New Taipei tries street umbrellas from Seoul

New Taipei tries street umbrellas from Seoul

2026-04-15

New Taipei City recently imported giant electric umbrellas from South Korea and installed them on street corners. The contraption automatically opens when it’s hot and sunny to provide shade for pedestrians. Over the past six months, the city’s Transportation Department has been testing them at busy intersections to see whether they can withstand Taiwan’s typhoons and heavy rains.

Meng Chia-mei
FTV reporter
When the sun is hot, just walking on the street will leave you drenched in sweat. But now on the streets of New Taipei that’s no problem at all, because a giant umbrella opens right on the sidewalk to block all UV rays.

The large sunshade slowly opens, covering the open sidewalk with an 18.5 square meter shadow.

Member of public
Likes the umbrella
It’s pretty useful because the sun is so strong. If I’m waiting for the light, I want to wait there.

Member of public
Likes the umbrella
Enjoying the shade
It’s great for this kind of busy intersection. It would be even better if it was for rain too.

This umbrella is a smart sunshade like Korea has in Seoul. New Taipei has been testing them out on two busy intersections that don’t have any natural shade. The umbrella is solar powered and automatically opens when it’s hot and sunny. If it detects heavy rains or strong winds, it will close.

Lin Chao-hsien
City transportation official
Taiwan’s weather is unlike Korea’s. Taiwan has more typhoons, and they definitely tend to be stronger. We built the foundation about twice as large as the one in Korea, mainly to make it more stable than the one there.

While the foundation designed in Korea was 45 by 45cm, New Taipei built it at 90 by 90cm. Even with a stronger foundation, the Transportation Department has been testing them for six months to make sure they can withstand Taiwan’s typhoons and heavy rains.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#umbrella #shade #Korea #Taiwan #NewTaipei #streetumbrella #sunshade #parasol #trial #summer #heat #UVrays

智慧遮陽傘首現台灣! 新北巿試辦半年最大考驗是颱風

2026-04-15

韓國街頭遮陽傘首現台灣！新北市原裝進口，太陽能供電，偵測日照溫度過高就會自動開啟，幫路人遮陽。只不過，為了適應台灣天氣型態，交通局不僅把基座直接擴大一倍，更得試辦半年，考驗這把傘，有沒有辦法撐過台灣的颱風季、梅雨季。

[[民視新聞記者孟嘉美]]
“日頭赤炎炎，走在路上真是大粒汗小粒汗，不過現在來到新北的街頭，免煩惱，原地直接長出一個巨大的陽傘，幫你遮掉所有的紫外線”

巨大陽傘慢慢張開，在毫無遮蔽物的路口，撐起18.5平方公尺的陰影。

[[民眾]]
“應該蠻實用的，因為太陽很大，如果等紅綠燈的話，會想要在那邊等”

[[民眾]]
“像這種等車的路口還蠻適合的啦，如果能遮雨就更好啦”

這傘，就是借鏡首爾街頭的智慧遮陽傘。新北引入，在周邊無遮蔽物的兩大行人專用時相路口，優先試辦。遮陽傘採用太陽能供電，偵測到日照溫度過高，就會自動水平開啟。如果遇上大雨，或七級以上強風，則會閉合起來。

[[新北交通局專委林昭賢]]
“臺灣的天氣環境跟韓國可能不是那麼相近，臺灣的颱風相對會比較多一點，而且強度真的是會比較大，原本的基礎我們比在韓國的基礎，再增加大概一倍左右，主要就是讓它在整個基礎的穩定度上，可以比韓國那邊更加的一個穩固”

全台首座街頭遮陽傘，就怕強勁風雨，交通局把基座從45*45公分，擴大到90*90，半年試辦，看看這傘，有沒有辦法撐過台灣的梅雨季、颱風季。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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One residential building in Tainan’s West Central District has the neighbors scratching their heads after 10 convex mirrors were installed on the building’s facade. As the building faces a larger new building, a fortune teller advised that the mirrors were needed to neutralize the negative energy of the other structure’s "knife edge" corner. But over in South District, some residents refused to install traffic mirrors in their neighborhood, fearing they would harm the feng shui. The neighborhood chief instead had to have mirrors custom-made to keep everyone happy.

