Kenting National Park
| Kenting National Park 墾丁 國家 公園 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
|
|||
| Location: | Taiwan | ||
| Next city: | Hengchun , Pingtung County | ||
| Surface: | 332.8959 km² | ||
| Founding: | Jan. 1, 1984 | ||
| Visitors: | 5,834,294 (2016) | ||
The Kenting National Park ( Chinese 墾丁 國家 公園 , Pinyin Kěndīng guójiā gōngyuán ) is a national park in the Republic of China (Taiwan) . It covers the southern tip of the island of Taiwan . The park, which belongs to the Pingtung County , is extremely rich in various landscapes and natural beauties as well as flora and fauna and is one of the most popular excursion and travel destinations in Taiwan. In 2016, the park had 5,834,294 visitors, making it the most visited national park in Taiwan.
Location, climate and traffic
The national park includes the southern end of the island of Taiwan, the Hengchun Peninsula . It is bordered to the west by the Taiwan Strait , to the south by the Luzon Strait and to the east by the Pacific Ocean . Its total area of 332.8959 km² consists of 180.835 km² of land and 152.0609 km² of sea. The land area is divided into three municipalities: Hengchun 106.7718 km², Manzhou 69.5610 km² and Checheng 4.4022 km².
Kenting National Park is the southernmost Taiwanese national park and therefore has the most pronounced tropical climate. The average annual temperature is 23 ° C, the average rainfall is 2200 mm per year. From November to April the climate is very dry. In the first half of the year in particular, there is often a northeast monsoon .
Kenting National Park can only be reached by bus or car. A country road called Kenting Road runs along the seashore in a semicircle around the park. A leisure mile with hotels, bars, restaurants, food stalls and water sports has developed on both sides of the road on the southern section, which forms the liveliest part of the national park.
history
Kenting National Park is often referred to as the "first" or "oldest" national park in Taiwan. In fact, the Japanese had already set up three national parks in the north and east of the island during their rule over Taiwan . The Japanese scientists were also aware of the uniqueness of the Hengchun Peninsula with its tropical climate and biodiversity. In 1936, the biologist Ichirō Hayasaka suggested the creation of another national park on the peninsula, but this did not materialize.
Only decades later, on September 1, 1982, did the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) begin concrete planning for a national park on the Hengchun Peninsula. Kenting National Park was officially opened on January 1, 1984, and although not Taiwan's first national park, it was the first national park established in Taiwan by the government of the Republic of China after World War II.
Flora and fauna
Due to the tropical climate and the island location of Taiwan, a unique biodiversity of plants and animals has developed on the Hengchun Peninsula, even if flora and fauna have been significantly impaired by centuries of human settlement and reclamation. 15 species of mammals, 310 species of birds, 59 species of reptiles and amphibians, 21 species of freshwater fish, 216 species of butterflies and over 500 species of other insects are counted. To protect biodiversity, nine ecological protected areas were set up in the park.
Animals
The mammal species to be observed include the Formosa macaque , the Formosa muntjac , the Chinese hare and the larvae roller . The Formosa sika deer , which is already extinct in the wild , was successfully released in the Kenting National Park after being raised in captivity and is now to be found again fairly frequently.
Large numbers of migratory birds spend the winter on the Hengchun Peninsula, such as the pine tea , the frog caterpillar or the brown shrike , plus many geese, ducks and snipe birds . The proportion of migratory birds among all bird species observed in Kenting is no less than 75%.
Snakes also thrive in the tropical climate of the peninsula. According to official census, the national park is home to 26 species of snakes, including the Chinese nosed viper , the green bamboo viper ( Trimeresurus stejnegeri ) and the Taiwanese coral viper ( Calliophis macclellandi formosensis ). There are also a number of lizard, turtle and amphibian species. Almost half of all frog species found in Taiwan are native to the Hengchun Peninsula.
The more than 200 butterfly species include a. the Byasa polyeuctes , the Papilio polytes , the Hebomoia glaucippe , the Parantica sita , the Idea ieuconoe and the Troides aeacus kaguya, which is endemic to the Hengchun Peninsula .
The submarine fauna of the national park is extremely rich in tropical fish and other marine animals, of which over 1000 species have officially been counted. Due to the warm water temperatures, there are large areas of colorful coral reefs in the waters of the national park . During the winter months, marine mammals such as the humpback whale , the sperm whale and species of dolphins can be seen near the Hengchun Peninsula .
Flora and Botanical Garden
The flora of Kenting National Park is rich in plant species that only grow here in Taiwan and are spread over various vegetation formations . On the former coral reefs all over the tropical coasts you can find the shrub-like plant species Pemphis acidula , on sandy soils near the coast plant species such as the goat's foot morning glory and the Vitex rotundifolia . The Barringtonia asiatica and the Hernandia sonora are also typical everywhere on tropical coasts , the seeds of which can cross the sea as flotsam and therefore occur everywhere on tropical coasts. Further inland, species such as the velvet leaf , the lime-leaved marshmallow , Polyspora axillaris , Myrica adenophora , Daphniphyllum oldhamii and Rhaphiolepis indica grow in the shrub zone . In the past, almost the entire south of the peninsula was forested, but today only small areas of primeval forest in the southeast near Cape Eluanbi are left as a result of human deforestation . Rare plant species such as Schizaea digitata and Phalaenopsis aphrodite grow here, partly on coral rock .
