Taipei city is the capital of Taiwan, located in the northern part of the Island.
Taipei City’s terrains are divided roughly into three types of landform: Taipei Basin,
the over-thrust fault ridges, and Datun Volcanoes. Taipei Basin is a basin area formed by
fault displacement; and erosion activities by Tamsui River and its tributaries contribute
to the way it looks today. Taipei, about an hour from Taoyuan International Airport,
is the transportation hub of the whole Taiwan Island. Travelers can take a flight from
many places in the world to get here. You can take metro, city buses, taxis or bikes to
travel around the city, visiting the city's famous attractions, such as Taipei 101,
night markets, National Palace Museum, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Longshan Temple
and so on. More information about discovering Taipei is at https://www.travel.taipei/en/
National Palace Museum
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
Ximending Night Market
Geologic Site - Yangmingshan National Park
The Yangmingshan National Park is famous for its cherry blossoms, hot springs, sulfur
deposits, fumaroles, venomous snakes, and hiking trails, including Taiwan's tallest dormant
volcano, Seven Star Mountain.
Xiaoyoukeng
Xiaoyoukeng is a post-volcanic geological landscape area located in the north of
Taiwan in Yangmingshan National Park at the northwestern foot of Mt. Qixing.
It is approximately 805 meters above sea level and is famed for the fumaroles,
sulfur crystals, hot springs and spectacular 'landslide terrain' formed by
post-volcanic activity.
HIking trails to Mt. Qixing are accessible from the Xiaoyoukeng parking lot.
The top of the trail is 1,120 meters above sea level, which is the highest peak of
Taipei City. The Xiaoyoukeng trail can connect to Qixing Park, Menghuan Pond, and
Lengshuikeng. The trail also connects to visitor center, Yangmingshan Second Parking
Lot and the Yangmingshan Bus Station.
Fumaroles and sulfur crystals
Hiking trails
Erziping
Located between the main peak of Mt. Datun and Mt. Erzi, the approximately
2-kilometer long Erziping Trail was built along a volcano-tectonic depression in
Yangmingshan and ranked as the country’s top 10 scenic trails, rivaling those in
the Alishan and Taroko Gorge. Thanks to its evenly paved surface and pleasant weather,
this wide, barrier-free footpath is the most accessible one in Yangmingshan National
Park. In addition to three ponds, scenic highlights and the balmy weather thanks to
its location in the lee side of Mt. Datun, the Erziping Trail Recreation Area spans
the subtropical and warm temperate zones, making it virtually Nature’s classroom with
impressively diverse vegetation ranging from forest trees (mostly Red Nanmu, Japanese
Black Pine and Chinese Sweet Gum), arborescent plants, shrubs and ferns of all kinds,
to food plants for butterflies, nectar-yielding plants and aquatic plants. It is perfect
for a casual stroll and also for such activities as butterfly- and bird-watching,
mountaineering, hiking, sightseeing, day-tripping and flora observation.
TVO is located in Yangmingshan National Park. It has established various real-time
volcano monitoring systems, including seismic observation, volcanic gas analysis,
crustal deformation and ground temperature monitoring, etc., in order to achieve the
goals of volcano monitoring and research. At the same time, the results of all Datun
volcano analysis and research will be presented in the display area, and the general
public and students will visit to achieve a wider function of science education.
Geologic Site - Yehliu
The Yehliu Promontory is the cape of the Datun Mountain Range extending to the
East China Sea. The whole area is about 1700 meters long and 250 meters wide.
The rock landscape of Yehliu Geopark is one of most famous wonders in the world.
The costal line is stretching in a direction vertical to the layer and the structure line;
besides, the influences caused by wave attack, rock weathering, earth movement and crustal
movement all contribute to the formation of such a rare and stunning geological landscape.
A distinctive feature of the cape is the hoodoo stones that dot its surface. These shapes
can be viewed at the Yehliu Geopark operated by the North Coast and Guanyinshan National
Scenic Area administration. A number of rock formations have been given imaginative names
based on their shapes. The best known is the "Queen's Head", an iconic image in Taiwan and
an unofficial emblem for the town of Wanli. Other formations include the "Weathering Ring"
and the "The Mushroom Rocks".
