Alishan National Scenic Area
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Alishan National Scenic Area is a
mountain resort A mountain resort is a place to holiday or vacation located in an elevated and typically at least relatively isolated area. The term resort implies integral hotel or inn accommodations, restaurants, and either or both sports facilities or scen ...
and
nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
located in Alishan township,
Chiayi County Chiayi County (Mandarin pinyin: ''jiā yì xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Ka-gī-koān'') is a county in southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City. It is the sixth largest county in Taiwan. Name The former Chinese placename was ...
,
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 nort ...
.


Geography

Alishan is in area. Notable characteristics include mountain wilderness, four villages, waterfalls, high altitude
tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
plantations, the
Alishan Forest Railway Alishan Forest Railway () is an 86 km network of narrow gauge railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County, Taiwan. The railway, originally constructed for logging, has become a tourist a ...
, and a number of hiking trails. The area is popular with tourists and mountain climbers. Alishan, itself has become one of the major landmarks associated with Taiwan. The area is famous for its production of high mountain tea and
wasabi Wasabi (Japanese: , , or , ; ''Eutrema japonicum'' or ''Wasabia japonica'') or Japanese horseradish is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and mustard in other genera. The plant is native to Japan and the Russian ...
. Alishan is well known for its sunrises, sunset,
sea of clouds A sea of clouds is an overcast layer of clouds, as viewed from above, with a relatively uniform top which shows undulations of very different lengths resembling waves on the sea. A sea of fog is formed from stratus clouds or fog and does not sh ...
in the area between Alishan and Yüshan, railway station, and sacred trees. Alishan, along with
Taroko Gorge Taroko National Park () is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan and was named after the Taroko Gorge, the landmark gorge of the park carved by the Liwu River. The park spans Taichung Municipality, Nantou County, and Hualien County and is lo ...
and
Sun Moon Lake Sun Moon Lake (; Thao: ''Zintun'') is a lake in Yuchi Township, Nantou County, Taiwan. It is the largest body of water in Taiwan. The area around the lake is home to the Thao tribe, one of aboriginal tribes of Taiwan. Sun Moon Lake surround ...
, is one of Taiwan's most popular scenic attractions.


Climate

Alishan National Scenic Area spans a broad range in altitude. Lower elevations, such as in Leye Township, share the same
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
and
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
climate as the rest of southern Taiwan, while the climate changes to
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
and
alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...
as the elevation increases. Snow sometimes falls at higher elevations in the winter. Alishan is located at an altitude of 1400 to 2600 meters. The average annual temperature is about 10 degrees Celsius, coupled with abundant rainfall. Average temperatures are moderate: * Low elevations: 24 °C in the summer, 16 °C in the winter. * Medium elevations: 19 °C in the summer, 12 °C in the winter. * High elevations: 14 °C in the summer, 5 °C in the winter.


Topography

Alishan is mountainous: *Number of peaks above 2000 meters: 25 *Highest point: Da Ta Shan (大塔山), 2,663 meters. *Average height of Alishan Mountain Range: 2,500 meters.


Vegetation and wildlife

Important
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s in the area include: *''
Taiwania ''Taiwania'', with the single living species ''Taiwania cryptomerioides'', is a large coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae. Etymology ''Taiwania'' means 'from Taiwan', while ''Cryptomerioides'' means 'resembling ''Cryptomeria''.G ...
cryptomerioides'', a large coniferous tree in the cypress family
Cupressaceae Cupressaceae is a conifer family, the cypress family, with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdio ...
(the same family as the next three species) *''
Chamaecyparis formosensis ''Chamaecyparis formosensis'' (Formosan cypress, Taiwan cypress, Taiwan red cypress; Chinese: 紅檜/红桧 ''hóngguì, Taiwan pron. hóngkuài'') is a species of ''Chamaecyparis'', endemic to Taiwan, where it grows in the central mountains at ...
'', or Formosan Cypress *''
Chamaecyparis taiwanensis ''Chamaecyparis taiwanensis'' (Taiwan cypress; ) is a species of cypress, native to the mountains of Taiwan, where it grows at altitudes of 1300–2800 m.Rushforth, K. (1987). ''Conifers''. Helm . Description It is a slow-growing coniferous tr ...
'' *''
Cunninghamia ''Cunninghamia'' is a genus of one or two living species of evergreen coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae. They are native to China, northern Vietnam and Laos, and perhaps also Cambodia. They may reach in height. In vernacular ...
konishii'' *''
Pinus taiwanensis ''Pinus taiwanensis'', the Taiwan red pine, is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae endemic to Taiwan. Taxonomy It is a close relative of '' Pinus luchuensis'' of Japan and ''P. hwangshanensis'' of China, sometimes considered as a subspe ...
'', or
Taiwan Red Pine ''Pinus taiwanensis'', the Taiwan red pine, is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae endemic to Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas i ...
*''
Picea morrisonicola ''Picea morrisonicola'', the Taiwan spruce, is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is found only in Taiwan, and it is the only species of spruce in Taiwan. It is the southernmost species of spruce in the world, being spread near the T ...
'', or Yüshan Spruce *''
Pseudotsuga sinensis ''Pseudotsuga sinensis'' (Chinese Douglas-fir; in Chinese 黃杉, pinyin romanization: huáng shān) is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is a tree up to 50 metres tall. It is found in China (in Anhui, Fujian, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hu ...
'' var. ''wilsoniana'', or Taiwan Douglas-fir *''
Abies kawakamii ''Abies kawakamii'' is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is found only in Taiwan. First described in 1908 by Bunzō Hayata as a variety of '' Abies mariesii'', a high-mountain fir native to Japan; the next year it was elevated to ...
'', a species of conifer in the family
Pinaceae The Pinaceae, or pine family, are conifer trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as Cedrus, cedars, firs, Tsuga, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces. The family is included in the order Pinales, ...
, only found in Taiwan *''
Tsuga chinensis ''Tsuga chinensis'', commonly referred to as the Taiwan or Chinese hemlock, or in Chinese as tieshan (), is a coniferous tree species native to China, Taiwan, Tibet and Vietnam. The tree is quite variable and has many recognised varieties, thoug ...
'' var. ''formosana'', Taiwan or Chinese Hemlock *'' Ulmus uyematsui'', a species of elm only found in the Alishan region


