Taiwan’s Alishan was included in the New York Times’ “2025 Travel Destinations: 52 Places to Go This Year,” a collection of 52 idyllic places to visit around the world.
As the only Taiwan destination that made the list, Alishan ranked 19th.
This inclusion on the Times’ list is an important international recognition of Alishan’s rich natural beauty and cultural heritage, Chiayi County Commissioner Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁) said.
Photo: Thomas Bird, Taipei Times
In recent years, the Alishan National Scenic Area Headquarters, Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office and Chiayi County Government have worked together to improve Alishan, enhance its environment and create an international tourist destination, the county government said in a press release today.
With 112 years of history, the 71.4km-long Alishan Forest Railway was finally reopened in July last year after 15 years of repair work.
The railway’s reopening has attracted domestic and international media attention, bringing Alishan once again onto the global stage and introducing Chiayi to the world, Weng said.
Alishan was included in the Tourism Administration’s list of Taiwan’s top 100 highlights as well as the New York Times’ 2025 list of 52 top tourist destinations, receiving both domestic and international recognition, Weng said.
Alishan not only has enchanting natural scenery, but is also famous for its high-quality tea and coffee, Weng said.
Local tea and coffee farmers have won awards at international competitions in recent years, showing their products’ quality and competitiveness, he said.
Chiayi is also home to an indigenous group with a unique culture, the Tsou people, whose distinctive villages are worth visiting, he added.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
RSS