Controversy over the maintenance of the golden-faced Grand View Monument: The community demanded that it adopt red paint and add new text. The county government agreed to adopt it but insisted on keeping it as it is.

This is a gold-faced Grand View Monument taken in the 1970s. At that time, the text did not have red paint. (provided by the public)

The Shipai County Boundary Park on the Beiyi Highway on the border between Yilan and New Taipei County is currently managed by the Yilan County Government. There is a "Golden Face Grand View" monument in the park that has a history of 126 years. Recently, a community has requested to adopt it, hoping to restore the red inscription on the monument and leave new words to commemorate it. The county government searched the literature and agreed to adopt it but not to damage the status quo. The inscription should not have been painted in red. In the future, it will also consider submitting a registration document to protect the status.

Shipai County Boundary Park is a well-known scenic spot on the Bei-Yi Highway. It offers a panoramic view of the Lanyang Plain, Guishan Island and the stretching coastline, urban buildings, plain landscapes, waters and rivers, etc., and has been selected as one of the "Eight Scenic Spots of New Lanyang". After the opening of National 5, fewer people pass by the Bei-Yi Highway. However, the golden-faced Grand Monument in the park has always been a landmark on the county boundary between New Taipei and Yilan, and also has the spiritual memory of past travelers. Seeing the "Golden-faced Grand View" means that you have arrived in Yilan.

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According to the National Cultural Memory Bank, the Golden-faced Grand View Monument currently does not have cultural status; after investigation, it was found that the stone monument originated from the Beiyi Highway construction in 1898. When it was completed in 1900, Yilan Director Saigo Kikujiro erected a stone in Shipai Park with the inscription "Hudiling Road Opening Monument" to record the arduous process of opening the road at that time.

Recently, a community in Toucheng proposed to the county government that they are willing to adopt the "Golden-faced Grand View Monument" and hope to restore the red paint inscriptions on the monument. They even hope that after the adoption, the community can engrave new words to commemorate it. The County Government's Industry, Commerce and Tourism Office conducted a survey and agreed to the community's adoption of the stone monument, but it could not destroy the status quo.

The county government searched relevant documents and found that the words related to the Golden-faced Grand View Monument did not have red paint. This should be a wrong impression. Community maintenance should be based on the principle of maintaining the original historical status and not destroying it. This stone monument is more than a hundred years old and it is not suitable to have new words engraved on it. In the future, it will be studied and proposed to be registered as a cultural asset and protected.

This is the current situation of the golden-faced Grand View Monument on the Beiyi Highway. The county government will study and propose a cultural heritage status for protection. (provided by the public)