Forests and Fishery
With many mountains, Taiwan has abundant timber. The Taiwan Forest Bureau, in
charge of the national forest land, is responsible for the planting, protection,
and logging of forests. The annual production of forest products, including
plywood, reaches an average of about 1,200,000 cubic yards, exclusive of
firewood. Fishery production has increased to over 650,000 tons annually. About
12 percent of this are produced by fish farming. The balance is caught in rivers
and in coastal water. The warm currents in the Pacific Ocean off the east coast
provide good deep-sea fishing grounds, especially for tuna. The Taiwan Fishery
Bureau was established to help develop the fishing industry, and the number of
fishing vessels also increase.
Vegetation and Animal Life
Vegetation: There are green plants on the plains all the year around. As the
climate varies with altitude, so does the natural vegetation. Stands of mixed
bamboo, palm, and tropical evergreen grow in the lowlands; subtropical evergreen
forests including camphor laurel are found from 2,000 to 6,000 feet;
broad-leaved evergreen forests of the temperate zone are represented by cedars,
cypress, junipers, rhododendrons, maples, and cryptomeria (Japanese cedar) from
6,000 to 8,000 feet; and coniferous forests are found above 7,500 feet.
ĦĦĦĦAnimal life: Similar to that in southern Chinese mainland, includes deer,
wild boars, bears, monkeys, goats, wildcats, and panthers. Birds include
pheasant, geese, flycatchers, kingfishers, larks, and many other species. Fish
abound in the coastal areas.
Transportation
External transport links are by air and sea. Railways and highways for
internal communications are well developed. The well-built road networks have a
total length of about 10,000 miles. The principal roads consist of a highway
running around the island and three east-west highways crossing the island in
the northern, middle, and southern regions of Taiwan. A north-south expressway
runs across the island. Passenger-bus transportation connecting large cities and
small towns throughout the island is provided by the Taiwan Highway Bureau and
private transportation companies provide both passenger and freight service. In
large cities there are public buses as well as private buses and taxis. Railway
is operated by the Taiwan Railway Administration. The mainlines include those
from Jilong, in the north, to Gaoxiong, in the southwest; from Jilong to Su'ao,
in the northeast; from Gaoxiong to Fangliao, in the south; and from Hualian, in
the east, to Taidong, in the southeast. The international seaports are Jilong,
in the north; Gaoxiong, in the south; and Hualian, in the east. Jilong is the
port for Taipei city, while Gaoxiong is an industrial port. Both cities have
good facilities for anchoring large ships. Hualian has also been open as an
international port since 1963. Civilian airports include Taipei International
Airport, in the north; Gaoxiong Airport, in the southh; and Hualian Airport, in
the east. Civilian air transports to Tainan, Taizhong, Taidong, and Penghu are
permitted to use the military air bases in those areas. For Taipei International
Airport service is available to many metropolitan cities around the world.
Agriculture
One-quarter of the total area in Taiwan is arable and fully cultivated.
Sloping areas and dry riverbeds are also under cultivation, as also are the
tidal lands in the west. The single most important crop is rice, with a total
planted area of about 1,000,000 acres. More than 60 percent of the paddy fields
are double cropped and nearly two-thirds of the rice produced is higher-grade
pon-lairice. Sugarcane is another important agricultural product, with a total
planted area of 235,000 acres. Tea plantation is mostly in the north. Hemp and
jute are grown in the middle and eastern part, while a different variety of hemp
is grown in the south. Pineapple is one of the principal export products. Fruits
and vegetables, such as bananas, litchis, longans, peaches, watermelons, and
oranges abound; all these fruits are canned for export. Vegetables are much
sufficient to meet the consumption needs of the island.
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