Leihu Park is the first park to
be named after Taiwan's
Thunder Tigers Aerobatic Team.

The city government went all-
out to establish the small but
famous Leihu Park.

New Leihu Park remembers a U.S. military presence in Taichung

Words and photos by Taichung City Government
Translated by Naomi Lai

About 40 years ago during the Vietnam War, American servicemen and military units were stationed in Taichung's ShuiNan area and erected a variety of red-roofed, white-walled Western buildings. Almost half a century later, Taichung is remembering their presence here with the opening of Leihu Park, which aims to preserve memories of these extraordinary military aviators and their units.

A U.S. military base during the Vietnam War
As the Vietnam War heated up in the mid to late 1960s, a very large number of U.S. Air Force servicemen and transport, air-to-air refueling and combat aircraft began arriving at Ching Chuang Kang (CCK) Air Base near Chenping and Zhongping villages in Taichung's Xitun district. To accommodate American officers and their families, a Western-style residential area--Leihu ("Thunder Tiger") Community--was created and became widely known to Americans as "Tiger Village". In the years that followed, many American veterans remained in Taiwan with their local spouses and some still live in this community to this day. "Thunder Tiger" is also the name that has been given to the official aerobatics team of Taiwan's air force.

Treasuring this historical connection, Chenping Village recently opened Leihu Park in memory of the friendship between Taiwan and the United States. Village chief Pai Ke Pi-hua said that the USAF squadrons based in Taichung were well-known in the military aerospace world and noted that the park was now attracting attention from many military history fans seeking remnants of the past U.S. presence. This park is the first of its kind in Taiwan, with a total area of 700 pings (2314.05 square meters) and was constructed at a cost of NT$60 million.

Built on memories
Taichung City Mayor Jason Hu cut the ribbon during the park opening and inspected its outdoor public plaza and performance stage. He noted that the area now occupied by Leihu Park was once covered with weeds but, following a clean-up effort by the city government, was now a functioning park that boosted the living environment for the surrounding community. This was evident as local villagers present at the opening all welcomed the park with smiles on their faces.

Taichung City Department of Construction Director-General Huang Ching-hsiao said that most of the original trees on the park grounds had been kept, including plumeria, longan and mango trees over three decades old. Even the areca nut palms (pinang trees) have grown there naturally, giving the park rich ecological resources.
Hsu Hsiu-jung, head of the nearby Zhongping Village, is promoting the tiger as his village's mascot. Besides the various tiger-themed clay artwork provided by local villagers, park infrastructure such as bridges, street lamps and trash cans have all been also designed with a tiger theme, unifying the village linking it with Leihu Park via a "Thunder Tiger Tour" pathway.

Left: Local residents celebrate the opening of Leihu Park.
Right: Chenping Village Chief Pai Ke Pi-hua, a former classmate of Mayor Hu at the National Taichung Second Senior High School, enjoyed a mini-reunion with the mayor during the opening ceremony.