By Tsai Tsung-hsien and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writerUpgrades to the hot spring park along Pingtung County’s Sihchong River (四重溪) are drawing tourists back to the region, as the number of visitors has risen over the past two years, the county government said on Monday. The Pingtung Transportation and Tourism Department said that investment in the area — once a popular hot spring destination, due to the county’s ocean vistas and other scenery — has started to bring bathers back. The county last month announced that it would provide assistance to investors at the hot springs near the river, saying it hoped investor interest and creativity could speed up development in the area. However, in recent decades, as domestic tourism patterns changed and Sihchong’s facilities aged, the number of visitors decreased, the department said. The hot springs are often visited together with other nature sites in the region, including the Dongyuan wetlands (東源濕地), the Syuhai hot springs (旭海溫泉) and the Alangyi Ancient Trail (阿塱壹古道), it said.
