Cloud Paradise and Phytoncides

Sunrise view in Zhushan

Fenqi Lake

Fenqi Lake is situated at the midpoint of the Alishan Forest Railway. In the early years, it was the most important transport hub for people of Greater Alishan for traveling to and from other parts of Chiayi. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, the place was named Fenqi due to it's terrain being similar in shape to a dustpan, pronounced "benji" in the Taiwanese dialect. Fenqi Lake is a natural beauty wreathed in mist and clouds all year round. Praised as the "Jiufen of Southern Taiwan", Fenqi Lake is famous for it's Square Bamboo, rich animal and plant ecology railway lunch box , old streets, old train warehouse, scenic landscape and Jiaogao bamboo shoots. Emerging attractions in the vicinity include: the Shanlin-Zhandao (a narrow plank trail through cedar woods), Totoro's Tree and Xia-Jiao-Dian-Zai (an old street). Fans of the movie-adaption of Jimmy's picture book The Starry Starry Night are drawn to Fenqi Lake for it's beautiful landscape, and for visiting the locale of the large green fir wood behind grandpa's log cabin. Just like Totoro's home in Miyazaki Hayao's animated movie My Neighbor Totoro, it is filled with the mysterious ambance of fantasy tales.

Sea of Clouds and Sunset Glow at Alishan

Alishan's sea of clouds is one of the world-renowned Eight Wonders of Taiwan. On a sunny day, the spectacular sea of clouds can always be seen at sunrise or dusk. Since the air is thin in Alishan, solar radiation is relatively strong, leading to exceptionally gorgeous and charming scenes of sunset glow produced by ultraviolet rays. As the altitude increases, scenes of sea clouds and sunset glow also vary. Zhaoping Park, Zhushan, Mt. Erwanping and the entrance of Alishan Forest Recreation Area are the best viewing spots.

Alishan Forest Recreation Area

Alishan, a branch range of the Yushan Mountain Range, consists of eighteen connected high mountains overlooking the Main Peak of the Yushan Mountain Range across Tongfu River. According to legend, Chieftain Abali of the Tsou Tribe was deeply loved by his tribal people, who thus named their hunting area Alishan (Mt. Ali). The Alishan Forest Recreation Area is located in these mountains with an elevation of 2,216 meters above sea level. The area is surrounded by high mountains with fascinating scenery, including the most famous "five wonders": sunrise, sea of clouds, sunset glow, forests and mountains railway. A world-class tourist attraction, there are many points of interest with changing sceneries within the park.

Sisters' Ponds

There are two ponds located in the high mountains within the Alishan Forest Recreation Area, famed for a sorrowful yet beautiful love story. Two pretty sisters who cared very much for each other fell in love with the same man. In order to help complete the other's love for the man, the two sisters each committed suicide by jumping into two different ponds. The myth is open to speculation as Sisters' Ponds have become a beautiful landscape for tourists to catch a glimpse of the origin of the legend. In the Elder's pond, there are two Love Pavilions each built on a stump base of Chinese cypress, standing above the water surface and connecting to the bank of the pond. Taking a leisurely strolling on the 180-meter Pond Loop Trail encircling the two ponds is the best way to appreciate the beauty of Sisters' Ponds.

Cherry Blossom Viewing and Bird Watching in Alishan

During Alishan's annual cherry blossom season in March, the hilltops and trails are full of cherry blossoms with more beauty than one take in Taiwan Cherry (Prunus campanulata), Oshima Cherry (Prunus lannesiana) and Double Flowering Cherry bloom in succession during this time, while Taiwan pleione (Pleione bulbocodioides), Taiwan alpine rhododendron ( Rhododendron pseudochrysanthum), Common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), Crocus tritonia (Crocosmia crocosmiiflora ) and Chinese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) take over in full bloom starting from April and May. Taiwan pleione is a perennial herbaceous plant with a single leaf and stem, and thus was named "one leaf orchid" in Chinese Sometimes the Collared bush robin, an endemic species of Taiwan, can also be found in the groves along the trail.

Xianglin Arch Bridge Xianglin Scared Tree, Giant Trees Trail

Xianglin Arch Bridge is one of the new Eight Wonders of Alishan, nicknamed "Little Kyoto." Surrounded by a green forest with running stream water and propylite, visitors suddenly experience a blurring of time and space as if they were staying in Kyoto, Japan. The nearby Xianglin Scared Tree was selected as the second as the second generation Sacred Tree after Alishan's landmark symol, the first Sacred Tree, fell down. There are also two phases of Giant Trees Trail in Alishan Forest Recreation Area. The first phase starts with the thousand-year cypress and ends with the site of the original Sacred Tree. The sight of about 20 giant Taiwan red cypress trees scattered along the second phase of the Giant Trees Trail. While walking along the trail, tourists can immerse themselves in phytoncides from high mountain cypress trees, an unforgettable experience.

Original Site of Sacred Tree

The 52-meter tall ancient Sacred Tree originally stood next to Shenmu Station on the Alishan Forest Railway. It was a Taiwan red cypress tree aged over three thousand years. In 1906, the Japanese built the forest railway through the area, resulting in many cypress trees being cut down. The ancient Taiwan red cypress tree survived the felling due to it's center being completely gnawed by root nodule bacteria and was thus useless. After two lighting strikes, in 1997, the ancient tree could no longer stand against the wind and rain and finally collapsed. Many tourists come to visit the site in reverence of the ancient tree that had created a tourism miracle as well as witnessed Alishan's evolution for thousands of years.

Sunrise view in Zhushan

Alishan's sunrise is world-famous. To view the sunrise, tourists get up in darkness of the early morning and take the mini-train to Zhushan Station, which has an elevation of 2,451 meters above sea level, the highest altitude among all train stations in Taiwan. The observation deck next to the train station is the best location for viewing the sunrise. When the scenery of dark mountains gradually fades, the light of the early dawn suddenly emerges. Rays of the fireball sun gently leap from the mountain top. The moment of extreme beauty is truly touching!