Indigenous People's Park

The park is in Shilin District near the National Palace Museum, and is one of the few open green spaces in the city planned around Indigenous cultures. The grounds are spacious and the paths gentle. From the entrance, paving tiles with totem patterns lead to the lakeside and shaded woodland areas. The park's central idea is to present the cultures of Taiwan's many Indigenous peoples, and its sculptures combine figurative and totemic forms to represent their collective memory. They include stone tablets with figures of each people, figures pounding rice, carvings with hand and human motifs, and standing statues of a large bear and sika deer, symbolising the close ties between Indigenous peoples and the mountains and forests. The park also introduces the cultures of the Pingpu, Yami, Kavalan, Seediq, Bunun, Puyuma, Paiwan, Rukai, Amis, Tsou, Thao, Saisiyat and Atayal peoples. A boardwalk runs along the lake, where bald cypresses are reflected in the water; as the seasons change they turn from green to gold or orange-red. Around the ecological pond grow aquatic plants such as white ginger lily and water lilies, with stone slab benches and stone walls. In the soft light of early morning and afternoon, the lake reflects the sculptures and plants. The paths are wide and level, suitable for older visitors, families and people with pets, and easy for wheelchairs and pushchairs. The park is next to the National Palace Museum, Zhishan Garden and other sights around Shilin.

Translated and shortened by DealTaipei from Taiwan's national tourism database. Sources are on the terms page.