Sacred Trees

In 1906, the Japanese has discovered a red cypress tree that was over 3000 years old, located next to the Alishan Forest Railway's Sacred Tree Station. The Japanese honored it as the "Sacred Tree". The tree is tall with a trunk diameter of nearly , making it one of the largest giant trees in Alishan. The Alishan sacred tree withered due to lightning and heavy rain. It was put down in 1998 for tourists to visit. In 2006, the
Chiayi County Government The Chiayi County Government (CYHG; ) is the local government of the Republic of China that governs Chiayi County. History The country government was formed in October 1950 by the Taiwan Provincial Government. Organization * Accounting and S ...
and the Alishan Scenic Area Administration started a voting activity to select other sacred trees as the new landmark in the scenic area. The tall, 2,300-year-old Xianglin Giant Tree received the highest number of votes and became the second generation of sacred tree. The Giant trees are later organized and a trail is built for visitors to enter, where they can see more than 38 giant trees, most of which are hundreds of years old.


History

The Alishan area was originally settled by the Tsou tribe of the
Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...
; the name derives from the aboriginal word ''Jarissang''. Ethnic
Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
settlers first settled on the plains near modern-day Chiayi as early as the late
Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
(around the mid-17th century), but did not move into the mountains until the late 18th century, establishing the towns of Ruili (), Ruifeng (), Xiding (), and Fenqihu (). The resulting armed clashes between the settlers and the aborigines pushed the aborigines even further into the mountains. Following the cession of Taiwan to
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 north ...
at the end of the
First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...
, Japanese expeditions to the area found large quantities of
cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...
(, or in Japanese). This led to the development of the
logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
industry in the area and the export of local cypress and
Taiwania ''Taiwania'', with the single living species ''Taiwania cryptomerioides'', is a large coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae. Etymology ''Taiwania'' means 'from Taiwan', while ''Cryptomerioides'' means 'resembling ''Cryptomeria''.G ...
wood. A series of
narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...
railways were built in the area during this time to facilitate the transportation of lumber from the mountains to the plains below, part of which continues to operate as the
Alishan Forest Railway Alishan Forest Railway () is an 86 km network of narrow gauge railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County, Taiwan. The railway, originally constructed for logging, has become a tourist a ...
. Several new villages also began to sprout up along the railway lines. It was also during this time that the first tourists began to visit the area. Plans were even drawn up to incorporate the area into the new Niitaka (New Highest) Arisan National Park ( 新高阿里山国立公園). With the exhaustion of forest resources by the 1970s, domestic and international tourism overtook logging to become the primary economic activity in the area. The tourism industry continued to expand with the completion of the Alishan highway in the 1980s, displacing the railroad as the primary mode of transportation up the mountain. To combat the problems associated with the growing crowds of tourists and the expanding high mountain tea and
wasabi Wasabi (Japanese: , , or , ; ''Eutrema japonicum'' or ''Wasabia japonica'') or Japanese horseradish is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and mustard in other genera. The plant is native to Japan and the Russian ...
plantations, the area was declared a national scenic area in 2001. The area covers the Alishan Forest Recreation Area and the Han Chinese villages of Ruili, Fengshan (), and Taihe (), as well as the
Tsou people The Tsou ( Tsou: ''Cou''; ) are an indigenous people of central southern Taiwan. They are an Austronesian ethnic group. They reside in Chiayi County and Nantou County. The Tsou numbered around 6,000, approximately 1.19% of Taiwan's total Indigen ...
of Dabang (), Shanmei (), and Chashan (), and the administrative area spans four townships, including
Meishan Meishan (; Sichuanese Pinyin: Mi2san1; local pronunciation: ; ), formerly known as Meizhou () or Qingzhou (), is a prefecture-level city with 2,955,219 inhabitants as of 2020 census whom 1,232,648 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of th ...
Township,
Zhuqi Zhuqi Township or Jhuci Township () is a rural township in Chiayi County, Taiwan. Geography It has a population of 33,906 as of May 2022, and an area of . Administrative divisions The township comprises the villages of Baiqi, Duanru, Fujin ...
Township,
Fanlu Fanlu Township () is a rural township in Chiayi County, Taiwan. History After the World War II in October 1945, the township became part of Tainan County. After readjustment in October 1950, the township became part of Chiayi County. In 1951, t ...
Township, and Alishan Township. On 1 December 2014, fire broke out at Alishan spreading over more than 5 hectares of land. The area affected was located near Tapang No. 3 Bridge. The fire was believed to happen due to dry ground which was vulnerable to fire because of the absence of rain in the area for months.


