page_title: Taroko National Park
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Taroko National Park / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Map from Formosa (Taiwan) 1:50,000 AMS Series L792
context_page_description: Taroko National Park is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan and was named after the Taroko Gorge, the landmark gorge of the park carved by the Liwu River. The park spans Taichung Municipality, Nantou County, and Hualien County and is located at Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan.
context_section_description: This national park was originally established as the Tsugitaka-Taroko National Park (Japanese: 次高タロコ国立公園, Hepburn: Tsugitaka Taroko kokuritsu kōen) by the Governor-General of Taiwan on 12 December 1937 when Taiwan was part of the Empire of Japan. After the Empire of Japan's defeat in World War II, the Republic of China took over Taiwan in consequence. The ROC government subsequently abolished the park on 15 August 1945. It was not until 28 November 1986 that the park was reestablished.
  Taroko National Park covers an area of 92,000 hectares. It is located in Hualien County, Taichung City and Nantou County– and is home to unique geological and natural resources, including twenty seven peaks over 3000 meters (Baiyu, 100 Top Peaks in Taiwan) located in and around the Qilai and Nanhu Mountain ranges. The spectacular marble gorge of Taroko, the Qingshui Cliff rising high above the Pacific Ocean, the peaceful trail along the Shakadang River, and the cascading waterfalls of Baiyang trail are some of the treasures and delights of “earth and the heavens” that await visitors to the Park.
  The rich and varied terrain that has nurtured an opulent plant and animal life in the Park is due in large part to the steep climb in altitude: from the Pacific Ocean on the east border of the Park to the majestic peaks of the Central Mountain Range that make up the Park’s western border one can go from sea level to well over 3000 meters in a day’s time. On the Central Cross-Island Highway(Provincial Highway 8) one can experience the changes in altitude while going from the Asian tropical deciduous forests to the high mountain pine and cedar forests as though traveling in a dream. The changes all pass one by within one short day and words cannot describe the exquisite beauty of this area, a beauty that has attracted people for countless years.
caption: Map of Taroko area (1944)
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