To promote eco-tourism, Kenting National Park in southern Taiwan yesterday launched a summer-long free interpreter service in Mandarin and English.
About 130 trained volunteers, mostly college students and nature lovers, yesterday began to give free interpretation services at several scenic spots, including Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Sand Island (砂島), Sheding Nature Park (社頂自然公園), Sisal Museum (瓊麻工業展示區), Maobitou (貓鼻頭), and others. Thirty of these interpreters are new recruits.
Their jobs include promoting ecological preservation and sharing knowledge about the park's plentiful animals and plants.
Officials at the Kenting National Park Headquarters said that the comprehensive interpretation service would improve the quality of eco-tourism in the park.
Hsu Shu-kuo (許書國), head of the park's Interpretation and Education Division, told the Taipei Times yesterday that volunteers could offer tourists information on topics ranging from history, geology, geography and landscape.
Hsu said that free English interpreter-guide services would also be available to any group of more than 20 people -- if an application had been filed in advance. Experienced interpreters, of which most are well-trained in the field of natural science, will be in charge of guiding groups of foreign visitors.
Every application will be processed within three working days, Hsu said. However, it is recommended to apply two weeks in advance.
According to the Kenting National Park Headquarters, the number of tourists visiting the park reaches a peak during summer. Last year about 75,000 tourists visited the park in August, compared to only about 40,000 in June.
Officials said that summer is the best time to witness the biological diversity of the park.
"In July and August, colorful butterflies are just one of the many wonderful scenes in the park," Hsu told the Taipei Times.
Sheding Nature Park is home to over 95 types of butterfly, offering various types of habitat to 216 species of butterflies.
In addition, Hsu said, tourists could see rare plants such as the Taiwan Beautyberry Leaf (紫珠) with its purple fruit -- and Hollyhock Flower (棋盤花), which only blooms in the evening and withers away in the morning.
Hsu said that migrating birds such as barn swallows spend their summers in southern Taiwan. Currently, a large number of these swallows can be seen on the streets of Hengchun (恆春) township in Pingtung County.
The barn swallow's breeding grounds are in Siberia, China, South Korea, and Japan. Taiwan is on the birds' way to wintering sites like Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Records show that 12,000 birds sometimes pass through the area in a single day.
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