Stretching from the entrance up to the fourth floor, a row of 10 mirrors are affixed to the outside of this residential building. The peculiar design has left passersby wondering what on earth they could be for.

-It might be to ward off bad energy from the opposite building.
-Have you ever seen something like this before?
-No. It’s weird. I found it weird walking over here.

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Here in Tainan’s West Central District, you can even see the reflection of the opposite building in the mirrors. They may be intended to neutralize the negative energy of the large building’s high wall facing the apartment.

Cheng Kai-tung
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Those born in the Year of the Horse or the Rat will be affected by the malevolent energy of the “knife edge effect” during those years. This energy could lead to injuries or accidents. Sometimes we use other methods to neutralize it.

Wang Chien-hsiung
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As long as they don’t protrude past the road boundary, or the so-called building line, it’s not illegal.

Meanwhile, over in South District, the neighborhood chief wanted to put up some traffic mirrors to address the many accidents at this intersection. But the residents protested, believing they would reflect into their homes and ruin their feng shui. Instead, the chief made his own smaller, cuter version.

Hsu Chih-hsiung
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After speaking with the residents, they ended up being OK with these. It’s really made a difference. Accidents are down.

Whether guarding against invisible “blades” carrying bad energy, or visible blind spots, these mirrors are the talk of Tainan.

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After instructing the screen, it quickly creates a cute rhino avatar of the speaker. The avatar has glasses, a blue shirt, and gray shorts, just like the person standing in front of the screen.

Yang Hsin-yi
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This is me as a rhinoceros! Based on my outfit today, it generated an avatar of me as a Javan rhinoceros.

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Member of public
It’s great! The avatar it made is really like me. It can tell the colors and different elements of your clothing.

Member of public
It’s quite special. It can tell what you are wearing and generate an avatar for you. It’s great for kids, they would be really happy to try this.

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Yang Hsin-yi
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We can see where the bear is. We can see that the bear is currently hiding in its culvert. It is hiding by camera No. 9, which captures inside the black bear culvert.

Chuang Hsuan-chih
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Our white rhinoceros enclosure is quite large, so sometimes when visitors are passing through our animal corridors, they can’t immediately see any rhinos. With this guide system, it can automatically detect where the rhinos are and track them.

This system not only tracks animals and generates avatars, but also has interactive games to test visitors’ knowledge of animals, making visiting the zoo more fun and educational.

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Taichung expressway project makes significant progress, could run by 2029

Neighborhoods in the mountains of Taichung will be more connected to city center. More than 20 years since its proposal, the Dongfeng Expressway project has made significant progress. Two key sections of the road were successfully conjoined last April. Meanwhile, the 2km tunnel section is making swift progress. It’s adopted an environmentally conscious construction method using advanced materials. So far, excavation has reached 720m, despite challenging geological conditions. The entire expressway could open in 2029, well ahead of schedule.

Taichung City Government is marking a new milestone in the Dongshi-Fengyuan Life Circle Expressway project, or Dongfeng Expressway in short.

Lu Shiow-yen
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I guarantee that we’ll see through the completion of this expressway, because it’s a lifeline for our residents in the mountainous area, safeguarding their lives and livelihoods.

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People’s lives and livelihoods are the most valued, so we are compelled to build this expressway.

In addition to the successful conjoinment, the first-tender section, a tunnel through Gonglaoping Mountain, is also going ahead in full steam. At 2km, it’s the longest tunnel project in Taichung to date. Challenging geological conditions, such as proximity to the Chelungpu Fault, also makes construction all the more difficult.

Chen Ta-tien
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Even though the team faced various challenges for this difficult project, they persisted out of conviction that Taichung residents deserve the best. After more than 20 years since the initial proposal, the Dongfeng Expressway is expected to finally open in 2029, making the transportation of goods and people more convenient, on both regular days and in the wake of natural disasters—a veritable lifeline for communities in the area.

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