New7Wonders of Nature Official Finalist Yushan is the subject of an in-depth article in the Wall Street Journal, titled “Taiwan’s Great Ascent“. The feature explains the current global campaign, on track to get more than 1 billion votes, and showcases the 3,952-meter-high “Jade Mountain” that was sacred to the island’s aboriginal population, which was reputed to cut off the heads of trespassers in earlier times.
The campaign to elect the Official New7Wonders of Nature is the second New7Wonders campaign. The first campaign chose the Official New 7 Wonders of the World, thanks to more than 100 million votes, and was the first-ever global election. New7Wonders Director Jean-Paul de la Fuente notes that, “The New7Wonders campaigns are multi-faceted. Using modern communications technology, they foster dialogue amongst people worldwide. The current campaign, by highlighting the beauty and diversity of our natural world, encourages people to respect and protect it. And our campaigns offer a tremendous opportunity to some of the world’s most interesting, inspiring places. Indeed, thanks to the awareness raised by the New7Wonders campaigns, more than US$5 billion have been generated so far in national brand value and tourism income for sites involved.”
Discovering the beauty of Yushan — and of the other 27 Official Finalists
Examples of the creative campaign for Yushan are presented in the article, such as 7 young people traversing the island by bicycle, visiting schools to encourage students to participate. The beauty and fascinating variety of fauna and flora on Yushan are highlighted in the campaign so people can learn about the mountain and better appreciate it. While some of the 28 Finalists are well-known, there are ones which are unknown to many—Yushan is an example of a natural treasure not yet well known abroad. As New7Wonders encourages people to broaden their horizons, they discover places such as Yushan, giving a new perspective on the astonishing variety of our natural world.