Officially recognized as the 8th National Park of Taiwan in 2009, Taijiang National Park is the eighth national park in Taiwan. The other seven national parks in Taiwan are Dongshan, Kenting, Kinmen, Sheipa, Taroko, Yangminshan and Yushan. Located in the Anping District of Tainan City, Taijiang National Park covers a total area of ​​39,310 hectares, with 5,321 hectares of land covering the Yunshui River Valley to the shores of the River Valley Zengwen to Tainan.

Taijiang National Park includes five ecological protection zones, a special landscape zone, a historic sites preservation zone, a recreation zone and a general protection zone. The park is enriched with valuable wetlands, marine wildlife resources and distinctive ecological species such as mangroves, shorebirds and much more. Separate areas of the lagoon, wetlands, sandbanks, marshes and other tidal areas have brought a wide range of ecosystems. Nevertheless, cetaceans have been found here in recent years. The southwest tidal ground is also an important route for migratory birds for winter hibernation, as well as more than half the population of endangered species.

National Park Administration Center

After two years of construction, the 6.6-hectare Taijiang campus near the Sicao lagoon was inaugurated in 2016. This center was created with the aim of expressing the hope that the new premises would constitute a base solid foundation for environmental education, ecotourism, cultural learning and value-added industrial development. In addition to being an original style building on stilts over a pond, the design of the Taijiang campus used the concepts of courtyard and atrium to configure the building. The layout of the building creates an alley that functions as cooling ventilation shafts that capture and transport the southwest sea breeze. The thick walls to the north prevent cold winds in winter. In terms of biodiversity and green fabric, the building uses natural earthworks, the planting of trees and shrubs, as well as gabions to create a permeable habitat space. In terms of water base management, the campus uses a permeable pavement, which absorbs and transmits water for retention or slow discharge. It considerably improves the water storage capacity of the soil.

Sicao Green Tunnel

The mangrove reserve behind the Sicao Dazhong temple shelters primitive mangroves over 50 years old growing on both sides of the river drainage channel behind the temple which naturally forms a beautiful tunnel-shaped canopy. It is called the Amazonian rainforest by the local population. Tourists can also be brought to impressive sites of egrets, black herons or other birds on the banks of the river. The beautiful mangrove reserve behind the Sicao Dazhong temple is home to four different species, Rhizophora stylosa, Kandelia candel, Lumnitzera racemosa and Avicennia marin.

Sicao Dazhong Temple

Since Emperor Kangxi ascended the throne, the Grand Admiral of the Navy Chen You has been worshiped at Sicao Dazhong Temple. Next to the temple is the Sicao Battery, where a row of several round cannons in the wall tell stories from the oldest battlefield in Taiwan. The temple was built as an important naval base at the suggestion of Yao Ying, a Qing dynasty official in charge of defending Taiwan. The wall is now covered with old banyan branches, and the intertwined roots reaching deep into the seams of the stones bear witness to what happened in these battles.