Youth Park

The land dates back to the Japanese colonial period, when it was a military drill ground and later an airfield. Because it lay at the southern end of Taipei, opposite Songshan Airport in the north, it was known as Nanjichang, the South Airport. In 1953 the Taipei Country Club and the Ministry of National Defense set up the Taipei Golf Club here. On Youth Day in 1974, on the instructions of the Executive Yuan, the Taipei City Government took over the golf course to rebuild it as Youth Park. The handover was completed in October that year, and construction was finished in September 1977, giving Taipei residents a place for leisure. Sports facilities include a golf course beside Guoxing Road, eight swimming pools beside Shuiyuan Road, six tennis courts on the south side of the park and a billiards room in the swimming pool building. Basketball and badminton courts, a baseball field, a skating rink, a tennis practice wall and an outdoor sports ground are spread around the park. There are also a bonsai hall, a reading room, an audiovisual classroom, an open-air music stage and a police post, among other community and educational facilities. Landscaping and planting are central to the park's design. At the main entrance, flower beds are laid out in a radial pattern and planted with seasonal flowers such as garden balsam, cockscomb, cigar flower, spider flower and golden dewdrop, with shrubs such as azaleas, crotons, Buddhist pines and ixoras behind them. The centre of the park is a large lawn, lined with banyan trees planted in pairs that form a shaded green tunnel. Beside the lawn is a stand of conifers (araucarias), where many residents exercise in the mornings. Behind the lawn, a waterway links to the zigzag Jiuqu (Nine-Turn) Bridge in the north-east of the park. Aquatic plants line both sides of the pond, with fountains among them. East of the baseball field, mature maple trees form a maple grove, and their falling leaves are one of the park's winter sights. Azaleas planted around the park flower in spring. Throughout the park are trees, shrubs and lawns, with flower beds, benches, pavilions, a health walking path and sculptures, linked by wide, level paths. The park serves recreation, sport, community education and rehabilitation for people of all ages, with or without disabilities.

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