Old city tours - Listening to the sound of Hongmao River from past and present

Cultural worker Huang Jia-Rong (黃家榮) leads people on tours of the area around Hongmao River, a place etched in the memories of Hualian’s elderly generation. With Hualian County Government wishing to address flooding issues, the area currently faces great transformation. In spite of the fact that not long ago Hongmao River was opened up following the demolition of homes in Gouzaiwei, the current plan is to return the river back to the dark shadows by transforming it into an underground ditch. In an attempt to solve the inner-city traffic congestion problem, the newly created space above ground area will be used to build a parking lot. 

Huang Jia-Rong said: “Hualian should ponder over the problem of how to stop vehicles entering the city center. There are no clear benefits from building more roads in Hualian with the aim of solving the city’s traffic congestion problems.” He hopes that in the future, Hongmao River will become a cultural and ecological river that will provide the elderly Hualian population with an area to reminisce on old times. Through local tours, Jia-Rong believes local people can reconnect with the land and jointly focus on changes in their homeland. 

Old city tours - Listening to the sound of Hongmao River from past and present

URL:https://www.peopo.org/news/254517

(以下是中文對照)

舊城導覽 聽見紅毛溪昔與今的流水聲

文史工作者黃家榮，帶著民眾走訪老花蓮人記憶中的紅毛溪街區。這裡正在面臨一場改變，花蓮縣政府為了防洪，要讓不久前因為溝仔尾房舍拆除，而重見天日的紅毛溪，再度回到陰暗的水溝蓋底下。也為了紓解市區擁擠的車流，未來地面上將會是一座停車場。黃家榮表示，「花蓮應該去思考一個問題，如何讓車子不要進城，再開更多的馬路對花蓮市的交通並沒有太明顯的幫助」，他期盼紅毛溪未來是一條兼具人文與環保生態的溪流，讓更多更多的老花蓮人在此尋找過去的往事，也要透過導覽，喚起花蓮人對土地的情感，共同關注家園的變化。