National parks are national representatives of natural resources or cultural assets, designated and managed by the central government. The purposes of a national park are to protect natural scenery, wildlife and historical relics unique to the country. In addition, a national park provides research, educational and recreational opportunities. In 1872, in order to protect the beauty of Wyoming's Yellowstone, the U.S. established the first national park—Yellowstone National Park. Currently, nearly one thousand national parks have been established in more than 100 countries around the world.

In 1972, Taiwan's National Park Act was passed, to protect Taiwan's natural and ecological resources. In 1984, Taiwan's first national park, Kenting National Park, was established. Since then, one after the other, Yushan, Yangmingshan, Taroko and Shei-pa National Parks were founded. These five national parks are mostly involved in ecological conservation and protection of the natural landscape. On October 18, 1995, Taiwan's sixth national park, Kinmen National Park, was established. This is the first national park in Taiwan set up to maintain and protect historically and culturally important sites and battlefield monuments, in addition to conservation of natural resources.