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Yangmingshan was developed early in the century as a hot springs resort. There are still some inns in the area and the smell of sulfur water is strong around the many fumaroles. There is also one sizable hotel, a branch of the Hotel China in Taipei. With an elevation of 1,800 feet, the hill is cool in summer and has a light snowfall about once in every five winters. The former custom of building summer cottages on Grass Mountain has given way to the establishment of year-round homes. There is a sizable foreign colony. The Chungshan Hall dedicated to Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Founding Father of the Republic of China, is located high up Yangmingshan. Important meetings of the Kuomintang are held here. Once the road was steep and tortuous. In recent years it has been widened and the gradient reduced. Buses make the trip up the mountain and to the park at intervals of 15 minutes and more often in the spring blossom season.
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Yangmingshan Park has restaurants and other public facilities. However, most of the hill has been left in a natural state. Nature lovers can leave the well-groomed central area and hike along roads and trails that climb into the mist, descend into tiny valleys or pass by 'scenic waterfalls. Also located on this mountain are two satellite communication stations linking the Republic of China with the United States and Europe, and the transmission towers of the three television networks. The highway goes over Yangmingshan and descends to the northern coast. A right turn will take the Sunday driver along the sea to Keelung, or he can turn to the left and visit Tamsui on the way home.