Taroko Park.

Taroko National Park, known as "Rngayan qmita kana klwaan Truku" in the Truku language, is located in the vast eastern part of Taiwan Province, spanning Hualien County, Taichung City, and Nantou County. This park is not only an important transportation hub in Taiwan, but also the Central Cross-Island Highway system, the first east-west highway in Taiwan, winds through it. Taroko Park is known for its breathtaking canyons and cliffs, with steep cliffs and quiet and deep scenery, making the "Taroko Gorge" stand out among many natural landscapes and become one of the eight scenic spots in Taiwan. What is even more amazing is that the alpine area in the park still retains rare biological relics from the Ice Age, such as loach, which bears witness to the vicissitudes of the earth's history. The reason why Taroko Park is regarded as a potential treasure of world heritage is not only due to its unique cliffs, river terraces, alluvial fans and canyons, which all meet the seventh standard of world heritage selection; it is also due to its active crustal movement, which has shaped the park. The magnificent natural landscape, coupled with its rich biodiversity and uniqueness, meets the ninth standard of world heritage. In addition, the original vegetation and forest ecosystem in the park that have not been disturbed by humans provide an ideal habitat for many wild animals and plants. The complex and subtle interdependence between them also meets the tenth standard of world heritage. The name "Taroko" or "Daluoke" comes from the self-proclaimed "Truku" of the local indigenous Taroko people. The history of this ethnic group can be traced back to the 16th century. At that time, the Seediq people crossed the Central Mountain Range from Nantou and settled in the Liwu River and Papaya River basins in Hualien, gradually forming a unique ethnic identity and self-proclaimed "Taroko". The name "Taroko" has spread with the gathering of this ethnic group. The planning history of Taroko National Park is long, and it can be traced back to December 1937. Its initial conception has covered the current areas of Xueshan and Taroko, with a total area of ​​270,000 hectares. After decades of preparation and planning, it was not until November 12, 1986 that the Taroko National Park plan was officially announced. The final scope of the park was determined to be 38 kilometers long from north to south and 41 kilometers wide from east to west, with a total area of ​​92,000 hectares. It spans multiple administrative regions such as Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Heping District, Taichung City, and Renai Township, Nantou County. In recent years, Taroko National Park has celebrated the 35th anniversary of the establishment of the park management office. Google has specially presented Changchun Temple as a doodle on the homepage to global users. However, the Hualien earthquake on April 3, 2024 brought unprecedented damage to the park. Many famous trails and roads collapsed, causing casualties and stranded tourists. After the earthquake, the Taroko Park Management Office quickly took action to close the park for emergency repairs, but the repair progress and reopening time have not yet been determined.