Taiwan is one of the world’s most densely populated countries, yet almost a fifth of the island has been set aside for the purpose of conservation. In addition to nine national parks and one national nature park, the authorities manage a network of nature reserves, forest reserves, major wildlife habitats, and wildlife refuges.
Because Taiwan is a country of climatic and topographical contrasts, these protected countries vary enormously in terms of size and characteristics. Some aim to ensure the survival of a single animal, flower, or tree species. Others preserve unique landscapes. Some cover vast expansions of the island’s mountainous interior, where the human population is tiny yet the fauna and flora are as astonishing as the views.
This emphasis on natural wonders does not ignore humanity’s role in shaping Taiwan’s scenery. Since it was established in 1995, Kinmen National Park has preserved both the ecology of Kinmen and Lieyu and sites associated with the decades-long confrontation between the Chinese Nationalist (KMT) government in Taipei and the Chinese Communist regime in Beijing.
Kinmen and Lieyu are located just off the coast of China’s Fujian province, well within range of Communist PLA artillery. The Chinese Civil War reached the islands in late 1949, when an armada of fishing boats landed 9,000 PLA soldiers on beaches studded with defensive obstacles.
After three days of bloody combat, the remnants of the invasion force surrendered. This was a rare battlefield for Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese Nationalists, but it would be decades before the archipelago’s civilian residents would enjoy true peace. Even now, several of the older buildings in villages like Guningtou still bear scars and bullet holes from 1949.
During the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, which erupted on August 23, 1958 — a date since marked in Taiwan as 8-23 — Kinmen again came under sustained attack. Thanks to logistical, material, and political support from the United States, the Nationalist Garrison endured every onslaught.
By early October, the PLA was running short of ammunition. And before the end of the year, the two sides had settled into a strange routine of alternating one-way bombardments. The PLA would shell Kinmen one day; the next day, it would be the Nationalist Army’s turn to fire at PLA positions in Fujian. The shells often contained propaganda leaflets instead of explosives. This theater continued until 1979.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Chiang’s government made massive investments in defending Kinmen, and these strongpoints are among the islands’ most fascinating sights.
The Jiugong Tunnels on Lieyu are the archipelago’s largest underground military installation. Hewn from solid rock after the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis and large enough to accommodate patrol boats, landing craft, and other small vessels, these sea-level shelters were designed to ensure that supplies could be brought in even if the island was under attack.
As you might expect in a place that has seen more than its share of military action, Kinmen has a number of museums and memorials devoted to the soldiers who fought and died here. At the same time, the national park highlights several attractions that predate the Communist-Nationalist clashes.
The village of Shuitou is notable for its architectural treasures. These brick-and-stone mansions, built before World War II by locals who returned home after making their fortunes elsewhere, combine Western and Chinese styles. Some are richly decorated with hand-painted ceramic tiles, stone and wood carvings, and clay and mortar moldings.
From time to time, Shuitou’s prosperity attracted the wrong crowd. Responding to this deterioration in law and order, local leaders commissioned an architect to supervise the construction of an 11.3-meter-tall square tower replete with lookout portholes and embrasures from which those inside could fight off intruders. For many years after its completion in 1931, Deyue Tower — its name derives from a Song dynasty poem — was Kinmen County’s tallest man-made feature.
Visitors who find Kinmen’s combination of military history and exquisite architecture engrossing should also set aside a few days for the Matsu Islands. Like Kinmen, Matsu is close to China. In terms of culture, dialect, and building styles, it is quite different from Taiwan’s main island.
Taiwan’s first national parks were established in the mid-1980s, but some of the groundwork was done decades earlier. During the 1895-1945 period of Japanese rule, the colonial authorities delineated three candidate parks, which they called Tatun (covering much of what is now Yangmingshan National Park), Tsugitaka-Taroko (Taroko Gorge and nearby mountains), and Niitaka-Arisan ( embracing both Taiwan’s tallest mountain, now known as Mount Jade or Yushan, and the Alishan area).
The national park system now in place is far more extensive. The newest is the South Penghu Marine National Park, which protects 355 square kilometers of the Taiwan Strait and 3.7 kilometers of land with a miniscule human population. The ocean’s nutrient-rich waters support an exceptional diversity of marine species. Regular ferries connect Dongyuping Island inside the park with other parts of the Penghu archipelago and with Tainan.
Among the country’s national parks, Yangmingshan is the most visited, followed by Kenting, a resort at Taiwan’s southern tip that somehow balances Spring Break-style beach-based fun with high-quality ecotourism experiences.
Pro-nature campaigners have lobbied in favor of new national parks that would cover Green Island, Orchid Island (Lanyu), the cypress forests of Qilan in the northeast, and the Nengdan region of the Central Mountain Range. But now that Taiwan is a mature and vibrant democracy, reconciling the needs and opinions of local residents and other stakeholders can be a lengthy process.
Dongsha Atoll National Park is not open to the public. Nor, since a powerful earthquake struck northeastern Taiwan on April 3, is Taroko National Park. The splendor of Taroko Gorge is truly unique, and its being off-limits is causing some would-be visitors to reconsider their plans. There are still many reasons to explore Taiwan, however. The country has an abundance of glorious scenery, and it remains a captivating destination where two weeks is nowhere near enough to exhaust every possibility.
TOURIST INFORMATION
Travelers eager to explore Taiwan’s national parks can gather additional information from the following websites:
Taiwan National Park Service: www.nps.gov.tw/home-en.html
Kinmen National Park: www.kmnp.gov.tw
Classic Kinmen Travel (Kinmen County Government): kinmen.travel
Yushan National Park: www.ysnp.gov.tw
Yangmingshan National Park: www.ymsnp.gov.tw
Kenting National Park: www.ktnp.gov.tw
Marine National Park: www.marine.gov.tw
For all kinds of travel information about the country, visit the Tourism Administration’s multilingual website, www.taiwan.net.tw, or call the 24-hour tourist information hotline at 0800-011-765, toll-free within Taiwan.
