For this long summer overseas study program in Taiwan, the “nanobiotechnology” team took a break to visit Kenting National Park and nearby National Pingtung University of Science and Technology. Kenting National Park is located in the southernmost tip of Taiwan. With a mean temperature of 23oC and an annual rainfall of 2,200 mm, the park enjoys a tropical climate of long summers and mild winters. The wet season is from May to October and the dry season from October to April. The northeast monsoon, also known as "fallen-wind", prevails every year from October through March. Due to its unique climate and various landforms, Kenting National Park is able to support a rich variety of botanic life. One of its many unique features is the most diversified ecosystems of coral reefs in the world, with many kinds of tropical vegetations. The only problem is that the government built a nuclear power plant near the park and the discharge of warmer water into the sea has resulted in bleaching coral reef extensively. This is a classical struggle for people living in a small but populated island – sustainability vs. human livelihood.
Well, since we arrived in one of the most scenic parks in Taiwan, we might as well just dive into the water at the most famous South Bay beach! After more than a good hour and the sun disappeared over the mountains, we walked along the road through a half miles long night market. Dr. Lee (our program host at National Dong Hwa University), Isaac, and I enjoyed all the variety of food while my wife, Yu-Hsien, accompanied Jamie and Angela for shopping and bargaining. Us three men had to sit and wait after we were tired of eating. The night market is about 0.5 miles long with over hundred stores/stands and attracted several thousands of tourists every night till one o’clock in the morning! I could not believe seeing so many people taking vacations during weekdays. The economy in Taiwan is not particularly strong but it seems people have lots of money to spend. Perplexed!
The next day, we hiked all over Kenting—such beautiful scenery! We got to see a lot of tropical plant species, some of which were originally carried to Taiwan by sea currents from the Philippines and other southeastern Asia regions. Taiwan has been a hotspot to study evolutionary diversions due to its geographic locations and associations with China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Another feature of this park is that it is the middle of the path of migratory birds from Siberia to further south and even into the southern hemisphere. Tens of thousands of birds would decorate prairies, mountains, and hills in October. Residents used to catch and grill them. However, due to the rise of environmental protection awareness and the establishment of the park, it is no longer a practice. Another worth-mentioning point is that this park used to propagate an endangered deer species two decades ago. Now the breeding program is completed successfully and the deer have been released into the wild. See, how important it is to set aside a piece of land as a sanctuary to ensure harmonious co-existence between human beings and wildlife?
That afternoon we went snorkeling over many magnificent coral and beautiful tropical fish. Of course, we had to try the water sports like jet skiing and anything else that looked dangerously entertaining. The jet ski driver was an absolute awesome maniac. About 60 mph violently beating the waves with enormous jumps, 360o turns, and then to sum it up1080o turns Isaac and I went flying off the jet ski and crashing into the ocean. This resulted in Isaac swallowing a huge mouthful of seawater while I sprained my leg. We retired this exciting day by rewarding ourselves a big meal.
The very next day, we visited National Pingtung University of Science and Technology. Our host, Dr. Chiang, the Director of International Cooperation Office, drove us around the largest single campus in Taiwan (it is 286 hectares!). We got a rare opportunity to visit their Animal Rescue Center which is supported by Council of Agriculture, Taiwan. This is the largest center in southeastern Asia that houses abandoned animals by residents and retired animals from the circus. Releasing abandoned animals may possibly “contaminate” gene pools leading to instability of ecosystem structure and function. We saw tigers, monkeys, bears, turtles, eagles, orangutans, etc. 
We also visited university’s herbal garden which is used to study Chinese medicines. It has been their effort to modernize herbal studies for biomedical applications. At the end of the day, Dr. Chiang along with two professors treated us with unique local foods in a hill facing sunset. One of the two professors briefed us about recent progress of wildlife protection in Taiwan. After being in the USA for 16 years, I am glad to see an uprising of habitat protection and restoration in Taiwan. We also talked about the possibility of international cooperation between Missouri S&T biological sciences department and National Pingtung University of Science and Technology.
After visiting the university, we all headed to the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium. So many different colors of fish, walk-in aquariums where the fish swim all around you, and several shows like penguin feeding! The exhibition hall is featured with the theme of the gorgeous ecology for tropical coral reefs of the South China Ocean and presents the diversity of stones, the ecology resources of soft corals and coral reef fish of Taiwan's marine life. By entering into an 84-meter long underwater tunnel, you’d seem to dive deeply into South China Sea to find treasures with all kinds of fish swim all around you. Several live programs are hold, for example, penguin feeding, for the visitor to interact or observe the livings closely. The penguins are so adorable with their cumbersome waddling on the land. It was quite amusing when the penguins would fight over a fish scrap and would tumble off the ice edge and into the water. But once in the water, they were terrific swimmers!
The trip to Kenting is definitely a combination of environmental education and pleasure. Now, we know why Taiwan was given a name “Formosa” 500 years ago by the Holland sailors who discovered this island. We truly agree with the Holland that this island is a beautiful island!
There were too many places and things we did to describe; so, I better stop writing before you’re bored!
Yue-wern Huang and Isaac Deatherage
