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| Once called “Monkey City,” located in southmost Taiwan, Pingtung has magnificent mountains, a seashore as far as 146 kilometers, beautiful undersea world, various cultural scenes as well as a plenty of specialties of farming, fishing and livestock industry. She is just like a bright pearl, amazingly dazzling down the south. You can enjoy mountains, waters as well as visit historical remains or take a trip to local tribes.
Once named “Monkey City,” Pingtung measures 65 square kilometers with a population of 210 thousand. It first began to be developed in 1684 (the 21st year in Kangxi period, Ching Dynasty) as a county. |
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Culture& Heritage |
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Confucian Temple： |
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Lied to the north of Pingtung County Gymnasium, as the only classical-academy-styled building in the county, Confucian Temple is listed as a historical building. First built inside Jhongshan Park, this classical academy was rebuilt into Confucian Temple, in an attempt to avoid being demolished during Japanese Occupation Era. There are still four monuments in the Temple. |
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Jhongshan Park： |
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| Built in 1915, the park is of the same age as a dozen of old merills next to the Gymnasium. With a lotus pool, a playground and a monkey garden, the park serves as a great place for recreation and exercise. |
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Ciaoyang Gate： |
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| As another historical building, Ciaoyang Gate lies between the sports field and tennis court in Jhongshan Park. “Monkey City” used to have four gates in the east, west, south, and north in 1836 (the 16th year in Daoguang period). Later, more roads were built and only the east gate remained, which is Ciaoyang Gate. With the height of 3.6 meters and a perimeter of 27.5 meters, the gate was built with bricks and cobble stones. |
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Kaoping Iron Bridge： |
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| Across Kaoping River, this beautiful Iron Bridge was built in 1914. Once the longest iron bridge in Asia, it is also one of the most important bridges connecting Kaohsiung and Pingtung.The Iron Bridge is now listed as a historical building, recalling people’s memories. With the riverside park under Kaoping Bridge, this place is now one of the favorite attractions for young people. |
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Carp Mountain, Mud Volcano： |
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| Located between the border of Wandan and Sinyuan, once called “Boiled Water Mountain” because yellow water sprang from it with red glow, Carp Mountain is named for its special shape. Mud Volcano has been erupting from time to time. It had stopped for nine years since 1979. Erupting again in 1988, the eruption point moved from the mountain top to the plain. From then on, the volcano erupts once or twice every year. |
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| Sometimes the eruption can reach as high as two floors, while the mud flows into nearby farms. People gather to see this spectacular scene, sometimes burning the mud. Thus, the eruption of Mud Volcano in Wandan has entered the sightseeing era from the brickmaking era. |
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Ligang Cable-stayed Bridge： |
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| Across Kaoping River on the Second Southern Freeway, Cable-stayed Bridge is a landmark you see when entering Pingtung. As the longest in Southeastern Asia with the second longest span in the world, this unsymmetrical cable-stayed bridge is amazingly beautiful with the projecting lights. Measuring 2617 meters long, the bridge connects Dashu Township, Kaohsiung County in the west, and Jiouru Township, Pingtung County in the east. Out of the hill from |
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| the west, the bridge stretches toward the wide village plain of Kaoping River. This bridge has one tower and two spans. The tower is 183.5 meters tall (at the height of a 65-storied building). The side span (toward Kaohsiung) is 180 meters long, while the main span (toward Pingtung) is 330 meters long. To enhance the sightseeing value of this landmark, National Expressway Engineering Bureau will build a scenic platform on the west side of the bridge, among the hills of Dashu Township). |
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Typhone Golf Course： |
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| Typhone Golf Course lies in Gaoshu Township, next to Sandimen scenic line. Surrounded by Dajin Waterfall, Saijia Air Park, and Sightseeing Bikeway, with a square measure of 122 hectares, the course is a rare combination of Japanese sophisticated, American spacious and British hilly styles. Many celebrities from around the world have come and enjoyed the equipment here. It is also one of the few golf courses with two 7000-yard fairways. |
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Saijia Air Park： |
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| Saijia Air Park, with an excellent airspace condition, is the best place to enjoy parachutes and gliders. With its international-wide fame, some international groups have included Saijia as the place to go flying on holidays. |
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Sightseeing Bikeway： |
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| Sightseeing Bikeway starts at Saijia Playground in Sandimen Township. Along the road you will find Saijia Air Park, Green Lake in Koushe Village, and Haishen Temple in Qingshan Village. From Ma-er Village to Anpuo Village, there is a poetic mapled road with pineapple fields and papaya fields alongside. You can also see milestones and archways inscribed with aboriginal totems. Measuring 13 kilometers, this is the first bikeway to go through mountains in southern Taiwan. |
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Aboriginal Culture Park： |
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| Located on “Fugu” river terrace in Ailiao River in Sandimen Township, Pingtung, designed by Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, this park is divided into three areas. The first area features traditional buildings and tribes of the nine tribes (Atayal, Saisiat, Puyuma, Ami, Yami, Bunun, Tsou, Rukai and Paiwan), while the second area contains a show place, an exhibition hall and a multimedia hall. In the third area are multiple equipment, |
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| including a parking lot, an exhibition hall, a recreation center, and a restaurant. Dedicated to enhancing traditional culture, developing academic research, and promoting sightseeing, this place will be a perfect home for aborigines. |
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Little Ghost Lake： |
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| Located among the mountains with a surname “Bayou Lake,” this lake is part of Double Ghost Lake Nature Reserve. The people of Rukai believed that this holy lake was the dwelling place of their ancestors, so they were not allowed to enter it. Aborigines believed many beautiful myths like the story about Princess Baluen and Prince Snake. Only recently, since many |
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visitors came here, have they been brave enough to draw near the lake.
Little Ghost Lake is at an altitude of 2050 meters, about 800 meters long, with the greatest depth at one meter and a half, while the average depth is 0.7 meters. One interesting thing about the lake is that whenever anybody comes here, there will be sound with winds and clouds to cover the whole lake, just like the lake is “shy.”Before going to Little Ghost Lake, you must make an application to Pingtung Forest Office, and apply to the police for an entrance permit with your approval. Please notice that it is often foggy in the mountains in the afternoon. Roads are easily damaged during rain seasons. |
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Bamboo Hat Mountain： |
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| Located in Jiayi Village, Majia Country, Bamboo Hat Mountain is one of those mountains with most visitors during holidays. Most visitors are mostly in public businesses, which gives the mountain another name: The Mountain of Government Employees and Teachers.At an altitude of 659 meters, Bamboo Hat Mountain has three pathways. Most visitors go the front mountain, of which an average gradient at 30 degrees. Ropes are needed during some sections. It takes about 60 to 90 minutes to finish the journey. The back mountain line is a straight line to the top with an average gradient at 40 degrees. You are not encouraged to go this challenging way unless you are extraordinarily strong. It takes 40 to 60 minutes to finish this journey. |
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Adapted from Song Yaoguang edited, “An Abundant Trip to Pingtung,” (Pingtung County Government, 2nd edition, June 2002).Web site: www.pthg.gov.tw |
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