National Parks of Taiwan

As summer begins to turn to autumn, the Yushan National Park Headquarters has begun hosting the three-stage "Hand in Hand: Exploring Tataka Together" event. The first stage of the event took place on Saturday, July 28, with the other two to be held on Saturday the 11th of August and the 22nd of September. Each stage of the event is open to 30 participants, with a limit of 6 people per household. The events provide an opportunity to learn about Yushan National Park's rich ecosystem and natural resources, and they provide an exciting learning opportunity for members of any generation. We encourage anyone who is interested to sign up now!

The first stage of the event ended in the second half of July. Participants gathered at the Tataka Visitor Center in Nantou Country's Xinyi Township, and they began with a brief introduction to the park and the event. This was followed by a quiz on the park, for which prizes were given out in exchange for correct answers, encouraging participation and interest in Tataka Park and a clear understanding of its environment.

Next, a forest healing specialist took participants into the forest for a yoga activity. Participants looked up to the clear blue sky while lying on yoga mats and immersing themselves in nature as a kind of warm-up for the next stage of the trip. As the participants walked along the forest paths, the instructor reminded them to focus on breathing deeply, letting go of their emotions, and slowing their pace, as a means to maximize their enjoyment of the time spent together as a family and in the forest.

During the course of the journey, the instructor directed the participants to hold hands, encircling and embracing the trees, and thank the members of their family for their love and care. Because family members from Chinese backgrounds rarely engage in physical contact with each other, this activity allowed families to come closer to each other. Thereafter, many of the families began to help each other, physically assisting and supporting each other over the course of the journey—demonstrating the power of the forest in bringing people closer together.

After a brief rest stop in the afternoon, participants took part in a DIY craft activity. Families worked together to craft a cute Taiwan macaque out of seeds and wood chips. The activity gave them a chance to work together and use the natural resources of the park to create something unique. As they worked together, the instructor also taught the families about the behaviors and habits of the park's wildlife.

As evening approached, the event began to come to a close. Participants were taken to the Shishan Service Area, where they observed the ecology and behavior of wild Taiwan macaques. The Park Headquarters wishes to remind everyone that Taiwan macaques are wild animals, and when feeling threatened by humans will likely react by using intimidation tactics. Although one should be careful not to alarm the monkeys, this is a very common occurrence and is not a cause for concern. Please do not overreact or panic when this happens. The Park Headquarters also wishes to remind people not to leave any plastic bags behind when climbing the mountains, avoid exposing food to the monkeys, and to keep an appropriate distance from the monkeys at all times, for the protection of both park guests and the Taiwan macaques. To mark the end of the event, participants were taken to the National Park boundary marker to take a group photo. While taking the photo, one of the macaques jumped onto the boundary marker without warning, inadvertently joining the group as they posed for the photo, providing an amusing coda on which to end the trip.