Sustainable forests
The Dalu Forest Road reaches its terminus at the Guanwu Cabins, some 56 kilometers from where we started our cycling tour.
The cabins were formerly a Forestry Bureau workers’ dormitory. Rebuilt after 2004’s Typhoon Aere, they reopened to the general public just this year.
We spend the next day exploring Guanwu on foot.
Volunteer Lin Yuqin and technical specialist Lee Shenming guide us on our hike, taking us out on the Kuaishan Big Trees Trail. Lin, a volunteer here for more than 30 years, carefully explains to us the difference between Formosan cypress, which frequently forks, and rail-straight Taiwan hinoki. She says that while Taiwan’s middle-elevation forests all look much the same, what makes Guanwu special is the fact that it offers fantastic views of the so-called “Holy Ridge.” Looking out from between the 3- and 4-km markers of the Leshan Forest Trail, hikers can see the entire ridge ranging from Mts. Dabajian and Xiaobajian all the way to Xueshan. It is a truly magnificent view. Guanwu is also the only place in the world to see the touch-me-not species Impatiens devolii, Impatiens tayemonii and Impatiens uniflora all in one location, and is the site where the Taiwan lesser salamander (Hynobius fuca) was discovered. An amphibian that prefers damp, shaded environments, this salamander is actually a relict species that has been in Taiwan since the last Ice Age.
Lee Shenming also shows us how to recognize a number of plants. Searching the vegetation beside the trail, he identifies Alishan chickweed (Stellaria arisanensis), whose flowers look like five rabbits having a meeting; the orchid species Cremastra appendiculata; the rarely seen buttercup-family species Dichocarpum arisanensis; the miterwort species Mitella formosana; Trigonotis formosana, a plant in the borage family with inflorescences that are curled like a scorpion’s tail; Formosan violet (Viola formosana); Chinese mayapple (Dysosma pleiantha); and even false Indian pipe (Cheilotheca macrocarpa), which only breaks through the soil surface in its flowering season. None can escape his keen eye.
Lin picks up a Formosan cypress cone just 5 millimeters in diameter from beneath a boardwalk that passes among the giant trees. She pulls back a scale to reveal a seed even smaller than a sesame seed, then looks again at the 42-meter-tall tree. “How many natural and human disasters, how many bug and mold infestations must such a tiny seed endure to grow into such a skyscraper of a tree?” muses Lin. “You can imagine how hard it must be.”
Lee picks up some more Formosan cypress cones from the walkway and places them in a bag. “They have no chance of survival here. I’ll bring them to where there’s been a landslip.” We continue walking until we reach a spot where the ground has collapsed. Without any large trees, there’s plenty of the sunlight the seeds need to sprout. Lee tosses several cones onto the ground, and I offer a silent prayer for the trees to grow tall and strong!
Our cycling tour explored the remaining traces of Hsinchu’s timber industry, at times traveling the same roads that its innumerable workers did. Though the industry’s unrestrained exploitation in those days severely damaged the forest, we have since learned that coexisting with Nature is the only sustainable path forward, the only one that allows future generations to enjoy our forests, and have begun slowly replanting trees and healing those old wounds.
Our journey took us along a sun-speckled forest road, breathing in the phytoncides and surrounded by the green of the trees; saw us enveloped by a sudden fog that limited visibility to just a couple of meters and showed Guanwu (“observe the fog”) living up to its name; and then, round yet another bend, revealed a surging sea of clouds. We feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to experience Guanwu’s wonderfully varied and beautiful scenery, and doubly so for having enjoyed it from our bicycles, wrapped in the gentle embrace of the sun and wind.
The old buildings and greenery in the Xiao Rusong Art Park exude a leisurely charm.
Local Aborigines still recall the love between Zhang Xueliang and Edith Chao.
The Taiwan lesser salamander (Hynobius fuca), which is found at Guanwu, is a relict species endemic to Taiwan that prefers damp, shaded environments. (photo by Chen Yuanzhun, courtesy of Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters)
the fern species Monachosorum henryi
an Alishan chickweed blossom
The beauty of the mountains awaits.
Guanwu’s many lovely scenes include twilight atop a sea of clouds.
Our journey took us along a sun-speckled forest road, breathing in the phytoncides and surrounded by the green of the trees. (photo by Chuang Kung-ju)