Sun Moon Lake is the landmark of Nantou County and an internationally famous tourist attraction. Inside the scenic area sit the most beautiful Sun Moon Lake of Taiwan and one of the world’s ten most gorgeous round-the-lake bike lanes. This bike lane is 29 km long. To improve local air quality and optimize the travel environment, the Nantou County Environmental Protection Bureau officially designated Sun Moon Lake as an air quality maintenance area on 1 November 2023. Additionally, ships are the best vehicle for tourists to travel to the sights around Sun Moon Lake and listen to the sight introduction given by tour guides for an in-depth understanding of the locale and history of Sun Moon Lake.
According to the Nantou County Environmental Protection Bureau, Sun Moon Lake has many tourists, and the occupancy of various types of diesel ships is very high. Tourists often complain that the exhaust smoke discharged from tourist ships often spoil the local air quality and harm the health of both local residents and tourists. The Nantou County Environmental Protection Bureau has thus trialed the Sun Moon Lake Diesel Ships Air Pollution Control Equipment (Filter) Installation program this year. Currently, filters have been installed on two tourist ships. As the program has been running smoothly, related information will be assessed in the next phase of the program.
According to Yi-Shu Li, Director-General of the Nantou County Environmental Protection Bureau, after installing the exhaust smoke filter on two tourist ships, the results of the exhaust smoke tests show that the emission intensity of particulate matters (PMs) has been reduced by 96.1% and 91.1% respectively, with an average of 93.6%; and the average emission intensity of hydrogen compounds (HCs) and carbon monoxide (CO) were also reduced by 25.6% and 81.7% respectively. They suggest that the exhaust smoke filter can effectively reduce the intensity of pollutant emissions and improve the smoke filter problem of tourist ships. Sun Moon Lake is a famous landmark. By encouraging owners of diesel tourist ships to install the exhaust smoke filter, the Nantou County Environmental Protection Bureau hopes to bring tourists a better travel experience and maintain the air quality of Nantou County for the ultimate goal of sustainable environmental development.
Contact Unit: Air and Noise Pollution Control Section, Environmental Protection Bureau
Contact Person: Section Chief Ru-Jie Lin (049) 223-7530 ext. 2211
