A Visit to Diamond Bar's Long Lost Sister City

Diamond Bar’s sister city, Sanxia, lies nearly 7,000 miles to the west—in Taiwan. Mayor Pro Tem Ling-Ling Chang visited the city in June, and returned with news of big developments. For one thing, Sanxia city no longer exists.

In December 2010, Sanxia became one of 29 cities converted into districts and grouped together to form New Taipei City, a region which boasts a population of over 2.6 million. The governmental changes have essentially made New Taipei City Diamond Bar’s new sibling.

During her visit, Chang met with Chih-Chien Hsu, Deputy Mayor of New Taipei City, and said they discussed challenges that the two regions have in common, such as water conservation.

“Conservation is a huge undertaking for [New Taipei City] as they’re trying to convince people to conserve water,” Chang said. “It’s kind of like us. People turn on the tap and as long as the water is running, that’s fine. A lot of people don’t realize that California is actually a desert. A lot of our water is imported. Similarly, a lot of people think that Taiwan, being tropical, doesn’t have water issues. But that’s not the case."

Transportation infrastructure was another topic of discussion, Chang said.

"When the mayor [of New Taipei City] came onboard, his number one goal was to roll out this huge mass transit plan that would connect all of the different districts within New Taipei City,” Chang explained. Diamond Bar, in contrast, does not have much of a public transportation system, but it does have its fair share of traffic congestion from the 57 and 60 freeway interchange."

Chang said the visit was an unofficial re-introduction to Diamond Bar's newly transformed sister city, a result of Chang traveling back to Taiwan to visit family.

“This was just an initial trip to get reacquainted,” Chang said. “The trip wasn’t hosted by Taiwan or Taipei. I went on my own money and time.”

Prior to Chang’s visit, there had only been one meeting between Diamond Bar and Sanxia officials since the sister city relationship was established in April 1996.

Chang is optimistic about future relations between Diamond Bar and New Taipei City, and hopes that a cultural and economic exchange can be developed.  

“I think I probably will be taking another trip to Taiwan next year,” Chang said, on a trip to visit her grandmother.

For more information about New Taipei City, visit the city's website.