The Chinese are coming!Following the departure of Japanese loggers in the 1940s, management of the timber lands was handled by the CFDO for over 20 years. Thereafter, Alishan's romantic atmosphere drew innumerable sightseers, with plenty of people choosing to come here for honeymoons.
However, after overseas travel restrictions on Taiwan's citizens were relaxed in 1979, people found flying to Japan to be even faster than taking the Alishan Forest Railway. Moreover, domestic tourism expanded after martial law was lifted in 1987 and restricted mountain and coastal areas were opened up, and local governments strove to draw tourists, refurbishing local communities, promoting cultural and historical sites, and developing leisure activities. Alishan gradually quieted down, becoming a distant, blurry memory of middle-aged folk. But hustle and bustle has returned to these mountains once more since mainland Chinese tourists started visiting Taiwan in July 2008.
Thanks to the influx of mainland tourists, the number of visitors to Alishan so far this year has topped all previous records since the park opened over 60 years ago. And on Sunday, March 22, the start of cherry-blossom season, more than 27,000 people poured into the Alishan Forest Recreation Area.
The Alishan National Scenic Area is over 40,000 hectares in area, about one and a half times the size of Taipei City, and spans the townships of Meishan, Zhuqi, Fanlu and Alishan. But in the minds and mouths of the general public, "Alishan" refers to the final stop on the Alishan Forest Railway: the 2,200 to 2,450-meter-high, 1,400-hectare Alishan Forest Recreation Area.
"The Alishan Forest Recreation Area is best suited for 4,000 visitors a day." Yang Hung-chih points out that, according to the CFDO, around 3,000 mainland tourists and close to 900 local visitors have been entering the Alishan Forest Recreation Area on average each weekday since the March cherry-blossom season began. But on weekends, the figure jumps beyond 6,000.
Visits to Alishan tend to be concentrated between 9:30 a.m. arrivals and departures some time after 2 p.m. As a result, there have been shortages of transportation, parking, guides, meals, lodging and even toilets.
Regarding meals, the existing restaurants there, large and small, together provide 160 tables at most, the result of a long-time ban on construction. Assuming three sittings per table, there's only enough room at Alishan for 3,000 visitors to eat. The rest must fend for themselves.
High numbers of visitors bring business opportunities, but also lead to a decline in quality.
Chen Rongjin, chief executive of the Taiwan Rail Tourism Federation and a senior tour guide, leads an average of two mainland Chinese tour groups to Alishan each month. He notes that Alishan is second only to the National Palace Museum as a must-see attraction for mainland tourists in Taiwan. However, there are currently no restrictions on the number of visitors to Alishan, so on weekends, no matter where you go, it's jam-packed and noisy, devoid of any quality of experience.
Another problem at Alishan is the trouble in finding a room to stay in. Chen Rongjin goes on to say that there are only three hotels in all of Alishan, and with the addition of some B&Bs scattered about, there are only some 800 rooms available in the greater Alishan region, making it nearly impossible to book lodging. Most visitors have to go back down to Chiayi.
Most mainland Chinese first heard of Alishan's vistas from Gao Shan Qing, but when they actually arrive at Alishan, they catch only a fleeting glimpse of beauty amid the hubbub, making it hard to truly appreciate Alishan's majesty.
Due to time (four hours by train versus two by road) and expense (a one-way rail fare is NT$399), mainland Chinese tourists rarely take the Alishan Forest Railway up, missing out on the chance to experience the splendor of the alpine railway. Arriving in double-decker air-con tour buses and only getting a rushed look around before leaving, their most common reactions are to remark that Alishan doesn't have much worth looking at especially when compared to Huangshan in Anhui Province. It used to be said that if you don't visit Alishan, you will regret it all your life; how ironic it is that mainland tourists now say that if you do visit, you'll regret it just as much!
The invasion of Alishan by mainland tourists has done nothing to boost the popularity of the Alishan Forest Railway.
In June 2008, management of the Alishan Forest Railway was transferred to the Hungtu Alishan company through a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) program. Company vice president Teng Xinfu states that when company representatives visited Shanghai in March and April to promote tourism in Alishan, they found that most mainland Chinese had long known of Alishan, but few knew about the railway.
To boost the railway's standing, Hungtu Alishan has forged plans to ally with Oigawa Tetsudo of Japan and Brienz Rothorn Bahn of Switzerland, forming the "three sisters of the Forest Railway." In the run-up to 2011, the hundredth anniversary of the Alishan Forest Railway, Hungtu Alishan will lobby the Council for Cultural Affairs to apply for the Alishan Forest Railway to become a World Heritage Site.
Rolling in with full force, the billowing, surging sea of clouds is a celebrated autumn vista at Alishan.