Picture and words by Li Yu-Q, Translated by Cara Steenstra
In the middle of this dusty and noisy city environment hides a huge ecological reasure, the Botanical Garden. This uniquely designed modern structure has already become an utstanding landmark as well as a popular photographic venue.
The Botanical Garden is situated opposite the National Natural Science Museum and has an area of 4.5 hectares. Many people come here in the mornings to exercise. Apart from being a great recreational park, the Botanical Garden also has a vast collection of 756 kinds of Taiwanese and tropical plants. The Botanical Garden is also divided into several different plant ecological areas, including the Taiwanese low altitude ecological area and the tropical forest conservatory.
The water clock situated outdoors, is a high technology design that presents time using water flow. This attraction stops many visitors in their tracks. The special exhibition room within the Botanical Garden often has various plant exhibitions on different themes.
The Botanical Garden also has another very obvious landmark, which is the "Tropical Forest Conservatory". Within this huge glass conservatory is a display of over 300 species of flowering stem plants and some common plants. The interior is set up with an automatic moisture spray system that can increase the humidity and lower the temperature within the conservatory.
Whether it is the outdoor park area, the ecological plant area, the water fall of the orchid wall in the conservatory or the 14 meter long aquarium displaying giant Amazon River fish species; the Botanical Garden's design attracts large number of visitors, and also provides citizens with a rich and precious recreational playground.