Sitting on the side of the Tatu Moun-tains is Taichung's Chingshuei Rest Stop. Last year this stop pulled in NT$600 million, the biggest individual earner in Taiwan. Aside from the benefits the stop gets by being a midway point for north-south traffic, the reason Chingshuei is able to make such a huge amount is the amazing night view: from there you can look out over the glittering lights of Taichung, and to Taichung Harbor further west, sights which pull in no small number of tourists.
As well as being blessed with amazing mountain scenery, Chingshuei is also near the mouth of the Tachia River, so from the earliest stages the stop was designed with a maritime theme. The building itself is modeled on the shape of a naval vessel.
The current operators of the Chingshuei stop are Nanren Lake Entertainment Resort Co., Ltd., whose subsidiary Hi-Scene World Entertainment took advantage of the technology and transport facilities at its disposal in its position as build-operate-transfer manager of the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium to bring a shark to the stop for public viewing, which became the symbol of Chingshuei for a time. However, with the massive change in environment for the shark, the noise, lights, and crowds tapping on the glass, and tremendous media and public pressure, the stop eventually had to give up the shark, and replaced it with unique Taiwanese milkfish and mackerel.
Liao Ling-yin, planner for Chingshuei Stop, explains that the products for sale throughout the stop, including such foods as Tungkang fishballs, not only tie in with the maritime theme, but also place a special emphasis on local specialties. These include Taichung's wanyi dried tofu, Tachia's xiaolin omelets, Fengyuan's renowned baoquan cakes, and Hanlin's teahouses.
On the second floor are specialties from the central region, like Chingshuei bamboo rice cakes and Wufeng's Azong broth. Additionally, with the cooperation of the Taichung Association for the Visually Impaired, the stop provides weary travelers with a massage service. With Chingshuei offering over 1,000 car parking spaces and having tremendous traffic flow, the site was the subject of heated competition between companies during bidding.
Chingshuei was opened relatively early and quickly earned a reputation for its amazing nighttime scenery. Many locals considered it a place to hang out and relax, bringing their own stools and brewing up tea, bringing the whole family out for special trips and enjoying the fountain and lights on summer evenings.
Even on the night before Mid-Autumn Festival the stop is a favorite place for families to gather. People set up barbecues and unfurl napkins, and the scent of cooking meat fills the air. Eventually this leads to traffic into the stop getting backed up, so that management has had no choice but to put in place a 40-minute limit on parking.
The facilities provided by the Chingshuei stop are excellent, including hot water in the bathrooms. Being in a mountainous area, the stop can be cold and the wind penetrating. The film The Wayward Wind by director Tsai Ming-liang used this area as its backdrop, helping spread the reputation of these luxurious six-star bathrooms.
Nanren Lake Entertainment Resort, current operators of the Chingshuei rest stop, were able to use their experience as managers of the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium to install a large aquarium at the stop, which has become Chingshuei's defining characteristic.
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