ushan National Park is located in the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan. Centering around Jade Mountain Main Peak, the park covers a vast area of over 105,000 hectares spread out  over the four counties of Nantou, Chiayi, Kaohsiung and Hualien. It is a typical subtropical mountainous national park.

Within the park, there are spectacular views of the peaks. The park covers 30 out of Taiwan’s One Hundred Mountains, including Jade Mountain Peaks, Siouguluan Mountain, Mabolasih Mountain, Dafenjian Mountain, Sinkang Mountain, and Guan Mountain. Each mountain has its own particular style; some are magnificently elegant and full of fury, while others display bizarre and marvelous peaks. Naturally formed, such landscapes are extremely beautiful. The park also includes the origin of the hydro system  for the central, southern and eastern areas of Taiwan Province, which was closely related with the livelihood of the public at the lower reaches of the river.

The elevation of Yushan National Park ranges between 300 to 3952 meters. Its entire eco-system bears characteristicsspanning from the subtropical to frigid zones, breeding many different kinds of forest vegetation. The types of vegetation that could be seen in order of ascending elevation are: broad leaf forest, conifer broad mixed forest, spruce fir forest, hemlock fir forest, the colossal alpine fir forest, the short entangled shrub and alpine naturally grown vegetation form by the Yushan single seed juniper and Yushan Azalea/rhododendron. On the main ridge of the Central Mountain Range, there are numerous stretches of dwarf bamboo plains.

There are approximately 46 species of mammals in the park. The most precious large-sized animals are the Formosan serow, Formosan sambar, Formosan black bear, Formosan wild boar/Sus scrofa taivanus, Formosan Reeve’s muntjac, and Formosan rock-monkey. Approximately 151 species of birds, almost all of Taiwan’s resident birds, can be found within the park, including endemic species such as the Mikado pheasant, Swinhoe’s pheasant, Formosan barwing, Steere's Liocichla, and Taiwan Yuhina. According to survey records, the park has approximately 228 species of butterfly, half of all butterfly species in Taiwan. Reptiles consist of 17 species, including 13 species of snakes and 4 species of lizards. Species endemic to Taiwan such as the Alishan turtle-designed snake, Sauter’s ground snake, and Tree lizard reside in larger quantities. There are 12 species of amphibians, among which the Formosan Salamander and Sonani’s Salamander, remnants of the Ice Age, possess an unusually high value of academic research. In the mountain streams are the Varicorhinus alticorpus (Taiwan ku fish) and Hemimyzon taitungensis, two species of the freshwater fish endemic to Taiwan.

Cultural and historical trails are preserved through the Ching Dynasty Batongguan Historic Trail, the Japanese Occupation Era Batongguan Traversing Road and the Guanshan Traversing Road near the Southern Cross-Island Provincial Highway. The entire park had once been the region where the Bunun aboriginal tribe lived,leaving behind many traces of old community sites and heart-breaking rebellion against the Japanese government.

The abundant natual, human, and cultural resources within the park are all for the nation’s appreciation. Most importantly, this is an environment that allows people to directly interact with the nature, a place of spiritual leisure, revival, and vitality. This land is a paradise, kept pure and clean to be inherited by future generations.

If you want to know more information about Yushan National Park, please click HERE http://english.ysnp.gov.tw/default.aspx

Derived and adopted from Tourism Bureau Taiwan