Taiwan - Alishan ( Mount Ali ) and Sun Moon Lake by Aaron 阿里山，日月潭

Alishan (Mount Ali) and Sun Moon Lake

~Aaron

Day 0 fly from San Francisco to Taipei

Day 1 trip in Taiwan

Taipei airport , Chiayi railway station, Alishan, Sun Moon Lake,
Taichung high speed railway station, Taipei Shi-men Ting

Alishan

Alishan Shenmu

          Alishan (阿里山) and Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) were very interesting. Sunrises are very beautiful at Mount Ali. Some parts of the mountain are so tall they can be seen from above the thick cloud seas. Magnolias grow wildly in the Magnolia Garden in Alishan. The Sun Moon Lake is named Sun Moon Lake for a very special reason. These two places are full of awesome things. 



Beautiful mountain view of Alishan

3 generations of trees,
grandpa
papa
son

Shenmu

Alishan Shenmu
over 3000 years old

          The Alishan forest is very special. It has some trees over 1,000 years old and even a 3,000 year old red cypress, though only a section of it is left. These trees are called Shenmu (神木) trees. There are 2 uniquely shaped trees that form a heart shape. 3 generations of trees are piled into a stack inside the forest. The remains of the 1st and second generations form a hollow archway on the bottom, but the third generation still lives on the top of the archway. Two pools called the Sister Ponds were teaming with life such as tadpoles and water striders. This excellent forest contains many wonderful things.

Alishan Shenmu

Alishan Forest Railway

Alishan Forest Railway

          The Alishan Forest Railway is a popular way of going to Mount Ali. Its construction started in 1904, during the time of the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. Do you know what it was used for at the time? This railway was used for transporting lumber. The first section of the Alishan Forest Railway (at 66.6 km) , from Chiayi to Erwanping, was opened in 1912. After the addition of the Alishan station, the new length of the railway was 71.6 km. The steam engines were replaced with diesel trains in 1962. At the same time, the railway's purpose became hauling visitors. Adding the Alishan Express in 1984 decreased travel time to 3 hours and 15 minutes. This railway is also a lovely way to view scenery.

Alishan railway station

Alishan Wasabi

Alishan oolong tea

          Mount Ali produces wasabi, Fenchihu lunchboxes, and oolong tea that are all famous and unique. The make-up of the soil, moist  weather, and the difference of day and night temperatures make Alishan tea very famous. Taking advantage of the location, the Alishan tea farms are watered with spring water, dried, and roasted. The area is excellent for growing green mustard roots, the plant wasabi is made from. Because of its moist climate, this mountain produces good wasabi that's  made into various products including wasabi peanuts and sauce. Alishan is one of the rare places in Taiwan that freshly made  wasabi can be bought. The fresh roots have a slight green color, a small scent, and mild.  The Fenchihu lunchboxes are traditional lunchboxes that have rice, pork, chicken, eggs, vegetables. People like to buy the bamboo, iron, or wood boxes as souvenirs. The Alishan wasabi, lunchboxes, and oolong tea are all some of its special products.

Alishan Fenchihu lunchbox

Sun Moon Lake - after rain washed

pretty Sun Moon Lake

          The Sun Moon Lake is exactly as its name sounds like. The west side looks like a moon and the east shore looks like a sun. The center of it contains a small island called Lalu. Unfortunately, we arrived just when a storm ended, making the temperature hot and humid. The bugs also came out, a lot of them buzzing around our heads. The Sun Moon Lake is a very cool place.

Clouds climbed on Alishan when we left

          Alishan and the Sun Moon Lake were amazing places. Beautiful sunrises on Alishan make it a fantastic place to visit. The thick cloud seas make a perfect pair with the sunrise on Mount Ali. Pretty magnolias grow all around the place in the magnolia garden. The Sun Moon Lake has its strange name for the fact that the east side looks like a sun and the west shore like a moon. These two places have many interesting facts and things to do.

Sun Moon Lake



Sun Moon Lake