Yangmingshan

Yangmingshan National Park is located in both Taipei and New Taipei City, making it one of the nine national parks in Taiwan. It includes parts of Taipei's Beitou and Shilin Districts, as well as New Taipei's Wanli, Jinshan, Sanzhi, and Tamsui Districts. The park is famous for its beautiful cherry blossoms, relaxing hot springs, and interesting natural features like sulfur deposits and fumaroles.

One of the park’s most notable landmarks is Qixing (Seven Star) Mountain, Taiwan’s tallest dormant volcano, which rises to 1,120 meters (3,675 feet). This mountain and the surrounding trails offer great opportunities for hiking and exploring nature. In June 2020, Yangmingshan National Park earned a special recognition as the world’s first Urban Quiet Park by Quiet Parks International, celebrating its peaceful environment and importance for people worldwide on World Environment Day.

History

This mountain range was originally called "Grass Mountain" during the Qing dynasty, named after the nearby Datun Mountain. Local officials often set small fires to prevent thieves from stealing valuable sulfur found in the area.

Later, during Japanese rule, Taiwan's first national park was established here in 1937. In 1950, it was renamed Yangmingshan to honor a famous scholar, and plans for the national park began in 1962.

Landscape and geology

Yangmingshan National Park stands out because it doesn’t have very high mountains. Its heights range from about 200 to 1,120 meters. Even so, the park has many different landforms, including ridges, valleys, lakes, waterfalls, and basins. Most of the rocks in the area are made of andesite.

Main article: Geology of Taiwan

Xiaoyoukeng

Xiaoyoukeng (Chinese: 小油坑) is a special area in Taiwan's Yangmingshan National Park, near the base of Seven Star Mountain. It sits about 805 meters above sea level and is known for its interesting rock formations, sulfur crystals, hot springs, and steam vents called fumaroles.

You can hike from Xiaoyoukeng to Seven Star Mountain, which is the highest point in Taipei City at 1,120 meters. The trails also lead to places like Qixing Park, Menghuan Pond, and Lengshuikeng, as well as the park's visitor center and bus station.

Flora and fauna

The soil in Yangmingshan National Park is very acidic because of old volcanic activity and lots of rain. This, along with cooler winters, makes the plants here different from those in nearby areas. You can find special trees like the bird-lime tree and hairy Japanese maple, as well as many flowers such as Taiwan cherry and dark spotted cherry. There are also many butterflies, especially from May to August, and over 120 different kinds of birds. One special plant you can see is the Taiwan isoetes, an aquatic fern found only in Taiwan. The area is also home to semi-feral cattle, which many visitors enjoy seeing.

Climate

Yangmingshan has a humid subtropical climate. Summers are warm and humid with heavy rainstorms, while winters are cool, wet, and foggy. The area is also affected by Pacific typhoons between June and October. The climate data provided is for the Anbu weather station, and other places in the park may have different temperatures.

Main article: humid subtropical climate

Historical and cultural sites

Yangmingshan National Park is home to many important historical and cultural sites. You can visit the Chinese Culture University and the Chung-Shan Building, which was once where important meetings took place. The Grass Mountain Chateau was a summer home for a famous leader, and the Guangfu Building remembers a big change in China's history, the Xinhai Revolution. There are also homes and graves of well-known people, like writer Lin Yutang, and places that were used by past governments and schools, such as Yangmingshan American Military Housing and the Taipei European School.