The moment we entered the area, we thought: “it has to be the woods!!”. However, to our surprise, it turned out to be the Da-An Forest Park (大安森林公園 Ta-An Sên-Lin Kung Yüan / Da-An Sen-Lin Kong Yuan). Some people call it the “Central Park of Taipei” because there are so many trees and plants in the park. Well, to tell you the truth, it’s hard to compare these two parks, however, the Da-An Forest Park is beyond doubt impressive!
Certainly, vegetation is an extremely important feature of a city, but admittedly, it is rarely seen in most cities due to the urbanization. Thus, I was quite amazed to see such a place, like the Da-An Park, in Taipei. In fact, the Da-An Park is the biggest greenery in Taipei which accomodates not only the woods, but also a hill, a concert hall and even a small lake with a tiny island hosting a lot of wild birds!
On top of that, the park is located in a residential and school area, therefore, the skyline is clear since there are only few tall buildings. Anyway, why not take a better look at how beautiful the place is!
The area has been designated as the “7th Park for Taipei” since 1932, as it is one of the urban parks planned by the Japanese Government. After the World War II, the place was utilized as a garrison for military police and two military dependents’ villages until the tearing down in 1992. After 2 years of construction, the Da-An Forest Park was opened in spring of 1994.
In the photos above, you can see the statue of Kuan Yin (there also is a temple dedicated to him in Treasure Hill), a small hill, the Concert Hall, and a sample of soil horizon! (Click each photo for more information!)
As it was mentioned before, there is a small lake, or “ecological pond”, which attracts various kinds of wild birds to find shelter on the small islands inside the lake! Many photographers or bird lovers come here to watch the birds and sometimes, they even spend hours in this place!
Some birds are quite friendly to people. So, they may go out of the lake and walk in the park freely!
The park is considered as home for various species of the fauna; including, fireflies. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the chance to see any fireflies, because the season was too early. But, I am sure, we’ll see next time!
If you want to visit the park, you can take the MRT Red Line to Da-An Forest Station, since the station is part of the park’s grounds. The station is well designed as it features intensive glass curtains and two “Light Towers” to collect sunlight for the lobby of station, while there are a garden with stream upstair and a terrace with ponds downstair. Outsides the garden, there is a coffee shop. You can sit there and enjoy a cup of coffee, while talking with your friends in this nice garden amidst this busy city.
Address: No. 1, Section 2, Hsin-Shêng South Road, Da-An District, 10657 Taipei City, Taiwan
Visiting Information: Take MRT Red Line to [R06] Da-An Park Station (Da-An Forest Park) and leave the station by exits 2, 4, and 5. Then, you will be in the park!
P.S. We have really fallen in love with this place, so we even stayed there until the moon came out! And it’s rare to see the New Moon and the Venus at the same time!! We were so LUCKY!!
Formosa, Let's Party!!! 
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