You can get an overview of the abundance of tropical vegetation in the 64 hectare Hengchun Botanical Garden, which was founded by the Japanese in 1906 .
tourism
The scenic charm and climate of Kenting attract large numbers of tourists from Taiwan and abroad almost all year round. With over 8.16 million visitors, Kenting National Park was by far the most visited national park in Taiwan in 2014. As a result of this popularity, many hotels of different sizes and quality have emerged in the area of the national park. The task of harmonizing the flow of tourists with nature conservation is one of the greatest challenges facing the park administration.
The special natural beauties and attractions in Kenting National Park include:
- Nan Wan , a bay in the south of the peninsula with a beach and water sports. It is the most popular and most populated beach in the national park, also due to its proximity to the leisure mile on Kenting Road. It is one of the curiosities of the national park that the beach borders directly on the site of the nuclear power plant No. 3 , whose reactors are within sight of the bathers.
- Chuanfan Shi , the "sail rock", a 26.4 m high rock in the sea, the shape of which is reminiscent of a ship's sail.
- Jiale Shui , a waterfall pouring down from a rock directly into the sea.
- Houbi Gang , the largest fishing port on the Hengchun Peninsula, with space for up to 500 fishing boats. There are many seafood eateries here and snorkeling is possible nearby.
- The Kenting Road , a famous under that name around the section leading to the national park highway to both sides of which a very lively leisure mile with bars, restaurants, hotels, stalls and shops has formed. There is a night market here in the evenings . The amount of tourists, the traffic and the waste generated by tourism are in conflict with the idea of a national park and require strict regulation by the authorities.
- Mount Dajian , a single rock rising up from the steppe-like terrain in the middle of the peninsula, with a height of 318 m is the highest point and a symbol of the national park, in which it is visible from many places. Climbing the mountain is now prohibited for reasons of safety and nature conservation.
- Maobitou , the southwestern cape of the national park. Here is a picturesque coral cliff created by the effects of the weather, from which one can overlook the coastline of the Hengchun Peninsula and look out over the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait .
- Baishawan , a bay with a coral reef coast in the west of the Hengchun Peninsula, where there is a former fishing port and a 100 m long beach with shell sand. A good view of the sea opens up from the coral rocks.
- The Longpan Park , an overgrown with grass and bushes plateau of limestone, which drops steeply to the sea. It is located on the east coast and due to its elevated position offers wide views of the coastline and large parts of the Hengchun Peninsula. The park is famous for its sunrises.
- The Eluanbi lighthouse , located on the headland of the same name, which forms the southern end of the island of Taiwan. Built during the Qing Dynasty in 1883, it was equipped with walls, a moat and artillery for defense, making it one of the rare examples of a militarily fortified lighthouse. After its destruction in the First Sino-Japanese War , it was repaired by the Japanese in 1898. The lighthouse was destroyed by American air raids during World War II and rebuilt for the second time in 1962. The height of the tower measures 24.10 m, with a range of 50.4 km it is the most luminous lighthouse in Taiwan.
Trivia
- Since 1995 the lighthouse of Cape Eluanbi has held the international Spring Scream music festival , which lasts several days, every April . It is the largest regularly held music festival in Taiwan.
- The film Cape No. 7 (2008) by Taiwanese director Wei Te-Sheng was filmed largely in Kenting National Park.
- Taiwanese nuclear power plant No. 3 is located in the immediate vicinity of the Nanwan bathing beach.
gallery
Eluanbi lighthouse
Eluanbi lighthouse
Marking the southernmost point of the island of Taiwan
View of Eluanbi, the southern tip of Taiwan
View from the Longpan Plateau to the east coast
Chuanfan Shi , the "sailing rock"
Baishawan Beach
Nuclear power plant No. 3. Right in front of it the eastern end of the bathing beach of Nanwan
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 統計 資料 (“Statistical Data”). National Parks of Taiwan, Retrieved July 14, 2018 (Chinese).
- ↑ 臺灣 國家 公園 ("Taiwan's National Park"). National Parks of Taiwan, Retrieved July 14, 2018 (Chinese).
- ↑ 各 國家 公園 基本 資料 表 (“Basic information table about the national parks”). (No longer available online.) October 12, 2010, formerly in the original ; Retrieved October 26, 2018 (Chinese). ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 台湾 の 国家 公園Taiwan no kokuritsu kōen ( National Parks in Taiwan ), ， 台湾 博物 学 学報 Taiwan hakubutsugaku gakuhō (Scientific Journal for Taiwan), April 1936
- ↑ Kenting Wildlife (English) ( Memento of the original from June 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Kenting Plants from Kenting National Park Headquarters . ( Memento of the original from October 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (engl.)
- ↑ Hengchun Tropical Botanical Garden
- ↑ Kenting most-visited national park in Taiwan , Focus Taiwan News Channel, March 28, 2015
- ↑ Official website of the festival
