Kenting National Park, commonly known as Kenting , is a national park located on the Hengchun Peninsula of Pingtung County, Taiwan, covering Hengchun, Checheng, and Manzhou Townships. Established on 1 January 1984, it is Taiwan's oldest and the southernmost national park on the main island, covering the southernmost area of the Taiwan island along Bashi Channel. Administered by the National Park Service of the Ministry of the Interior, this national park is well known for its tropical climate and sunshine, scenic mountain and beach, the Spring Scream rock-band festival held in every March, and has long been one of the most popular tourist destinations in Taiwan with 5.84 million visitors in 2016.

Etymology

Kenting (墾丁, Kun-ting in Taiwanese) means pathfinders or pioneers.

Geography

The park covers about 181 km2 of land, 152 km2 of sea, weighing in at 333 km2 combined. Nan Wan and Banana Bay (香蕉灣) is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Taiwan Strait, and the Luzon Strait. The park is 90 km away from Kaohsiung, 140 km away from Tainan. The landscape boasted by Kenting National Park is divided into two parts by the long and narrow Hengchun Longitudinal Valley Plain that extends from north to south. With coral sea cliffs teemed with fringing reefs along the west coast, the park features a large number of mountains in the north, and coral tablelands and foothills in the south. The plain, which is formed by fault valleys, has a vast lake called Longluan Lake, together with rising coral tablelands and limestone caves to the east. The east side of the coral tablelands features unique sand rivers and sand waterfalls formed by the combined effects of winds and rivers, as well as coral cliffs, sunken caves and stalactites.

Climate

Kenting is known for its tropical climate with warm to hot weather year-round. Along with the rest of Pingtung, the climate is geographically classified as a tropical monsoon climate.

Biodiversity

The park hosts rich terrestrial biodiversity of fauna and flora including 15 species of mammals, 310 species of birds, 59 species of reptiles and amphibians, 21 species of freshwater fish, 216 species of butterflies, and various insects. Eluanbi Park or Oluanpi Park (鹅鑾鼻公園) is located at Cape Eluanbi. Nature reserves such as the Longkeng Ecological Protection Area (龍坑生態保護區) protecting coral reefs and virgin forest of Banana Bay and Hengchun Peninsula. 26 species of land crabs inhabit in the area and which is the highest diversity of terrestrial crabs in single areas in the world. 34 species of terrestrial mammals including 5 locally extinct such as Formosan clouded leopard, and 4 introduced such as water buffalo, have been recorded. Formosan sika deer which became extinct in wild in 1969, was first reintroduced into Kenting National Park in 1994. Aside from sika deer, 6 species of terrestrial mammals were once thought to be extinct in the area, while critically endangered Chinese pangolin were rediscovered a decade after. Ocean current which flows off the park provides rich diversities of marine ecosystems including sea birds, sea turtles including critically endangered hawksbill turtles, sharks such as bull sharks manta-rays, and whale sharks, and smaller to medium-sized cetaceans. The area was once a major wintering ground for sperm and baleen whales especially humpback whales that migrated into Nan Wan and Banana Bay. Japanese whaling during Japanese colonial days, led to severe depletions or disappearances of whales in consequence. Today, no or very few whales may constantly migrate along Hengchun Peninsula and into the park's waters. Dugongs, thought to be either fully or functionally extinct in Taiwan, were reported in the 1950s and 60s, and these were some of the last report of the species in Taiwanese waters. The national park is an important stopover on the migration path of the gray-faced buzzard.

Lighthouse

Eluanbi Lighthouse was completed in 1883, following requests from the American and Japanese governments to the Chinese government after several shipwrecks occurred in the 1860s (including the Rover incident). Chinese troops had to be sent to protect the lighthouse during construction from attacks by local tribesmen, and the lighthouse was surrounded by a fort with cannons and a ditch for protection. It is one of the rare examples in the world of a fortified lighthouse. The lighthouse itself is 21.4 m high and its light is 56.4 m above the tidal high water. The light flashes every 10 seconds and its range is 27.2 nmi.

Transportation

In popular culture

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