Theme Parks

Kaohsiung City, an important industrial city in the past, has dramatically changed and released from its past. Recently, Kaohsiung City Government have started to take aggressive action to beautify her with a brand new face. One of the focusing engineering efforts is exactly the construction of theme parks.

What is the exact meaning of theme parks? Simply put, it means a park which is designed with a specific theme in addition to its original purpose for recreation. At present, theme parks in Kaohsiung City include the Water Power Park, the Birthday Park and the Indigenous Plant Garden, etc. They have become the hot spots where the public can spend their leisure time. .

The Water Power Park

This park was constructed in 1960, located on the intersection between the Wufu 1st Road and the Kuanghua Road, next to a high water tower. Currently, this park has become a location filled with historical styles and green plants. The tower capacity is 3800 tons and 38 meters in height. For the inhabitants of Kaohsiung City, it is the urban memory deeply in maind and a remarkable landmark as well. For the past, the water tower had been always hidden behind the fences. However, the current scesne is filled with green plants. The relation between people and the water tower is getting closer and the Water Power Park is further functioned with more enjoyable entertainment. This park also kept the pipelines of the Water Power company.The pipelines are decorated with stylish coloful paints. Ther are 3 landscape artworks in this park, namely "A rhapsody of Water", "Pipeline Speaker","The Rhythm of Water","Water Way","The Beginning of A Day" and "Memorable Wall", etc. They form a dialogue between water power and artists. We can see numeorus parents, children and lovers enjoy their leisure time here. This park is exactly an excellent spot for urban recreation and it is also a successful experience for new life renovated from old facilities.

The Birthday Park

The Birthday Park is located at the intersectionof the Szuwei Road and the Wenhen Road, right next to the Ling Ya Junior High School. It is a multi-funtional park integrated with digital , informational, ecological, water-accesible, and receational purposes. The park design is themed with a egg-like digital buildings to symbolize the newborn life from broken eggshells. There are 12 constellational themes for parent-n-children rooms and some facilities like a sundial of 12 animal symbols, children's play yards and art corridors. People can enjoy coffee and urban scenes here. It is an excellent spot for happy birthday parties with unforgettable atmosphere full of joy and happiness.

The Indigenous Plant Garden

This park is located right next to the intersection station of subway, railway and hi-speed railway with an area of 4.66 hectares. It is the first urban plant park themed with the indigenous plants in Taiwan. This park is designed with various natural landscapes to demonstrate the native environment and the geographic characteristics of Kaohsiung City. This indigenous plant park is constructed to intimate natural plantation and it is a park with divergent natural colonies and ecological settings attracting numerous wild birds, butterflies and insects for settlement. This park is also linked to some places like Bang-Ping Mountain, Lianchitan (Lake) and Chai Mountain to become a natural ecological corridor in the Kaohsiung City. Various creatures can migrate here to peacefully settle and reproduce. It is a typical green space with the harmonious integration with people the Nature. The park is functioned with multiple purposes like plant studies, recreation, education and conservation. It acts like an outdoor plant museum optimal for strolling, playing and outdoor studies.

Reflection

After this research, I suddenly find there are numerous theme parks in Kaohsiung City. These parks are all designed with clear themes. Some are designed with green plants and others are functioned with water accessible facilities. No matter which park we mention thoroughly demonstrate the best concerns and thoughtful efforts of Kaohsiung City Government. Heme parks provide citizens with a divergent recreational spots. We should take good care of these parks and prevent them from any purposeful damage. With such efforts and concerns, we can enjoy these fantastic facilities for good.