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Barclay
Memorial Park
JhongHua E. Rd., Sec. 3, Tainan City
(opposite Cultural Center)
Hours: Open 24 hours
--By Steven Crook, translated by Annie
Liu
Few public places in Taiwan are named
after foreigners. Roosevelt Road in Taipei City is one
exception; another is Barclay Memorial Park, which commerates
the contributions of the Reverend Thomas Barclay, a
Presbyterian missionary who founded Tainan's Theological
College in 1876, soon after he arrived in Taiwan. Barclay,
who was born in Scotland in 1849, lived in Tainan until
his death in 1935. This park is not especially new,
but only recently was it renamed in honor of the missionary.
There are information boards about the man and his work,
but even if you've no interest in history it's a lovely
place to spend some time. The park - which is centered
around a natural-looking creek - has various ecological
themes, including a zone for amphibians, and others
for birds, insects, and shrubs. An arched footbridge
crosses the creek. Behind the park there's a large expanse
of Taiwan Sugar Corporation land that is open to the
public for jogging and cycling.
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