The Taiwan Romantic Route 3 (浪漫台三線) is a four-year phased project aiming to boost tourism and job opportunities through revitalizing ecosystem, culture, and industries along the Provincial Highway 3, a route that runs from Taipei to Pingtung. As the route connects sixteen Hakka communities and several industrial roads in western Taiwan, the Provincial Highway 3 had played an important role in developing economy, agriculture, and tourism from the Japanese colonial era to the postwar Taiwan.

With a total budget of NT$82.12bn, the Taiwan Romanic Route 3 seeks to revive Hakka culture and tourism through integrating resources along the Provincial Highway 3. According to the Hakka Affairs Council, the project is expecting to generate roughly 26,000 job opportunities and attracted approximately 14 million visitors.

Three subprojects, including “Establishment of Culture,” “Preparation of Environment,” and “Industrial Development,” will be carried out by the Hakka Affairs Council, the Council of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs respectively.  The measures are as follows:

• Establishment of Culture:

1. Research and investigation on cultural landscapes in Hakka communities 
2. Presenting and passing down Hakka culture and history
3. Building and advocating of Hakka slow living lifestyle
4. Promoting new Hakka craftsmanship culture
5. Establishing Hakka art and cultural villages as well as creation platforms
6. Building image of the Taiwan Romantic Route 3 and implement regional marketing
7. Holding Taiwan Romantic Route 3-themed exhibitions, cultural activities, and forums

• Preparation of Environment:

1. Recreating landscapes and axis along the Provincial Highway 3
2. Establishing base for developing Hakka culture, education, and industry
3. Building cultural landscape of traditional Hakka settlement
4. Preparing transportation network for eco-travel

• Industrial Development:

1. Industrial talent incubation
2. Developing and guiding Hakka cultural and industrial settlement
3. Exploring and marketing Hakka-themed tours
4. Building up a support system for young people returning to hometown to launch startup
5. Technology value-added experience

The first phase is to build up soft infrastructure for promoting the three slow living lifestyle of Hakka (slow food, slow travel, slow living). It estimates to attract more than 900 youngsters to return to hometown, create more than 2,600 job opportunities, and add about NT$28.2bn tourism revenue to Hakka communities .  

Being responsible for the establishment of culture, the Hakka Affairs Council is expected to complete establishing the National Greenways network of 38 trails of the Romantic Route 3 (200 kilometer in total), conduct and investigate 2,400 Hakka cultural resources, publish books and audiovisual works about the cultural landscape of Provincial Highway 3, and invite 20 artists for the artist-in-residence program.