MRT Sanying Line Opening Drives Transformation; Tourism Business Opportunities in Old Streets Heat Up Again

The New Taipei MRT Sanying Line will be opened soon. Local expectations are that shortening travel time and improving accessibility will drive crowds in Sanxia and Yingge old streets, ceramic culture, and hiking trails, promoting the warming of tourism business opportunities, and tourism patterns will shift from brief stays to deep experiences. Sanxia Old Street and Yingge Ceramic Old Street are welcoming opportunities for transformation. Local operators are optimistic that the MRT will shorten travel time and improve accessibility, drive crowds in ceramic culture, old street business districts, and hiking trails, which will promote the warming of business opportunities and changes in tourism patterns, and also inject new momentum into local industries. Xu Shi-gang, Chairman of the New Taipei City Industrial Tourism Promotion Development Association, is full of expectations for the opening of the MRT Sanying Line, hoping that it will become an important tourism corridor, attracting more out-of-town travelers to plan one-day or half-day light trips. Xu Shi-gang told Central News Agency reporters in an interview that the Yingge ceramic industry has long been combined with tourism transformation. The MRT brings stable crowds and sources of customers, helping to extend the length of stay, drive catering, souvenirs, and hand-throwing cultural experience and cultural and creative product sales. Due to the convergence of streams, Sanxia, formerly known as 'Sanjiaoyong', was once a key town for the dyeing industry in northern Taiwan and the hometown of Biluochun tea. The old street is famous for its Baroque architecture and Zushi Temple culture, and combines blue dyeing crafts to show deep humanistic heritage. Li Chang-jun, head of Gufang Organic Tea Garden, guards the family's 7-generation tea garden for centuries. He told Central News Agency in an interview that combined with the MRT and package one-day and two-day trips, traditional tea-making technology has been transformed into tourism experiences, making travelers more willing to move forward to the Baiji Mountain area, immersed in the tea garden where the natural environment and ecology coexist and prosper together. In addition to making cold-brewed tea by hand, it also improves tourism output value. In terms of natural leisure, the New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Department stated that mountain trails and industrial roads intertwine to create a variety of green trails. The Sanxia Yuanshan Trail overlooks the beautiful scenery of the Dahan Creek alluvial plain. The Yuanshan colored wall is formed by nature's minerals, with large areas of exposed colored rock walls, which look like a dreamy palette spilled accidentally. Convenient MRT connection will improve the accessibility of mountaineering and hiking, and also drive the demand for catering and supplies along the line. The Yingge district has a ceramic museum and many historical buildings, plus old street snacks and characteristic catering, forming diverse tourism choices. In addition, the Dahan Creek Bicycle Path and surrounding hill trails form low-intensity leisure routes. Local people believe that the MRT makes it easier for family groups and the elderly to reach, helping to develop the slow-living tourism market. Convenient rail transport will lower the threshold for tourism. Fuhua Group and Marriott International Group have joined hands to lay out urban tourism, cultural exchange, and high-end accommodation markets in Banqiao. Operators said that Banqiao has become an important gateway to connect peripheral tourism, which can quickly link the Sanying cultural settlement, and extend to deep tourism experiences such as tea culture and ceramic crafts. However, with the increase in crowds, locals are also concerned about traffic and environmental carrying capacity problems. Scholars suggest that mechanisms for dispersing crowds and public facilities should be strengthened simultaneously to avoid excessive congestion in popular tourist attractions and maintain the quality of natural trails. Zhong Ming-shi, Director of the New Taipei City Transportation Department, said that the pedestrian environment around the stations along the Sanying Line has been optimized, and marked sidewalks have been added to Dayong Road in Sanxia District, allowing tourists to walk safely from the MRT station to the old street. The MRT Bureau believes that on the whole, the Sanying Line not only improves traffic but is also an important opportunity for tourism transformation, injecting transformation momentum into old street business districts.