As an integrated park in the Taipei metropolitan area, the Youth Park with an area of 24.44 hectares is located west of Wanhua District bordering Guoxing Road in the east, Qingnian Road in the west, Shuiyuan Road in the south, and Qingnian Road in the north. During Japanese colonial Taiwan, it was a soldier training site and then an airport. As it is located in southern Taipei, the airport was called the South Airport corresponding to the Taipei Songshan Airport located in northern Taipei. In 1953, the Taipei Country Club and the Ministry of National Defense established the Taipei Golf Club there. In 1974, the Taipei City Government took over the golf course as instructed by the Executive Yuan and transformed it into the Youth Park. In October in the same year, the Taipei City Government officially took over the administration of the park, which was completed in September 1977 to become a great place for recreational activities for Taipei citizens.
The park is equipped with various facilities and has a wide range of plants and gorgeous scenery. Park sports facilities include one driving range (tickets required) neighboring Guixing Road, swimming pools near Shuiyuan Road, tennis courts in the south, and a gym inside the swimming pool building for fitness training. Free sports and recreational facilities across the park include basketball courts, badminton courts, baseball fields, skating rings, tennis training walls, and outdoor sports grounds. The park is also equipped with the pot plant house, reading room, audiovisual classroom, open-air theater, security guard room, and other social education and service facilities for use by citizens and visitors.
In addition to various hardware services and facilities, landscape planning, greening facility layout, and plantation distribution are also the focus of park beautification. A radiant shape flowerbed is planned at the park main entrance where in-season flowers in different colors are grown. Shrubs including the azalea, fire thorn, gold sun, Buddhist pine, and dwarf ixora are grown behind to welcome visitors with floral diversity in different colors.
Apart from the green lawns tidily grown in the park center, banyan trees are grown around to form a tree-shade tunnel, which looks like a green sea from afar. Walking around is like having a forest bath which refreshes the body and mind. Next to the lawn area is the coniferous forest (hoop pine) where citizens do morning exercise to promote health. A waterway behind the lawn area connects with the zigzag bridge in the northeast of the park. Aquatic plants are grown extensively on both sides of the pond where fountains are there to embellish the scene. Maple trees are also grown extensively east of the baseball field. All maple trees have matured to form a maple forest. During the leaf falling season, maple leaves also become another seasonal view of the park. When blooming in spring, azaleas grown around the park bring catchy colors to color the park. In addition to arbors, shrubs, and lawns, flowerbeds, benches, kiosks, walking trails, and sculptures are planned in the park. As a masterpiece of large integrated parks, the park is equipped with wide and flat paths sights everywhere.
The Youth Park is spacious and equipped with a range of facilities for the leisure, exercise, social education, and rehabilitation of citizens. From children to seniors, either abled or disabled, the park is designed for all. Besides building and maintaining gorgeous landscapes in the park, we need the cooperation of citizens to take care of this park, in order to keep it beautiful for all citizens to enjoy the achievements of the government’s urban development.
