Alishan, Taiwan

The Alishan that most people are familiar with mostly refers to the Alishan Forest Recreation Area. According to legend, 250 years ago, a Tsou chief named Abari came here alone. After returning from hunting with a full load, he often brought his tribe here. In memory of him, the tribe named him after him. In fact, Alishan is composed of 18 high mountains and is a branch of the Yushan Mountains. It faces the main peak of Yushan across Tongfu River. Now the new Zhongheng Highway has connected Alishan and Yushan Scenic Area. The sunrise, sea of ??clouds, sunset, forest and mountain railway are collectively known as the Five Wonders of Alishan, and the cultural resources of the Tsou Aboriginal people add to its tourist charm.

Sunrise

The famous Alishan sunrise has different positions and times in four seasons (due to the rotation of the earth). Standing on the Zhushan Sun View Tower, the summer solstice (June in the Chinese calendar) At five o'clock in the morning on the 22nd, the sunrise location was between Shao Dashan Mountain and Xiuguluan Mountain, which is the northernmost point of sunrise in Alishan. At seven o'clock in the morning on the winter solstice (December 22 in the Chinese calendar), the sunrise location is on the south side of the main peak of Yushan Mountain, which is the southernmost point of sunrise in Alishan. At six o'clock in the morning on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes (March 21 and September 23), the sunrise location is between Xiuguluan Mountain and the north peak of Yushan Mountain.

To get to Zhushan, you can take the Zhushan Sun-viewing Train at Alishan Railway Station or Zhaoping Station (the journey takes about 25 minutes) or go up the steps from the archway of the Sun-viewing Trail in Zhaoping Park (the journey takes about 40 minutes) , there are signboards along the road), and in front of Guanrilou Square, there are detailed maps of the boundaries between Chiayi and Nantou counties and the sunrise.

Sea of ??Clouds

The Alishan Sea of ??Clouds, one of the eight scenic spots in Taiwan, usually appears at sunrise or dusk when the weather is clear and there are floating clouds; layers of clouds and mist are undulating, covering the nearby peaks. Like a small island emerging from the vast ocean. The best season to view the sea of ??clouds is autumn. The best places are Erwanping, Ciyun Temple in Alishan Forest Recreation Area, Alishan Hotel, Alishan Railway Station, Zhaoping Park, Zhushan Sun View Tower and the first parking lot There are good viewing spots near the field.

Sunset Glow

The reason why the Alishan sunset is gorgeous is because the air in the high mountain area with an altitude of more than 2,000 meters is thin and the solar radiation is strong, resulting in strong ultraviolet rays in the air, making the sky even brighter. The blue sky presented is more beautiful than the plain land, and the sunset is relatively more beautiful. The best viewing spots are near Ciyun Temple, Alishan Hotel, Alishan Railway Station, Zhaoping Park, Zhushan Sun View Tower and the first parking lot.

Forest

Alishan has very rich forest resources, among which the cypress virgin forest is the most precious. Affected by altitude, the distribution of plants in Alishan shows tropical, warm, temperate and cold zones. The area from the flatland to Independence Mountain at an altitude of 800 meters is a tropical forest. The most prominent plants in this area are longan, acacia, fir, Ma bamboo and Guizhu forest. From Independence Mountain to Pingzhena, which is 1,800 meters above sea level, it belongs to the warm zone forest range. The representative tree species are camphor, Pu and Phoebe. The cedar forest in the area of ??Fenchi Lake and Cross Road is a special plant phase in this area. Temperate forest refers to the area above Pingzhena to below 3,000 meters above sea level. Alishan five trees - hemlock, Taiwanese cypress, Huashan pine, Taiwanese fir and red cypress (sacred tree) are mainly distributed here. . As for the boreal forest area above 3,000 meters to below 3,500 meters, Taiwan fir mainly grows.

