Shei-Pa National Park () is a national park located in the central part of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

around the peaks of

Hsuehshan Xueshan, formerly known as and by other names, is a mountain in the Heping District of Taichung, Taiwan. It is the 2nd-highest mountain in Taiwan and in East Asia, at above sea level. It is located in the Shei-Pa National Park and is visi ...

and

Dabajian Mountain Mount Dabajian (, Atayal: ''Papak waqa'', Saisiyat: ''Kapatalayan'') is located in the northern section of the Shei-Pa National Park in Hsinchu County, Taiwan. It is surrounded by numerous other peaks, the most predominant including Mount Nan ...

, with an area of , covering the area of

Hsinchu County Hsinchu County (Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; with a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the county capital, wher ...

Miaoli County Miaoli County ( Mandarin Pinyin: ''miáo lì xiàn''; Hakka PFS: ''Mèu-li̍t-yen''; Hokkien POJ: ''Biâu-le̍k-koān'' or ''Miâu-le̍k-koān'') is a county in western Taiwan. Miaoli is adjacent with Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City to the n ...

and

Taichung City Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Tai ...

. High mountain ecology, geology, topography, rivers, creek valleys, rare animals and plants, and plentiful variety of forest types are some important resources for conservation. The park's headquarters was set up on 1 July 1992. The current headquarters director is Lin Ching (林青). The address of Shei-Pa National Park is 100 Xueweiping, Fuxing Village, Dahu Township, Miaoli County, Taiwan.

Geography, Climate and Geology

Shei-Pa National Park is located some 100 km north of the Tropic of Cancer. The park covers a wide range of ecosystems between 760 meters at the lowest point, the Da-an River Valley (大安溪) and 3,886 meters elevation at the highest point, the top of Xueshan (雪山主峰). Xueshan is the second tallest mountain in Taiwan. The Xueshan Range is located along the northern end of Taiwan's Central Range. Like most of the mountains of Taiwan, the Xueshan Range mountains are an uplifted metamorphic belt that makes up the spine of the country. Notable geologic features of the park include the box fold of

Pintian Mountain Mount Pintian () is a mountain in Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of C ...

as well as many glacial cirques. The mountains of Shei-Pa cradle the headwaters of several major rivers in Taiwan. The park receives between 1,500 mm and 3,000 mm of rainfall a year and is an important water resource for the country: Takejin Creek flows north to join the

Danshui River The Tamsui River (alternatively Danshui River, ) is third longest river in Taiwan after Zhuoshui River and Gaoping River, with a total length of , flowing through Hsinchu County, Taoyuan, Taipei and New Taipei City. It is located in northern p ...

, which provides water for Taipei. The Dajia River and the Da-an River flow west and north west to provide water to Taichung County. The

Touqian River The Touqian River () is a river in northern Taiwan. It flows through Hsinchu County Hsinchu County (Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; with a Taiwanese aboriginal ...

flows northwest to Hsinchu County. Asteroid 278956 Shei-Pa was named after the national park. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function T ...

on 25 September 2018 ().

Flora

In 2022 a team of researchers measured a 79.1 meters (259.5 feet)

Taiwania ''Taiwania'', with the single living species ''Taiwania cryptomerioides'', is a large coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae. Etymology ''Taiwania'' means 'from Taiwan', while ''Cryptomerioides'' means 'resembling ''Cryptomeria''.G ...

specimen in the Park. The tree was growing at an elevation of 2,000m.

References

National parks of Taiwan Protected areas established in 1992 Geography of Miaoli County Tourist attractions in Miaoli County Geography of Taichung Tourist attractions in Taichung Geography of Hsinchu County Tourist attractions in Hsinchu County {{Taiwan-geo-stub

Geography, Climate and Geology

Flora

See also

References