National Parks of Taiwan

The chestnut tiger (Parantica sita) is one of the attractive species of Yangmingshan National Park. Every May to June, the massive reproduction period of the species, tens of thousands of visitors swarm with the area to appreciate the beauty of the butterfly. Observing the correlations between the chestnut tiger and plants has been an on-going research of Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters. For citizens to enjoy the annual butterfly festival, apart from organizing various butterfly-related activities, Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters dedicatedly disseminate the knowledge of butterflies through different ways, such as poem recitations, concerts, and guided ecotours, hoping to set a firm foundation for butterfly conservation.

The “Yangmingshan Butterfly Concert” held at the Datun Visitor Center from 9:30 am to 11:00 am on Saturday, 20 May 2017, will unveil the 2017 Yangmingshan Festival. This year, the organizer invites Peter Pringle Music of the Department of Western Music, Chinese Culture University, to perform a series of wonderful music relating to butterflies and nature in the form of a quartet. For citizens to attend the concert easily, Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters has arranged a free shuttle service between Erziping and the concert venue.

Next, the “Yangmingshan Butterfly Guided Ecotour” follows suit from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm during Sunday, 20 May 2017 to Saturday, 11 June 2017. In the ecotour, butterfly ecotour guides will take visitors to wander around Mt. Datun driveway to appreciate butterflies fluttering around and shuttling across honey plants. In addition, these guides will tell visitors more about the correlations among butterflies, honey plants, and host plants in an easy to understand approach.

Citizens can register at the Erziping Butterfly Service Station. Each short, guided tour will depart when there are 15-20 members or every hour or half hour. Each guided tour lasts for about 30 minutes. Long guided tours lasting for one hour will depart at 9:00, 10:00, and 13:00. Except for official missions, no entry of cars will be implemented on Mt. Datun driveway between 8:00 am and 3:30 pm on weekdays and 7:00 am and 4:00 pm on public holidays. The no-entry policy applies to all vehicles, including bicycles. Drivers (cyclists) are advised to take alternative routes.

For more citizens who care about butterflies but cannot visit Yangmingshan personally, Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters plans two Facebook webcast sessions for them to appreciate butterflies in real-time over the internet. These two webcast sessions will be opened on Saturday, 27 May 2017 and Sunday 4 June 2017 from 9:10 am to 9:40 am. Citizens can visit the Yangmingshan National Park Facebook fan club to enjoy the webcast. In addition to watching the enthusiastic explication of guides on the webcast, citizens can answer the three questions shown at the end of the flash to participate in the lucky draw.