TravelTips24 : Asia : East Asia : Taiwan : Southern Taiwan : Chiayi County : Alishan
Alishan
Alishan National Scenic Area (阿里山國家風景區 Ālǐshān guójiā fēngjǐng qū) [1] is in Chiayi County, southern Taiwan.
Culture and History
Alishan — "Mount Ali" — is Taiwan's most-visited national park.
History
The area has been settled by Taiwanese aborigines since time immemorial, but ethnic Chinese began settling only in the 19th century. Development really took off only when the Japanese completed the Alishan Forest Railway (1912), a remarkable narrow-gauge train originally built for logging the area's giant cedars. By the 1970s, logging had pretty much ended and tourism had become the area's primary earner, and the entire area was declared a "national scenic area" in 2001.
Landscape
Alishan is not a single mountain, but a range on Taiwan's spine, averaging 2,500 meters in high and with the highest peak Datashan (大塔山) reaching 2,663 meters. Taiwan's highest mountain, Yushan (3,952m) is easily visible from Alishan.
Flora and fauna
Due to its elevation, Alishan's flora are more temperate/alpine than tropical, and the slow transition from bananas and palms to evergreens on the way up is interesting to watch. The dominant feature are giant Taiwanese red cypresses (Chamaecyparis formosensis), some of which have been growing in the area for well over 2,000 years, although most are now managed forests for logging. In spring, crowds flock to view cherry blossoms, while in summer the mountainsides are blanketed with orange montbretia blossoms.
Climate
Due to its elevation, Alishan is considerably cooler than the coast, with daytime highs averaging 14-24
This page was last edited at 14:37, on 30 November 2008 by Jani Patokallio. Based on work by Stacy Hall, Wikitravel user(s) DorganBot and Baycat and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.
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