The Establishment and History of this headquarters
In order to preserve this precious tourism resource and natural ecological system, and also develop national tourist space, and accelerate tourist industry development in the eastern area, approval was given by the management of the East Longitudinal Valley National Scenic Area on September 13, 1996, whereby they would set up and take responsibility for planning, development, and operations management. On May 1, 1997, the “East Longitudinal Valley National Scenic Area Headquarters, Tourism Administration, MOTC” was formally unveiled at the Ruisui Rafting Service Center.
The East Longitudinal Valley traverses Hualien County and Taitung County. It possesses east Taiwan's unique natural and cultural landscape, and a simple, enticing farming appearance, with abundant tourism and recreation resources. Through the meeting of related departments with professionals and scholars for investigation and evaluation, on May 30, 1996 the Executive Yuan ratified the making of the East Longitudinal Valley into a special national scenic area, with the prerequisite of preserving the natural ecology and precious tourism resources. This would allow it to follow the steps of the Northeast Coast National Scenic Area, the East Coast National Scenic Area, the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area, and the Penghu National Scenic Area, becoming the fifth national scenic area to be established.