After the Japanese discovered the Alishan Forest in 1899, they established this virgin forest as an important forest farm. After Taiwan was recovered, the Taiwan Provincial Government banned logging for conservation purposes and developed it into a forest recreation area. During the Alishan flower season from mid-March to mid-April every year, mountain cherry, Yoshino cherry, double-flowered cherry, etc., decorate the entire mountain into a beautiful and colorful sea of ??flowers. While walking along the tree-lined avenues with towering ancient trees, in addition to absorbing forest phytoncides, you can also listen to the beautiful calls of thrushes, warblers, tits, thrushes and other birds (Alishan is one of the top ten best bird watching spots in Taiwan) One, belongs to the mid-altitude bird area). Even the thousand-year-old trees in the area that were originally cut down still have half-dead tree root shapes that are worth admiring.

Of course, attractions such as Sisters Pool are not to be missed.

Alpine Railway

The Alishan Forest Railway, the Darjeeling-Himalayas Railway in India, and the Andes Railway from Chile to Argentina, are also known as the only three remaining mountaineering railways in the world. The Japanese planned and built it for the transportation of timber. The track gauge is 762 mm, the maximum slope is 6.25%, and the minimum radius of curvature is 40 meters.

In 1912, the 66.6-kilometer-long section from Chiayi to Erwanping was declared open to traffic. In 1914, it was extended to Alishan and branch lines were gradually added, with a total length of 71.4 kilometers. The entire line starts from Chiayi, which is 30 meters above sea level, and climbs all the way to Alishan, which is 2,216 meters high. It passes through 49 tunnels and 77 bridges. Along the way, you can enjoy the changes in plant species and beautiful mountains in different forest zones such as hot, warm, and temperate. , valley

. The Alishan Forest Railway is divided into two sections: flat and mountainous. The former is from Chiayi to Zhuqi (14.2 kilometers), and the latter is from Zhuqi to Alishan (57.2 kilometers). When the train reaches Independence Mountain in propelling mode, in order to adapt to the steep mountain shape, it must spiral around Independence Mountain three times (about five kilometers long and two hundred meters high) to reach the top of the mountain. When winding up the mountain, you can see Zhanghaoliao Station moving left and right three times from the car, still at the bottom of the mountain, and then the railway leaves Independence Mountain in a figure-8 shape. From Pingzhena Station to the first lane, the railway moves forward in a zigzag shape. When passing through the three lanes, the train is sometimes dragged forward and sometimes pushed back, and finally reaches Alishan, hence the name "Alishan Train". "It's called hitting a wall."

The Alishan Forest Railway, which was built in the past to collect timber and transport daily necessities, has now been transformed into a sightseeing railway train for the development of forest tourism. In 1984, after the addition of the "Alishan Express" with a journey time of only three hours and fifteen minutes, the original steam train and scrapped carriages were decorated into a unique carriage hotel and ancient steam train exhibition area, located in Zhaoping Next to the station, it is available for tourists to stay and watch.

In 1986, the self-developed Zhushan Branch Line was opened to traffic, with a total length of 6.25 kilometers. It starts from Alishan New Station and winds through the mountains with an altitude of 2,216-2,451 meters. Turn to Gaoyue and reach Zhushan. This is the first alpine railway built by the Chinese people, specially for Zhushan viewing.

As for the Mianyue branch line with a total length of 9.2 kilometers, it was opened in 1983. The train winds all the way through the mountains above 2,000 meters above sea level. When you see a tower more than ten meters high, , the huge boulder shaped like a monkey, you will reach the final stop "Stone Monkey Recreation Area".

The White Wood Forest is a wonder of the Stone Monkey Recreation Area. After the forest fire, the short plants were burned away, leaving only tall pines and fir trees withered. These fire-burned trees have been exposed to wind, sun and rain. Frost hits and the skin turns white, becoming an eye-catching sight. Arrange a one-hour hiking tour to see the ancient camphor huts, bamboo shoot stoves and charcoal kilns in the recreation area. You can learn about their manufacturing processes through the explanatory signs. As for the pavilions such as Lingfeng Pavilion, Wangxiang Pavilion and Qixia Pavilion, they are good places to listen to the pine waves or overlook the scenery of the grass ridge. In addition, the "Taiwan - Leaf Orchid Exhibition Area" displays the ecological history of Taiwan's precious and rare wild orchids; the one-leaf orchid grows in Alishan and blooms from February to April every year. It is named because there is only one leaf under the flower.