Yangmingshan National Park is in both Taipei and New Taipei City. It is one of nine national parks in Taiwan. Parts of the park are in Taipei’s Beitou and Shilin Districts, and in New Taipei’s Wanli, Jinshan, Sanzhi, and Tamsui Districts. The park is famous for cherry blossoms, hot springs, sulfur deposits, fumaroles, venomous snakes, and hiking trails. It includes Qixing (Seven Star) Mountain, which is Taiwan’s highest inactive volcano, reaching a height of 1,120 meters (3,675 feet). In June 2020, Yangmingshan National Park was named the world’s first Urban Quiet Park by Quiet Parks International to honor World Environment Day.

History

This mountain range was first named "Grass Mountain" (Chinese: 草山; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chháu-soaⁿ) during the Qing dynasty. The name came from Datun Mountain (大屯山; Tōa-tūn-soaⁿ). Officials during this time were concerned about thieves stealing sulfur from the area's rich sulfur deposits. To prevent this, they often set fires on the mountain. This is why only grass, not trees, grew there.

Daiton National Park [ja], Taiwan's first national park, was created on December 27, 1937. It was one of three national parks established by Governor-General of Taiwan Seizō Kobayashi during Japan's rule over the island.

In 1950, President Chiang Kai-shek changed the name of Grass Mountain to Yangmingshan to honor the Ming dynasty scholar Wang Yangming. In 1962, the Taiwan Provincial Bureau of Public Works began planning Yangmingshan National Park. The planning area was 28,400 hectares, including Mount Kwan-in and the Tatun Volcanic Group.

Landscape and geology

Different from many other national parks, Yangmingshan National Park has a lower elevation. The park's elevation ranges from 200 to 1120 meters. There are many different types of landscapes, such as ridges, valleys, lakes, waterfalls, and basins. The area's geology is mostly made up of Andesite rocks.

Xiaoyoukeng

Xiaoyoukeng (Chinese: 小油坑) is a geological area shaped by volcanic activity after a volcano became inactive. It is located in the northern part of Taiwan within Yangmingshan National Park, at the northwestern base of Seven Star Mountain. The area is about 805 meters above sea level and is known for its fumaroles, sulfur crystals, hot springs, and unique "landslide terrain" created by volcanic activity.

Hiking trails to Seven Star Mountain begin at the Xiaoyoukeng parking lot. The trail’s highest point reaches 1,120 meters above sea level, which is the tallest peak in Taipei City. The Xiaoyoukeng trail connects to Qixing Park, Menghuan Pond, and Lengshuikeng. It also links to the visitor center, Yangmingshan Second Parking Lot, and the Yangmingshan Bus Station.

Flora and fauna

The soil in the region is very acidic because of volcanic activity and rain. The area's winter temperatures are colder than nearby places due to the northeast monsoon and local weather patterns. These conditions make the plants in the region different from those at the same latitude elsewhere. Some plants found here include bird-lime tree and hairy Japanese maple. Plant groups in the area are classified as subtropical monsoon rainforests, temperate evergreen broadleaf forests, and mountain ridge grasslands. There are 1360 species of vascular bundle plants in the region. Common plants include red nanmu, large-leaved machilus, Formosan sweet gum, Taiwan cherry, Mori cleyera, and dark spotted cherry. A well-known plant is Taiwan isoetes, an aquatic fern found only in Taiwan's Menghuan pond. Mt. Datun is a famous spot to see 168 species of butterflies in northern Taiwan, with the most sightings between May and August. Common butterfly families include Papilionidae, Danainae, and Nymphalidae. The region also has 122 bird species. Semi-feral cattle are a notable feature of the area.

Climate

Yangmingshan has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa). During summer, the weather is warm, humid, and often includes heavy rainstorms. In winter, the weather is cool, very wet, and very foggy because strong northeasterly winds from the Siberian High pressure area are made stronger by cooler air gathering in the Taipei Basin. Taiwan’s location in the Pacific Ocean means it is affected by typhoons, which often hit between June and October.

The following climate data is from the Anbu weather station. Other areas in the national park may have different temperatures.

Historical and cultural sites

• Chinese Culture University
• Chung-Shan Building – Meeting place of the National Assembly, which is no longer active
• Grass Mountain Chateau – Summer home of Chiang Kai-shek
• Guangfu Building – Constructed in 1971 using Northern Chinese palace-style architecture to honor the Xinhai Revolution
• Home and burial site of famous writer Lin Yutang
• Yangmingshuwu – Former location of the Kuomintang Party Archives
• Yangmingshan American Military Housing
• Yangmingshan No.1 Public Cemetery – Contains the graves of Sun Fo and Homer Lea. Also includes the tomb of Puru, a painter, educator, and cousin of China's last emperor, Puyi
• Taipei European School
• Tomb of Yu Youren
• Wuchih Mountain Military Cemetery

Gallery

• Qingtiangang.
• Dream Lake.
• Cherry Blossom.
• A closer view of a fumarole on Seven Star Mountain.
• Chung-Shan Building in Yangmingshan.
• Chinese Pavilion and Cherry Blossom.
• Guangfu Building.
• A park near the entrance.
• Statue of Chiang Kai-shek in the park.
• Yangmingshan hot springs.