Xueshan, formerly known as and by other names, is a mountain in the Heping District of

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of T ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. It is the 2nd-highest

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

in Taiwan and in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

, at above sea level. It is located in the Shei-Pa National Park and is visible in good weather from hills near Taiwan's capital

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Names

''Xuěshān'' is the

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, a ...

of the Chinese name meaning "

Snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughou ...

" or "Snowy Mountain". The same name was romanized as Hsüehshan using the Wade-Giles system. During the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

, the mountain was known to Westerners as It was also known as (properly, ''Sānchāshān'') from a Chinese name meaning "3-Forked" or "3-Prong Mountain". During

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

's occupation of Taiwan, improved surveys showed that Xueshan was shorter than Yushan on Taiwan but taller than in the Japanese Islands. Its name was accordingly changed to Tsugitakayama(次高山), meaning "Next-" or "Second-Highest Mountain", in 1923.

History

The Japanese

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

designated Xueshan part of the by the Governor-General of Taiwan on 12 December 1937.

Climbing Xueshan

Xueshan is a part of the Shei-Pa National Park and so climbers are required to apply for a park entry permit. This can be done 7–30 days in advance. After that a police mountain entry permit must be applied for. This can be done at the police station in Wuling Farm on the spot. There are two cabins on the trail. The first, Chika Cabin, is at the mark. The second, 369 Cabin, is at the mark. Both cabins are spartan, and contain bunker style beds. Hikers must bring their own sleeping and cooking gear. The peak is at the mark.

Gallery

Image:HsuehshanMainPeak.jpg, Xueshan Main Peak Image:TheHolyRidgeline.jpg, Shengleng Trail (Holy Ridge Trail) Image:Hsuehshan_1st_circlevalley.jpg, Cirque or Landslide Valley #1 Image:Hsuehshan CueiChih TheGreenJadePond.jpg, Cuei Pond

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * * {{Authority control Landforms of Taichung Mountains of Taiwan Mountaineering in Taiwan