Tourists

In October 2014, The Chiayi Forestry Administration pointed out that the park's facilities have been improved to create an aesthetic forest atmosphere, and the Alishan Highway is relatively undamaged, which in turn has improved the quality of recreation, attracting more than 2.08 million visitors to Alishan this year. In order to provide a more comfortable recreation experience for visitors, the Chiayi Forestry Administration has completed reconstructions such as the separation of pedestrian and vehicular roads, the improvement of facilities at the Visitor Service Center, and the constructions of the landscape around the Alishan sacred tree, etc. The successful project has a positive force for the peaking tourists numbers in 2014. Since August 2019, China has imposed a ban on the free flow of Chinese visitors and subsequently increased the number of tour groups, which has impacted the entire tourism industry in Taiwan. The number of visitors decreased by 49.8%, and the number of Chinese visitors also decreased from 1.76 million in 2014 to 420,000, a big drop of 76%. From 2017 to 2019, there will be 1,093,896, 952,418, and 900,1441 national visitors, 594,158, 428,884, and 419,712 Chinese tourists, and 60,292, 63,744, and 65,481 foreign visitors, respectively. The number of foreign visitors has increased by 8.6%. The Chiayi Forestry Administration Office stated that tourists numbers was affected by the
Covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
epidemic in 2020. There were only 99,7052 tourists, the lowest in 10 years, compared with the highest number of tourists which is 2.76 million in 2014. Through the outbreak of Covid-19 in May 2021, Alishan National Scenic Area has announced it closure under the tier three Covid restriction.


Attractions and landmarks

Fenqihu () is a small town of low wooden buildings built into the mountainside at 1,400 meters, midpoint of the
Alishan Forest Railway Alishan Forest Railway () is an 86 km network of narrow gauge railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County, Taiwan. The railway, originally constructed for logging, has become a tourist a ...
. It is famous for natural rock formations, mountain streams, forests, and the ruins of a
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
temple in the vicinity, as well as for its production of high altitude food products such as
bamboo shoot Bamboo shoots or bamboo sprouts are the edible shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of many bamboo species including ''Bambusa vulgaris'' and ''Phyllostachys edulis''. They are used as vegetables in numerous Asian dishes and b ...
s and
aiyu jelly Aiyu jelly (; or ; or simply ), known in Amoy Hokkien as ''ogio'' (), and as ice jelly in Singapore (), is a jelly made from the gel from the seeds of the awkeotsang creeping fig found in Taiwan and East Asian countries of the same climates and ...
(). The local box lunches (, ''Fenqihu''
bento A is the Japanese cuisine, Japanese iteration of a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch. Outside Japan, it is common in other East and Southeast Asian culinary styles, especially within Chinese cuisine, Chinese, Korean c ...
) are known across Taiwan and are sold from stalls at the train station and from Fenqihu Hotel on the Fenqihu Old Street. Fenqihu is currently the terminal end of the
Alishan Forest Railway Alishan Forest Railway () is an 86 km network of narrow gauge railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County, Taiwan. The railway, originally constructed for logging, has become a tourist a ...
line from Chiayi to Alishan, since the railway was heavily damaged by
Typhoon Morakot Typhoon Morakot, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Kiko, was the deadliest typhoon to impact Taiwan in recorded history. The eighth named storm and fourth typhoon of the 2009 Pacific typhoon season, Morakot wrought catastrophic damage in Taiwa ...
in 2009 and only the Chiayi to Fenqihu portion was reopened in 2014.


See also

*
National parks of Taiwan National parks of Taiwan are protected spaces for the nature, wildlife, and history under their current jurisdiction. Currently there are nine national parks in Taiwan, all under the administration of the Ministry of the Interior. These national p ...
*
Alishan Range The Alishan Range () is a mountain range in the central-southern region of Taiwan. It is separated by the Qishan River from the Yushan Range, the tallest range in Taiwan, to the east of the Alishan Range. The highest peak of the Alishan Range ...
*
List of tourist attractions in Taiwan Popular tourist attractions in Taiwan include the following: Attractions Historical buildings * Beihai Tunnel, Beigan () * Beihai Tunnel, Nangan () * Daxi Wude Hall () * Ete ...


References


External links

*
Alishan Township OfficeAlishan National Scenic Area Official Website
{{Authority control National scenic areas of Taiwan Geography of Chiayi County Tourist attractions in Chiayi County