Taiping Mountain: Fairyland in the Clouds

At a time when overcrowding and over-development are spoiling scenic places around the world, Taiwan, also known as Formosa or "the beautiful island," is blessed with numerous scenic areas that, comparatively undiscovered, still preserve their natural pristine beauty.

In this and succeeding issues, Sinorama explores a number of these lesser known spots. This month takes us to mist-enveloped, forest-covered Taiping Mountain.

What is there off in the mountains?

Many white clouds on the peaks.

You've got to enjoy them yourself;

I can't bring you them as a gift.

These lines from a poem by T'ao Hung-ching written over a thousand years ago could well serve as an introductory footnote to today's Taiping Mountain, where curling mists enwrap treetops and where, especially at dawn, when dim mists blur all but the next step before us, we seem to be walking on clouds. But a number of other features besides T'ao's white clouds make Taiping Mountain a spot that well repays the tourist's visit.

At 1900 meters above sea level and facing seasonal winds from the Pacific, Taiping Mountain is unusually cool and moist. An average annual temperature of 12 degrees Celsius makes it an ideal summer resort, while in winter, snow may blanket the mountain overnight.

To see all the sights of the Taiping Mountain area requires about four days, but at least two days and a night are needed to make the trip worthwhile. From Taipei to Ilan by bus or train takes a couple of hours. Buses from Ilan go directly to Taiping Mountain Park only on weekends; on weekdays they stop halfway up at Jentze Springs. People with their own transportation may go straight into the park upon payment of a maintenance fee, but those with the time would do well to stop at the springs first.

Located 500 meters above sea level, the hot springs appear just in time to offer the weary traveler a welcome respite after a bumpy ride up the winding mountain road. With underground sources being developed for geothermal energy by China Petroleum Corporation, the springs boil their way up from the ground, through rock fissures and out of cliff walls. Visitors can take a dip in the pool, boil an egg in the springs or camp and picnic nearby.

From the hot springs to the Forestry Service's Guest Hostel in Taiping Mountain Park takes about 90 minutes by bus or car. But twisting mountain streams, startled birds and the prospect of distant peaks invite the nature lover to proceed on foot.

The hostel, at the center of the park, was once the residence of loggers who worked here from 1914 until 1979. The trolleys, carts and tools they left behind, now covered with rust and moss, have become treasured relics for today's visitors, while the little Japanese-style cottages built for the loggers' families, now abandoned, are favorite resting places for the weary.

The moist mountain region is a veritable hothouse for plant and animal life. As one ascends the mountain, tropical and temperate zone trees give way to conifers, to the spruces, firs, cypresses and junipers that cover the top. Nesting in these trees are some 60 species of birds, including thrushes, magpies, bulbuls and rare species such as Swinhoe's Blue Pheasant. Protected animals include the Formosan rock-monkey and several species of deer.

Climbing up a flight of steps behind the guest hostel, we find hidden in the trees a temple to Koxinga, the hero who defended the island from the Dutch. Carved on a nearby wooden pillar are the words "a fairyland on earth." Here in this virgin forest, tall trees tower to the sky. Winding our way through mountain mists to the summit, we suddenly come upon a whole new world below us, with far away a glimpse of sea.

Two hours walk from the hostel are the newly discovered Sanlei waterfalls, where resting on the mossy ground we may be lulled to sleep by the sound of birdsong, rustling leaves and falling water.

Ninety minutes away by car is Ts'uifeng Lake, Taiwan's highest. Here dragonflies darting in the mist sport with the mandarin ducks swimming in the clear water below.

From Ts'uifeng Lake, we make our last stop in Hanhsi, or "cold stream," praised in a local poem for the beauty of its willows and cherry blossoms as a fairyland all its own.

(Peter Eberly)

[Picture Caption]

Old lumber cars spotted with rust and nestled in the grass and flowers are a frequent sight on misty Taiping Mountain.

1. Roughhewn benches and tables beneath gnarled junipers seem places where ancient hermits might stop to play chess or sip tea. 2. Forest rangers must do their own cooking and laundry. A ranger hangs his wash up to dry in the morning sun. 3. Steaming geysers form a backdrop to the hot-spring swimming pool at Jentze Springs.

1. Walking on the moss-covered tracks at Taiping Mt. Park makes adults feel again like children. 2. On the way from Taiping Mountain to Ts'uifeng Lake, the Nanhu Mountains rise out of a sea of clouds.

1. Its spray flying like misty snow against a turquoise curtain, Sanlei Falls is hidden away in a mountain forest. 2. The face of limpid Ts'uifeng Lake changes with the seasons. 3. The clear blue of summer.

1. Roughhewn benches and tables beneath gnarled junipers seem places where ancient hermits might stop to play chess or sip tea.

2. Forest rangers must do their own cooking and laundry. A ranger hangs his wash up to dry in the morning sun.

3. Steaming geysers form a backdrop to the hot-spring swimming pool at Jentze Springs.

1. Walking on the moss-covered tracks at Taiping Mt. Park makes adults feel again like children.

2. On the way from Taiping Mountain to Ts'uifeng Lake, the Nanhu Mountains rise out of a sea of clouds.

1. Its spray flying like misty snow against a turquoise curtain, Sanlei Falls is hidden away in a mountain forest.

2. The face of limpid Ts'uifeng Lake changes with the seasons.

3. The clear blue of summer.