The Youth Park is an open space park in the Taipei metropolitan area, located in the west of Wanhua District. Surrounded by Guoxing Road on the east, Qingnian Road on the west, Shuiyuan Road on the south and Qingnian Road on the north, the Park covers an area of 24.44 hectares. It was originally a military training site during the Japanese Occupation and was later converted into an airport. As it is located in the south of the City and stands opposite to Songshan Airport at the north, it was thus known as the South Airport. In 1953, Taipei Country Club, together with the Ministry of National Defense, founded Taipei Golf Club at the site. On 1974’s Youth Day, the Executive Yuan ordered the Taipei City Government to take over the golf course, which then converted it into the Youth Park. In October of the same year, the management was officially passed over to the Taipei City Government, and the reconstruction was completed in September 1977, providing a recreational place for Taipei residents.
The Park is surrounded by flowers and trees; it has beautiful sceneries and comprehensive sports facilities. Chargeable sports facilities include: 1 golf course near Guoxing Road, 8 swimming pools near Shuiyuan Road, 6 tennis courts to the south of the Park, and a billiard hall within the swimming complex. Free sports and recreational facilities including: basketball courts, badminton courts, baseball court, skating rink, tennis practice walls and outdoor sports complex can be found in various parts of the Park. There are also social educational facilities like the plant nursery, reading room, audio-visual room, outdoor amphitheater and police post, to serve the residents and tourists. Besides the various infrastructures, the Park’s landscape planning, green facilities and plants are the main attractions in beautifying the Park. At the Park’s entrance, the radial-shaped flowerbeds are planted with beautiful, colorful flowers (such as: garden balsam, cockscomb, scarlet sage, Mexican heather, spider flower, golden dewdrop, etc.). At the back of the flowerbeds are shrubs and flowers, such as: azalea, Graber's Pyracantha, garden croton, Kusamaki, Ixora, etc. Visitors will feel like they are entering a flower show, and will be mesmerized by the magnificent colors.
At the center of the Park is a vast lawn, and surrounding this manicured and green field are banyan trees that form a dense green tunnel. Overlooked from afar, it looks like a sea of greenery, as if one is having a forest bath when wandering within it, which refreshes one physically and mentally. The sides of the lawn are grown with needle-leaved trees (hoop pine), which attract many morning exercisers. At the back of the lawn is a waterway that connects to the zigzagged bridge at the eastern-north of the Park. The side of the waterway is planted with aquatic plants, and there are fountains everywhere, making it a pleasant scenic landscape. Towards the east of the baseball court are maple trees, and as these trees mature, they form a maple forest. When the maple leaves fall, it creates a beautiful autumn-winter scene. The Park area is also planted with azaleas, and when they blossom in spring, the bright colors make the Park even more glamorous. Bushes, shrubs and lawns, decorated with flowerbeds, garden chairs, pavilions, foot massage paths, sculptures, and flat, broad walk paths, make it is an excellent example of a large-scale comprehensive park.
The Youth Park is spacious and has a large variety of facilities, providing the public with recreational, sports, social educational and rehabilitation facilities, enjoyed by young and old, the disabled and healthy people. To maintain the beauty of a park, besides cherishing its beautiful landscape, it requires the support and care of the public when enjoying the fruits of the construction work of the City Government.
Youth Park 青年公園
