After a British reporter’s Twitter post featuring Alishan (阿里山) landscapes went viral, the Chiayi County Government on Monday took the opportunity to promote the Tefuye Historic Trail (特富野古道) and three other paths for travelers to visit this winter.
Nicola Smith, Asia correspondent for the Telegraph, on Saturday posted four photographs from Alishan with the text: “You all better come to #Taiwan after this pandemic is over,” garnering more than 1,000 likes in two days.
The county’s Culture and Tourism Bureau in response recommended four trails on Alishan where visitors can view the scenes for themselves: Tefuye, the Eryenping Trail (二延平步道), the Erjianshan Trail (二尖山步道) and the Zhukeng River Trail (竹坑溪步道).
Photo courtesy of the Chiayi County Government via CNA
The eastern end of the Tefuye Historic Trail starts at Zihjhong (自忠) on Highway No. 18, bureau Director-General Hsu Yo-jen (許有仁) said.
Throughout the 6.32km trail, hikers can appreciate “the most beautiful railway hiking trail in all of Taiwan,” Hsu said, as the path was converted from a logging rail line built during the Japanese colonial era.
Most of the railroad ties have been paved over, but the original ties and platforms can still be seen at some parts, he said.
Photo: CNA
Also starting on Highway No. 18, the 1.5km-long Eryenping Trail only takes about an hour to hike both ways, yet a platform offers views of the Chianan Plain (嘉南平原) and Bajhang Creek (八掌溪), Hsu added.
Views of the surrounding tea fields are spectacular from the peak, which is also the best place to see cloud waterfalls in Alishan, he said.
Famous for its beautiful sunrise views, the Erjianshan Trail snakes through tea fields and farms through its short, but steep 380m, he said.
The Zhukeng River Trail at 3.3km takes about two hours to hike one way, Hsu said.
It was formerly called the “Old Charcoal Way,” as early residents of the area used the path to transport charcoal down the mountain, he added.
The trail features 10 suspension bridges and many waterfalls, including the Lungkung Waterfall (龍宮瀑布), which falls in front of a long, shallow cave that hikers can traverse to stand behind the curtain of water, he said.
For those looking for a challenge, the county has many more adventurous trails to hike, such as the Dulishan Trail (獨立山步道) and the Youth Ridge Trail (青年嶺步道), Hsu added.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS