Taipei Botanical Garden Introduction
The Taipei Botanical Garden, established during the Japanese colonial period, is an important site for plant research, covering an area of approximately 8 hectares. It retains a variety of experimental research plants introduced from Taiwan, Japan, mainland China, and Southeast Asia. The buildings and plant species within the garden have significantly exceeded their past glory, with an impressive collection of about 2,000 species. The garden is divided into different areas based on plant classification systems and habits, with each area presenting different themes, including a lotus pond, Zodiac area, succulent plant area, fern area, "Book of Songs" plant area, folk plant area, and palm area. As the seasons change, the plant landscape also varies, offering unique characteristics in each season. Entering in the afternoon allows for a more comfortable experience due to the lighting and temperature. In addition to the various plant exhibition areas, there are also two designated historic sites located within the Taipei Botanical Garden. The Imperial Commissioner’s Office was completed in 1894 and served as the Taiwan Governor-General's Office for 25 years. It is the only remaining Minnan-style official building from the Qing Dynasty in Taiwan, standing to this day as a testament to the historical changes during the Qing, Japanese, and Republic of China periods. The wax leaf museum in the Taipei Botanical Garden was built in 1924, originally known as the "Central Research Institute Forestry Department Wax Leaf Museum." It was established to develop Taiwan's forest resources and to preserve plant specimens collected from the wild by drying them into "wax leaf specimens" for identification, thus becoming the first specimen museum in Taiwan dedicated to preserving plant wax leaf specimens. Since its establishment in 1921, the botanical garden has remained a part of many Taipei residents' memories. It is suitable for visiting with family and friends throughout the year, especially in the summer, making it an excellent place to escape the heat. Visitors to the botanical garden can first check the Taipei Botanical Garden website to understand the rules, flow, and relevant knowledge about the exhibition areas to help collectively protect the garden. (Part of the information sourced from the Taipei Botanical Garden)
