History in Kenting

Learning the Kenting history behind this national park on the Hengchun Peninsula can make you better appreciate the tropical breeze, the sun and the sand as you relax in one of the most popular resort areas in Taiwan. The first national park in the entire country, Kenting was chosen for its unique climate and ecology.

The Fortified Lighthouse

The history of the Kenting area is as old as the history of Taiwan itself, although its days as a national park are far fewer. Long before Taiwan established the Kenting National Park Project, the area was perhaps most famously known for its fortified lighthouse, the Elaunbi. In the 1860s, the Chinese government received requests from both the Japanese and the American governments to build a lighthouse at this location, as a number of American and Japanese ships had shipwrecked in the nearby tidal waters. It took almost two decades to build, during which time the Chinese military had to keep watch over the lighthouse to protect it from raiding tribesmen, who did not want the lighthouse on their land.

Elaunbi was completed in 1883. Over 70 feet high with a light that projects 185 feet above the water for more than 27 nautical miles, the Elaunbi lighthouse still performs its duty.

The National Park Law

There were no Taiwanese national parks before Kenting. The first Taiwanese National Park Law was decreed in 1972, claiming that spots with ecological, historical and recreational value to the country would be eligible to become national parks.

In 1977, the Taiwanese premier at the time, Chiang Jing-Guo, reacted to studies of ecological damage done in the Kenting area as the result of overzealous farming and construction, by determining that the government had to take steps to preserve the natural resources of the area. In 1979, the Ministry of the Interior then asked National Taiwan University to conduct an in-depth ecological and topological survey on the Kenting area, in order for the Taiwan Housing and Urban Development Bureau to draw up a plan for the Kenting National Park Project.

Officially Becoming a National Park

Kenting was chosen for its fertile land and tropical climate, which have resulted in a variety of unique plantlife and wildlife species. The aim of making Kenting a national park was to preserve the land for educational, scientific and recreational purposes for generations to come. Kenting became a national park in 1982. In 1984, Kenting's National Park Headquarters was established and continues to be administered by the Executive Yuan's Ministry of the Interior. Millions of students, scientists and tourists alike flock to this beautiful spot each year.