The 3,952-meter Yushan, Northeast Asia's highest peak, was among 261 entries selected for the second round in the contest launched by the Switzerland-based New7Wonders Foundation, dedicated to documenting and preserving the world's heritage sites.
Yushan, also known as Jade Mountain, will be competing against 35 other nominees in the "mountains and volcanoes" category, including Mount Fuji in Japan and Greece's Mount Olympus, in a vote set to run until July on the Internet. Only the top 11 entries in each of the seven categories will be eligible for consideration.
A panel of experts, led by former UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor, will then review the list and choose 21 official finalists for a worldwide online vote through 2010 and 2011.
To boost Yushan's chances of being selected, the Yushan National Park Headquarters is launching a campaign to encourage members of the public to cast their votes in the contest, Chen Lung-sheng, director of the park, said Feb. 16.
In a news release Feb. 11, the YNPH explained its motivation for kicking off the campaign, stating that "if Taiwan's international visibility can be increased and more tourists can be attracted to visit the island, then this will be helpful in efforts to have Yushan listed as a U.N. World Heritage Site so that everyone across the globe can work together to protect this natural wonder."
The campaign will include the distribution of promotional material, such as posters and filmed footage of Yushan, to schools around the island as well as overseas offices, Chen said. Global organizations with chapters in Taiwan, including Rotary International and Lions Club International, will also be contacted to assist in the efforts, he added.
The park's headquarters is also organizing a round-the-island cycling tour in which voting assistants will make stops in different locations to give guidance to local residents on the procedures for casting valid votes on the foundation's English-language Web site.
Yushan, considered by many to be Taiwan's top natural attraction, is the island's sole entry in the New Seven Wonders contest. Located in Yushan National Park in central Taiwan, the mountain is well known for its diverse wildlife and ecology, with the huge variation in altitude up its slopes reflected by changes in fauna and flora from subtropical, through temperate, to alpine.
Write to Jean Yueh at yueh@mail.gio.gov.tw