Over the years, the Department of Health (DOH) and the non-government Hope Foundation have been promoting what the World Health Organization (WHO) calls the “nearest activity to perfect exercise” — walking — to help the elderly and people with sedentary lifestyles to stay healthy.

A number of walking routes have been selected and published by the DOH and the foundation to showcase to people from home and abroad that not only can walking be done easily, but also that Taiwan is one of the best places to enjoy it.

According to research conducted by the DOH's Bureau of Health Promotion (BHP), 64 percent of the country's population doesn't get enough exercise, especially once they leave school and reach adulthood, when the daily amount of exercise notably decreases and as a result, many chronic diseases start to emerge.

Since 2002, the bureau and Hope Foundation have been promoting the idea that “10,000 steps a day makes you healthier” — the equivalent of a distance of 8km — to encourage people to walk more and maintain a healthier lifestyle. Cardiac and respiratory systems benefit from a 10 minute daily walk, while excess fat will start to be metabolized from a 20 minute walk, according to the BHP.

Chi Cheng, president of the Hope Foundation, and an Olympic medalist, has long been an enthusiastic advocate of the benefits of walking. She said in a recent interview with CNA that walking 10,000 steps a day is the best health choice for today's busy people who live sedentary lifestyles.

“Walking is the safest and most economical exercise and is suitable for men, women, children and the elderly,” said the former world record holder, who won a bronze medal in the 80-meter hurdles at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

“It can be done at any time and any place and at one's own discretion,” she pointed out.

According to Chi, walking 10,000 steps a day is not at all difficult to achieve and when people are accustomed to the exercise, they will tend to find themselves creating opportunities to walk more because it is actually “instinctive and natural.”

To take the campaign to get people walking to the next level, the BHP has selected a number of footpaths throughout Taiwan's 25 counties and cities and listed them on its Web site to make it even easier for the public to start exercising.

Moreover, in a joint effort with the government and National Tsing Hua University Professor Wang Chun-hsiu, the Hope Foundation launched an event in July to solicit recommendations from the public on walking routes in communities around the nation.

A book containing 50 maps of walking paths around Taiwan, chosen by the foundation from among 155 routes recommended by walking enthusiasts, was launched Nov. 11 — National Health Walk Day.

According to Chi, the book is not only aimed at promoting awareness of the health benefits of walking but also at marketing Taiwan as a country boasting beautiful walking trails that can attract walkers from around the world.

“There is much more in Taiwan than Taipei 101 and Alishan. Taiwan's beauty is beyond the eyes, however, because the best part is the hospitality of its people,” said Chi.

Besides keeping fit and healthy, Chi said that for her, the greatest benefit of walking is that it allows you to get to know different people. Simply saying “hi” to strangers on the road and when they smile back or start talking to her is what makes her day, she added.

“Human contact is the most precious element when it comes to walking. There are always new discoveries and unexpected surprises in the walking process when you meet the local people,” Chi said.

Noting that she recently finished a two-day walking trip with friends from Belgium and the Netherlands in Taiwan's eastern city of Hualien, Chi said that most of them have visited Taiwan many times but still were amazed by the trails she took them to, because some of them are unknown to tourists and therefore unspoiled, while others are full of local culture and history.

Chi said these friends will all become “goodwill ambassadors” for Taiwan, which has so much to offer enthusiastic walkers who regularly travel the world in search of magnificent walking experiences.