<National Palace Museum>
   National Palace Museum, with its antique collection amounts to nearly 700,000 entire five-thousand-old Chinese history, has made itself the greatest and priceless treasure house regarding Chinese art on earth. Among the collection, you may enjoy Chinese earthenware like pottery, porcelain, as well as bronze, calligraphy, embroidery, jade ware, paintings, and sculpture, each piece is a true curio. For having been renowned for its abundance and artistic value world widely, the collection at National Palace Museum is one of the main attractions to a considerable number of visitors.

 Tour Schedule Preview (Sep 09, 2009)

• 13:00 Gathering at Hotel Lobby.
• 13:10 Depart for National Palace Museum
• 13:40 Arrive at National Palace Museum
• 17:00 Gathering and back to conference venue
• 17:30 Arrive at Hotel

Tour Cost:
Half day tour is free for all invited speakers. For regular participants who want to join the visiting, the cost is NT950 per person. Cost includes bus fares, tour guide and insurance.  Please arrange the payment with the registration/accommodation fee.

<NE Coast>
               The Northeast Coast is bounded by the sea on one side and mountains on the other; it is interspersed with bays and capes characterized by fantastic rock formations and precipitous cliffs, expansive sea-eroded landscapes, fine golden-sand beaches, and an abundance of oceanic ecology. The coast is also the location of a plain and rustic culture as well as historic sites; it is a place, indeed, that serves as a natural classroom for education as well as a coastal recreation area for active participation: an all-purpose tourist destination.

<Bitou Cape Park>
          Bitou Cape is one of the "Three Capes of North Taiwan, "the other two being FugueiCape, the island's northernmost cape, and Sandiau Cape (CapeSantiago), its easternmost. Most of the sea-eroded landform types of the entire Northeast Coast are found here, including the sea cliffs, undercut bluffs, and platforms which are more fully developed here than anywhere else in Taiwan. The sea-eroded platforms are thick with mush-room-shaped rocks, honeycomb rock, tofu (bean curd) rock, and marine fossils, all of which make this an outstanding natural geological classroom. 

<Longdong Bay Park>
         Longdong is the largest bay on the Northeast Coast. It is favored with clear water and abundant marine life, including large numbers of colorful tropical fish, making it an out-standing spot for snorkeling and scuba diving. At the southern edge of the park, the sheer sandstone cliffs of Longdong Cape have become the premier rock-climbing destination of northern Taiwan.

<Nanya>
           Nanya is noted for its fantastic rock formations and sea-eroded coral shore. The entire coastline here is a veritable sculpture garden that illustrates, in stone, the incomparable artistry of weathering and wave action. The patterned stone topography of Nanya, unique in Taiwan, was formed through the weathering of the sandstone that lines the shore. The oxidation of iron ore within the striations of the stone has given it a beautiful striped pattern.

Tour Schedule Preview (Sep 14, 2009)

• 09:00  Gathering at Hotel Lobby
• 09:10  Depart to Jinguashi
• 10:00  Arrive at Jinguashi
• 11:30  Depart to Jioufen
• 11:50  Arrive at Jioufen and have lunch
• 14:30  Depart to NE coast
• 15:30  Arrive at NE Coast and have Tour 
             (Bitou Cape Park/Longdong Bay Park/Nanya)
• 18:00  Dinner at NE Coast
• 19:30  Gather and back to the Hotel
  

<Yeliu>
    Yeliu is the most important site in Wanli for its unique landforms. Wind erosion gives its coast geological teaching materials and makes it a paradise of peculiar stones: wind-eroded ditches, wind-eroded cliffs, wind-eroded holes, and narrow capes. There are surprises everywhere here.Yeliu is truly beautiful with azure sky and aquamarine sea. A beautiful sea view extends from the edge of cape, while on the coast there are rocks of peculiar shapes: mushroom, To-fu, elephant’s nose, fairy’s shoes, and queen’s head. The rocks look so amazing that you may wonder whether they are truly natural. 

Tour Schedule Preview (Sep 14, 2009)

• 09:00  Gathering at Hotel Lobby
• 09:10  Depart to Keelung
• 10:10  Arrive at Keelung
• 11:00  Depart to Keelung Harbor
• 11:50  Arrive at Keelung Harbor and have lunch
• 13:30  Depart to Yeliu
• 14:30  Arrive at Yeliu
• 17:30  excellent seafood Dinner
• 19:30  Gather and back to the Hotel

Option 3- One Day Tour (Sep 14, 2009)
Yangmingshan National Park & Hot-Spring Tour

<Yangmingshan National Park>
        Yangmingshan National Park is the closest national park to Taipei. It is a volcanic-type park, with impressive volcanic terrain that is especially well known for its richness of butterflies. Most of the birds in the park area are low-elevation resident birds; there are no large wild mammals in the area, however, except for the occasional wild boar.
  The volcanic terrain and the geological landscapes here are the most important characteristics of Yangmingshan National Park, and the geologic features produced by volcanic action, crater lakes, sulfur fumaroles, geothermal energy, and hot springs have value for both study and recreation. Monsoon winds nourish a wide range of vegetation in the park, including tall- and short-grass plains, broadleaf forests, subtropical rain forests, and freshwater aquatic plants, all of which nourish the Taiwan isoetes, Datun peony, butterflies, and birds. The blossoming cherry trees and peonies that are grown in Yangmingshan National Park make this the most popular place for enjoying flowers in the Taipei area. February and March are the traditional flower season in Yangmingshan National Park.
   In addition, large numbers of birds pass through the park during the spring migration season, including the gray-faced buzzard and Chinese goshawk. They join resident birds such as the serpent eagle, crested goshawk, and sparrow hawk|.

 <Hot Spring>
      the volcanic terrain that gives Yangmingshan a limitless supply of geothermal resources and makes it an ideal place for hot-spring bathing. The hot springs here are located within the scenic area of the Yangmingshan National Park, so that they are surrounded by enchanting scenery that makes this a fine spot for savoring the beauties of nature.
    
     The hot spring water of Yangmingshan is mostly clear, but some of the springs produce a greenish water. It is effective in treating skin diseases, hardening of the arteries, and rheumatism. Most of these springs are concentrated on the western flank of Mt.Shamao, at Liuku and Qiku; there are a lot of places for bathing here, including the Yangmingshan hot-spring area, Coldwater Depression, Macao, and Gengziping. The water from these different places has different mineral contents, giving each spring its own distinctive features in terms of minerals, temperature, and medical effect.

The water of the Coldwater Depression, for example, is a milk-white in color and has a temperature lower than that of other hot springs in the Yangmingshan area--this is why the place is named Coldwater Depression--at about 40 degrees Celsius. It is said to be effective in treating chronic arthritis, muscular aches and pains, chronic skin diseases, anemia, diabetes, gout, and measles. The Macao hot springs come from the earth at a temperature of 70-75 degrees Celsius and are good for treating feminine ailments, diabetes, and gout; be careful, though, if you have excessive uric acid or bladder stones. The water of the Gengziping springs is even hotter--its temperature can be as high as 99 degrees--and is believed to be beneficial for chronic arthritis, muscular aches and pains, chronic skin diseases, gout, and syphilis; you should not bathe in this water, however, if you suffer from excessive uric acid, bladder stones, bladder inflamation, chronic gastritis, bronchitis, chronic hepatitis, or neuralgia.