Doors to Diplomacy Participants

Tsoying senior high school (2004 CyberFair Project ID 3315)
Taiwan, KAOHSIUNG
Official Status: Final Project: Ready for Judging
Teacher:
Category: 7. Environmental Awareness

We estimate 10 student(s) from 16 to 17 will work on this entry.

Description of Our Community: Banpingshan,about 300 meters away from Tsoying Senior High School,is a famous mountain in Taiwan. It outstands on the Kaohsiung plain and is located in the northeast of Lotus Lake. Shan, in Chinese, means Mountain. Banping stands for the shape that looks like a half shield with painted-screen-like cliff. It was also called Mt. Flag in the old times because its cliff appeared as a waved flag in the wind. Banping Mountain looks like a spindle in a bird’s eye view. It is 2.7km in length and 0.8km in width. The southeast side is a gentler slop covered with limestone stratum in a thickness of 20 to 40m while the northwest side is steep. The top of the mountain remains 180m above sea level instead of the original 223m because of the quarrying. All the limestone formations weighing 6900 tons almost have gone.

Project Description: During the World War II, the Japanese founded the military tunnels under the Banping Mountain, that is the first time the mountain began to change due to the human activities. In the 1960s and 70s, Mt. Banping was quarried intensively. The limestone rocks went to cement to supply the Taiwan's construction such as freeway system till 1997, the year the mining terminated. The mountain has lost its coral cliffs. Its original appearance has changed. The green mountain became chalk land. In 2000, a new natural park was born. The Lotus Lake still reflects the green mountain, though the cuesta will return no more. In geology, Banping Mountain is a cuesta. It is made of limestone. Now the coral cliff has fallen away. Some questions arise from our mind. Where was the mountain from? Where has the mountain gone? Where will the mountain go?

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