The Dayoukeng Crater in Yangmingshan National Park is the biggest sulfur vent area in Taiwan, and would likely be the first place to spew lava in the event of a volcanic eruption. This along with Turtle Island are the two known active volcanos in Taiwan. The area was also an important historical sulfur mine. Currently access to Dayoukeng is closed, but you can fly a drone hear with a permit.

Background:
The area known as Yangmingshan now was formed by volcanoes about 700,000 years ago, forming many mountains about 1000 meters or less in northwestern Taiwan. The park still features active volcanoes, vents, and hot springs.
The original name of the area was Caoshan (grass mountain 草山). During the Qing Dynasty, the area was used to harvest sulfur, and many of the hills were burned to help catch sulfur thieves. 
In 1927 during the Japanese era, Yangmingshan was made as the first national park in Taiwan, then known as Datunshan National Park Association. 
In 1950 after the ROC took Taiwan Chiang Kai-shek renamed the park after the philosopher Wang Yangming, and called the area Yangmingshan. 
In 1985, after resolving many land disputes, Yangmingshan National Park was officially designated as a national park in the ROC era. 
Dayoukeng (literally "Big Oil Crater" gets its name because the there are two main sulfur vents on Yangmingshan, and it is the biggest sulfur vent area in Taiwan. Temperatures here can reach 120 degrees celcious, and the water is very acidic with a PH level of only 1-2. The venting crater lies about 805 meters above sea level. A few kilometers under the ground, there is a leftover lava chamber from a previous eruption that heats up ground water and sends it spewing back to the surface.
Sulfur mining at Dayoukeng Crater in Yangmingshan National Park started in the Qing Dynasty by a British mining company who first obtained the rights to mine here in 1897. Currently you can find lots of old mining equipment that were abandoned here. The Yulu Old Trail was built near Dayoukeng to transport mining materials. Mining sulfur ended with the formation of Yangmingshan National Park. 
Dayoukeng lies in Jinshan District of New Taipei City. 
It is a popular stop in Yangmingshan and has two parking lots and visitor's center. It is also one of the starting points for the Mt. Qixing Trail. 

Hours:
The visitor's center is open from 9 AM to 4:30 PM.
​
Price:
Free
(parking 30 NT)

How to get there:
By Car/Scooter: From Taipei, take provincial highway 2A north to the Zhuzihu Lookout. Keep right until you reach the turnoff the the Qingtiangang parking lot. Car parking is limited on weekends and the number of cars allowed up the mountain is also limited. There is also paid scooter parking.
By Bus: From Beitou MRT Station, Take Little Bus 9 (小9) to Qingtiangang Station (擎天崗).
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Map:
Please see below: ​

Xiaoyoukeng in Yangmingshan National Park is a large volcanic steam vent area with hiking trails, fumaroles, sulfur deposits, and natural hot springs. Even though the name means "small sulfur hole," it is perhaps the largest and most easily accessible volcanic steam vent area in Taiwan. One could say that it is the Yellowstone of Taiwan.  It is a quiet a pleasant stop on the mountain and worth a visit on your trip to Yangmingshan. 

Background:
The area known as Yangmingshan now was formed by volcanoes about 700,000 years ago, forming many mountains about 1000 meters or less in northwestern Taiwan. The park still features active volcanoes, vents, and hot springs.
The original name of the area was Caoshan (grass mountain 草山). During the Qing Dynasty, the area was used to harvest sulfur, and many of the hills were burned to help catch sulfur thieves. 
In 1927 during the Japanese era, Yangmingshan was made as the first national park in Taiwan, then known as Datunshan National Park Association. 
In 1950 after the ROC took Taiwan Chiang Kai-shek renamed the park after the philosopher Wang Yangming, and called the area Yangmingshan. 
In 1985, after resolving many land disputes, Yangmingshan National Park was officially designated as a national park in the ROC era. 
Xiaouyoukeng (literally "Small Oil Crater" gets its name because the there are two main sulfur vents on Yangmingshan, and it was thought to be the smaller one.  The venting crater lies about 805 meters above sea level. A few kilometers under the ground, there is a leftover lava chamber from a previous eruption that heats up ground water and sends it spewing back to the surface.
It is a popular stop in Yangmingshan and has two parking lots and visitor's center. It is also one of the starting points for the Mt. Qixing Trail. 

Hours:
The visitor's center is open from 9 AM to 4:30 PM.
​
Price:
Free
(parking 30 NT)

How to get there:
By Car/Scooter: From Taipei, take provincial highway 2A north to the Zhizihu Lookout. Keep right until you reach the turnoff the the Xiaoyoukeng parking lot on the right. Car parking is limited on weekends and the number of cars allowed up the mountain is also limited. There is also paid scooter parking.
By Bus: From Beitou MRT Station, Take Little Bus 9 (小9) to Xiaoyoukeng Station (小油坑).
​
Map:
Please see below: 

Lengshuikeng in Yangmingshan National Park is a small area with hiking trails, natural hot springs, waterfalls, and wildlife. Even though the name means "cold water hole," the water here is not cold, and there are plenty of hot springs around including a public hot spring bath house. It is a quiet a pleasant stop on the mountain and worth a visit on your trip to Yangmingshan. 

