【Yangmingshan】

Yangmingshan National Park is located in the north of Beitou. Yangmingshan was 

called Caoshan (Grass Mountain) during Japanese occupation of Taiwan, because it was covered with grass and seldom visited. After World War II, the KMT government renamed the mountain Yangmingshan and built a park here. Yangmingshan National Park is the only park in Taiwan that has volcanic geography and hot springs. It is next  to Shamao Mountain and Qixing Mountain with Datun Mountain on the right and  Guanyin Mountain in front. The magnificent mountainous scenery and comfortable  weather have made Yangmingshan National Park a perfect summer resort. Total area of the park is 125 hectares, designed in traditional Chinese style. The natural beauty of the part has won it the reputation as urban forest and the Taipei garden. The park is characterized by

a large clock made of flowers with a diameter of 22 feet.  Water runs around the flower clock and music is played every hour. The clock is the characteristic of Yangming Park. Opposite the clock is a statue of late president Chiang Kai

-Shek; on both sides of the statue are the cypresses planted by president 

Chiang himself. The Xinhai Guangfu Building was completed in 1971, right in the 

center of the park. In addition, there is a statue of Wang Yang Ming, the famous 

Chinese scholar in the 17th century. Shamao Mountain welcomes visitors with a year

-round profusion of color and a natural landscape that one will want to slow down to admire. This is also a good spot for a hot spring soak and a feast of wild-

grown vegetables in nature's scenic embrace, offering something for body, mind and spirit. Volcanic action and geological factors have produced several sources and types of  hot spring on Shamao Mountain. Sulfuric acid springs are dominant here and the  water has a sulfur smell that is slightly stronger than that of the springs in Beitou. Most of the hot spring hotels and restaurants here are clustered in Pingdeng Village  near Lengshueikeng, and in Macao off the Yangming Mountain 

(Yangmingshan)-Jinshan Highway. There are also a few estab

lishments off Yangde  Boulevard that offer bathing, restaurant and tea service.