Penghu National Scenic Area

The Penghu National Scenic Area is one of the National Scenic Areas of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and covers most, but not all of the islands and islets that form Penghu County.^[1] These islands have a total of 320 kilometers of shoreline.^[2] A National Scenic Area is not a National Park. National Scenic Areas fall within the control of the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of the Republic of China, while national parks fall within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of China.^[1] The philosophies that govern the development of the two types of areas differ. For a national park the emphasis is on the preservation of natural and cultural resources, and development for human utilization is definitely a secondary priority. For a national scenic area, the priorities are more balanced between preservation and tourism utilization.^[1] This has led to conflicts between preservationists and those more favorable to the development of the area. The National Park Law of the Republic of China only applies to the latter areas. Studies about the project were first debated since the beginning of 1990 and, after a year of evaluations carried out by the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of the Republic of China, it was officially created in February 1991, when the Penghu office was finally established. The aim of the project was to "efficiently utilize the local resources and help Penghu's economic growth",^[3] while building vacation spots on the coast of Taiwan's only island county to attract both Taiwanese nationals and foreigners, making of Penghu an "International tourism vacation center".^[3] It is a well known scenic area for its sandy beaches. The tourist season in Penghu starts in April and peaks from June through August.^[2] The Scenic Area attracts thousands of weekenders with its brisk sea breezes and scenery. But when the autumn gales begin to blow in October, the archipelago becomes deserted until April, when warmer weather seems to thaw the local tourism industry.^[4] In addition to its rich oceanic resources, Penghu offers fantastic sights of basalt column formations.^[2] The scenic area lures more than 200 species of migratory birds, making it an important spot for Asia's birdwatchers.^[5] It was not always like this: for much of the second half of the past century, the Government of the Republic of China saw the islands in mainly political and military terms, as a naval base: "Penghu was regarded as a military base until the early 1990s. As a result, the central government never wanted to develop the islands, which resulted in Penghu's shortages of water and electricity and, of course, a lot of five-star hotels".^[5]

The National Scenic Area comprises most, but not all, of Penghu County, and its divided into three recreation areas:

• North Sea recreation area,
• Magong recreation area, and
• South Sea recreation area.