Alishan (阿里山), Taiwan

July 5-7, 2006

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Alishan (阿里山), located in the central Taiwan, is one of the most well-known mountain resorts in Taiwan and among the neighboring Asian countries. Alishan is famed for its 5 wonders: sunrise, sunset, cloud sea, various forest facets, and mountain train. Alishan mountain range is one of the five mountain ranges in Taiwan, and is composed of 18 peaks above 2,000 meters. What most people mean when they say they are going to "Alishan," they are referring to the tourist village inside the Alishan Forest Recreation Area, which has a total of 1400 hectares embracing high mountain peaks and rich cultural and natural resources.

Getting there ...

Our bus departed from Taipei at around 8:30AM, and got to Taichung to pick up my uncle and we had a quick lunch at around 11:00AM. Similar to our last trip to Central Taiwan 2 years ago, my uncle (who was retired from Forestry Bureau) arranged this entire trip for us. After lunch, we rode the bus to Fen Chi Hu (奮起湖) and switch to the famous Alishan mountain train. We had a walk around the "Old Street" in Fen Chi Hu before our train arrived at 3:45PM. From Fen Chi Hu (elevation 1405m), the train climbs using different ways: 3 times of switch back rides and one time of "8" ride at Tuli Shan, and the "Z" ride at the split railway.

 

 

 

 

The Second Day ...

 

 

 

We got off our cars on the half way down from Jhushan and started the easy walk downhills. We visited the Guest House which was late president Chiang Kai-Shek's villa when he visited Alishan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Last Day ...

 

 

 

 

 

Going Home ...

After came back from the mountains, we went to visit a few relatives in Nantou because it is my parents' home town, and stayed there till 5PM. Since we had too much snack in the afternoon, we decided to skip a formal dinner and had a casual one at a resting area along the highway on our way back to Taipei. With the temperature ranging from 15 to 25 degree C, Alishan is a nice place to escape the extreme summer heat and humidity from Taipei.

 


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