Background:
The area known as Yangmingshan now was formed by volcanoes about 700,000 years ago, forming many mountains about 1000 meters or less in northwestern Taiwan. The park still features active volcanoes, vents, and hot springs.
The original name of the area was Caoshan (grass mountain 草山). During the Qing Dynasty, the area was used to harvest sulfur, and many of the hills were burned to help catch sulfur thieves. 
In 1927 during the Japanese era, Yangmingshan was made as the first national park in Taiwan, then known as Datunshan National Park Association. 
In 1950 after the ROC took Taiwan Chiang Kai-shek renamed the park after the philosopher Wang Yangming, and called the area Yangmingshan. 
In 1985, after resolving many land disputes, Yangmingshan National Park was officially designated as a national park in the ROC era. 
Lengshuikeng (literally "cold water crater" gets its name because the hot spring waters here are only 40 degrees centigrade, the coldest hot spring waters on Yangmingshan. Lengshuikeng has the only sulfur deposit sediment layer in Taiwan. Nearby are many hot springs and vents.
It is a popular stop in Yangmingshan and has two parking lots and visitor's center.

Hours:
The visitor's center is open from 9 AM to 4:30 PM.
​
Price:
Free

How to get there:
By Car/Scooter: From Taipei, take provincial highway 2A north to Chungshan Hall, and take a right, then continue down the road up the mountain to the left until you reach Lengshuikeng. 
By Bus: From Shilin MRT Station, take bus S15 to Lengshuikeng Service Station.
​
Map:
Please see below: 

FIRE hot springs! What other reason do you need to visit this place? Hopefully that should be enough, because there is not much else to see besides a natural gas fire and a hot spring. It's name Chinese literally means water and fire coming from the same source (水火同源). Some have called it one of the seven wonders of Taiwan. This is a place that we have wanted to go for a long time, and the first place that we have checked off of our “secret places” list. 

Historical Background:

According to local Chinese folklore, the Kirin, a mythical Chinese Dragon-Horse creature, is said to have long ago lived in the spot where the fire spring now stands.  The spring water is his leftover urine and the fire his breath. This legend comes purely from the sign above.
Another legend from the Taiwan Tourism website says that the legend is actually about two dragons: a fire dragon and a water dragon. They both lost in battle, one became the spring's water and the other the spring's fire. 
In recent times the cave has become a popular tourist location especially for people enjoying the hot spring hotels in Guanziling. 

Hours:
24/7

Price:
Free

Getting here:
​
We came south on National Highway 3 from Jiayi and exited near Tainan Baihe district. If you do not have a vehicle, Water and Fire hot spring can also be reached via Xinying Bus (新營客運) or tour bus.
 
Map:

     As of May this year, Wulai public hot springs have been destroyed. For many of us, Wulai hot springs were a relaxing place to become one with nature and enjoy conversing with locals. To honor their memory, we have written this post.

History of Wulai Hot Springs

     Wulai was originally an Atayal aborigine village, its name meaning hot and poisonous. There has always been natural hot springs in Wulai, but much of that water has been channeled into hotels and public bathhouses. The free hot springs stood at the bottom of the hill next to the river, and was a collection of used hot spring water from the hotels and paid hot springs above. In its prime, it boasted the largest free outdoor hot springs in Taiwan. Recently the township of Wulai has become a major tourist attraction, partly because of its close proximity to Taipei. It has museums, waterfalls, a gondola, a train (under renovation), a night market, and most of all hot springs.
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     In 2015 Typhoon Soudelor wreaked havoc to the town and destroyed many hot springs. Due to this and sanitation concerns, New Taipei City decided to shut down the hot springs, and gave the owners until April 2017 to tear it down. When the owners did not comply, New Taipei took the matter in their own hands and tore down the springs in May 2017.

Experience

     My experience at Wulai springs was quite peaceful. When I was there last February, there were many pools to choose from with varying temperatures. Also, there were many free showers there made from recycled billboards. Some pools were full of dead skin, but the water was changed out every hour (even so, the new water coming in was also not guaranteed to be clean, although it was just as clean as any cheap public hot spring you would find in Beitou). I must admit that the average demographic there was 65 and older Taiwanese people, but I imagine they came there regularly, so now that the springs are demolished their daily relaxed routine of soaking in the springs is gone. They are the true victims of this demolition.
     Next to the springs was a hole that captured the spring water mixed with river water. Although some of the water was foamy, it was relaxing swimming in the cool calm water after a dip in the springs. Perhaps the best part of the experience was the great mountain view and fresh air. In spring, there were also cherry blossoms on the hills for all to enjoy.

Safety Concerns

     The New Taipei City government said the water from these springs was too filthy and polluting the river. Also they claimed it was hard to evacuate people using the springs during a Typhoon. In 2015 there were two fatalities during typhoon Soudelor; both these people were using the hot springs during the typhoon. In addition, the river is officially restricted from building anything. Because of these factors the government worked to shut these hot springs down.
 

Photo credit: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3166954

Our Thoughts

     Personally, I think the private hot spring hotel owners in Wulai worked together to lobby against the public hot springs and bring them down so that they could make an extra buck. The New Taipei City government should have taken over the public springs to make them safer, cleaner, and legal: this would have brought tourists and money to the community. Those that want to go to free hot springs will now visit elsewhere.

     We are very sad to see these hot springs go, and consider ourselves lucky to have enjoyed them while they lasted. But with all things that are fun, eventually some law or regulation will shut them down. I hope that someday New Taipei City government will have the foresight to rebuild them into a legal, safe, and free hot springs again.

     Please leave your comments, memories, or other thoughts below, and don't forget to like and share!