The Tainan City Tourism Bureau will launch two new Michelin three-star tourist routes this year, the ‘Yanshuei Yuejin Harbor Walk’ and the ‘Old Five Channels Stroll’, providing the public with an opportunity to learn about local cultural life with a guided walk.

There are currently four Michelin three-star tourist routes in Tainan, including ‘Historical City Strolls’, the ‘Anping Old Street Walking Tour’, the ‘Religious Tour of the West Coast Fishing and Salt Industry’, and the ‘Guanzihling Hot Springs Village Walking Tour’ that was launched last December.

As the attractions along the west coast are distributed in zones, the extent of area is substantial. According to Jyun-An Chen, Director-General of the Tourism Bureau, the Salt Mountain alone attracted one million visitors last year, and the Jingzaijiao Tile-Paved Salt Field attracted 400,000; neither is less than the number of urban tourists, showing that the Michelin three-star routes can truly bring the crowd.

In addition to the tourist route along the west coast, all the other five routes include blocks of walking sections, providing tour guides for booking and focusing on cultural tourism. For example, following the Yuejin Harbor walk in Yanshuei, visitors will learn that in the old days the harbor in Yanshuei was surrounded by water on three sides: east, south, and west. Shaped like a new moon, it is therefore called ‘Moon Harbor’, or ‘Yuejin’. Alternatively, they can visit the most well-preserved wooden building in Yanshuei, the ‘Octagonal Building’.

The Old Five Channels Stroll brings visitors along Haian Road and Shennong Street, where they can see the historic evolution of Tainan City, as well as the integration of traditional and contemporary arts everywhere.

Jyun-An Chen said, during the 228 public holiday, there will be nine free sessions of the guided tours of the Historical City Strolls and the Anping Old Street Walking Tour for the public, and these can be booked on the Tourism Bureau’s official website.