "Taiwan Sugar County Park," which opened 9 hectares of land for public use on October 15, 2018. The park features historic relics from a paper mill, a fun-themed playground, a sugar industry timeline water feature, a large square, and expansive grasslands as recreational spaces. To highlight the significance of Taiwan Sugar to Pingtung, the county government incorporated the concept of ladybugs, which can repel pests, into the design of the playground, utilizing the sugarcane landscapes on the hills. Numerous ladybugs were installed to create a lively and dynamic play area, symbolizing the courage to pursue dreams and endless hope, thereby conveying a sense of historical and cultural legacy while promoting the idea of courage in accepting challenges. In conjunction with the subsequent collection plan of the 2019 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Pingtung, several lanterns from the festival were relocated to the park, reigniting the light in County Park. Today, to provide a more comfortable and enjoyable recreational space for residents, the "Pingtung County Park," which took over five years to develop with a total budget of NT$ 390 million, was officially opened on February 5, 2021. The county government has revitalized the abandoned Taiwan Sugar old paper mill site, integrating it into a new blue and green belt along the Shashe River, creating Taiwan's first park centered on industrial heritage with a complex waterfront corridor. The park spans a total area of 20 hectares, incorporating elements of history, culture, ecology, landscape, and waterfront characteristics; its unique design creates a new landscape that bridges the old and the new, allowing the old industrial site to regenerate as a diverse ecological recreational experience.
