2-1. Geology of Alishan

Situated 2,216 meters above the sea level, Alishan is the main peak of the Alishan Range. It is flanked by the Yushan Range on the east side and the Xueshan Range on the north.

The Yushan Range dates back to the Eocene Epoch while the Xueshan Range took shape during the Eocene and Oligocene Epochs. The Alishan Range on the other hand, was formed during the late Miocene Epoch, which is the youngest epoch among them all.

The Alishan region belongs to the Nankang Sandstone Formation, which was formed during the late Miocene Epoch as well. The formation is roughly 10 million years old and consists mainly of clastic sandstone and siltstone strata, in which thick-bedded sandstone give rise to Alishan.

The Alishan Range has both strike-slip and dip-slip faults, which became steep cliffs and waterfalls. Tashan, one of Alishan’s tallest peaks, boasts precipitous and barren cliffs that are beautifully stratified.

2-2. Ecology of Alishan

Rich in forest resources, the Alishan region has long been a thriving wildlife habitat, but human activity and commercial development of Alishan’s mid-altitude forests have since drove many animals to higher ground.

Local studies on Alishan wildlife have pinpointed 19 mammal species, including the protected Formosan rock macaque and Reeves’ muntjac; 75 bird species, including the endangered black eagle, Hodgson’s hawk eagle, Swinhoe’s peasant, Mikado pheasant, tawny owl, and tawny fish owl; and 8 amphibian and reptile species, including the rare and protected robust Buerger's frog.

Other wildlife in the region include 194 butterfly species, which account for over half of the butterfly species in Taiwan, six different fish types, and two crustacean types. Moreover, Alishan is also home to endemic species such as Chinese mountain pit vipers, collared bush robins, Rumsfeld stream crabs, Alishan salamanders, white-eared sibia songbirds, and Formosan black bears.

The Alishan region is also rich in flora and vegetation. Cherry blossoms bloom from mid-March to mid-April, beginning with Taiwan cherry and followed in succession by Japanese alpine cherry, Yoshino cherry, Oshima cherry, and Yaezakura peony cherry. In April and May, Alishan is dotted with Taiwan peacock orchids, Taiwan alpine rhododendrons, foxgloves, crocus tritonia, and Chinese wisteria.

In addition, the rock walls of No. 5 through No. 10 train tunnels of the Alishan Mianyue Line have been designated as a special nature reserve for the Taiwan peacock orchid. Scientifically known as Pleione formosana, the native deciduous perennial is famous for having a single folded leaf.

2-3. Culture of Alishan

Alishan Township is home to the majority of Taiwan’s Tsou aborigines. There are eight Tsou villages in Alishan: Laiji, Lijia, and Leye are affiliated with the Tefuye village community, while Xinmei, Chashan, and Shanmei are affiliated with the Dabang village community. 

The Tsou people lead a traditional lifestyle of hunting and farming, and one of their distinguishing characteristics is the use of garments made with animal pelts. Family units also play a major role in Tsou society, dictating all aspects of life from marriage to the worship of ancestral spirits and deities.

Moreover, even though the Alishan region has always been the traditional hunting grounds for the Tsou people, tribal lore identifies the Great Tashan as the holy mountain where ancestral spirits dwell, and Tsou hunters take great care to avoid Great Tashan lest the wrath of their ancestors is evoked.

2-4. Sights along the Alishan Forest Railway

The dramatic climb of the Alishan Forest Railway offers a diverse sample of the mountain’s forest vegetation. From ground level to 800 meters above the sea stands Dulishan, a small peak that has the temperament of a tropical forest. Representative trees at this altitude include the Chinese banyan, longan, Formosa acacia, and bamboo.

The area from Dulishan to Pingjhena Station, which stands at 1,800 meters above sea level, belongs to the subtropical forest zone where camphor, Japanese oak, Phoebe zhennan, Taiwania fir, and Japanese red cedar can be found.

The last leg of the mountain reaches an elevation of 3,000 meters above the sea. The corresponding warm temperate zone is where Formosan cypress, Taiwan cypress, Taiwania fir, Chinese hemlock, and Chinese white pine thrive.

Prior to the 17th century, Alishan was an undeveloped region with a small group of Tsou people living off the land at the foothills of the mountain. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, Han immigrants were trading goods with Tsou hunters, but it was not until Taiwan came under Japanese rule in the 20th century that Alishan became marked for development.

Under the economic policy of “Industrialize Japan, Farm Taiwan,” the Governor-General of Taiwan prioritized agriculture and forestry and sent scouts to locate natural resources. When scouts reported back on the “vast and unlimited” assets of Alishan, the Governor-General Office moved to harvest its timber. Of the three major logging sites established during Japanese rule, Chiayi’s Alishan was the first and most-developed site, followed by Basianshan in Taichung and Taipingshan in Yilan.

In 1895, or the 28th year on the Meiji calendar, Japan began to take a systematic approach to forestry development. In the following year, vast and pristine cypress forests were discovered in Alishan, prompting Japanese authorities to take a closer look at the region.

The Alishan Forest Railway was built with the purpose of harvesting such “vast and unlimited” forest resources. The Railway was designed to climb from below 100 meters to over 2,000 meters above the sea, and its construction incorporated features from forestry, mountain, and high mountain railways.

Construction kicked off in 1906 and its first segment – a route between Chiayi and Erwanping – began operations in 1912. By 1914, the railway was extended to Jhaoping, allowing for logging operations to begin in earnest. The logging persisted for thirty years until the retrocession of Taiwan in 1945, leaving the cypress forests on Alishan depleted.

The Alishan Forest Railway stands witness to over a century of change and turbulence in Taiwan’s mountains, and serves as testament to the ingenuity of 19th-century railway technology. Although it was built for logging purposes during Japanese rule, the Railway has since been turned into a tourist attraction today.

The rail system includes the main Alishan Line and several branch lines. The main line begins with Chiayi Station and ends at Alishan Station, in which the latter station also serves as the first stop of the Zhushan and Mianyue lines.

Zhushan Line is a contemporary tourist track built to carry travelers to watch the sunrise from a mountaintop vantage, and its departure schedule is adjusted accordingly to the estimated time of sunrise each day. Mianyue Line (also named Tashan Line after the peak revered by the Tsou people) is an older railway that was once used to transport timber before it was closed down by damages from natural disasters.

The impact of Alishan’s forestry development was also felt in Chiayi City, which sat at the foothold of the mountain range. The city prospered from related factories, commerce, and retail outlets, and the demand for employee lodgings, shops, restaurants, and schools drove urban development. Chiayi City grew into one of the four largest cities in Taiwan at that time and became known as “the city of lumber.”

As an industrial railroad constructed for the commercial development of the Alishan Range, the Alishan Forest Railway climbs from less than 100 meters to over 2,000 meters above sea level, combining the functions of forest railway, mountaineering railway, and mountain railway.

The construction of the Railway paved the way for a robust forestry industry that altered the urban landscape along the railway line and created extraordinary sites, monuments, and historic buildings, 10 of which have received government designation as culturally significant.

In addition to its universal values that meet the selection criteria of global heritage registers, the Alishan region also includes rare fog-shrouded cypress forests and many valuable nature reserves, encompassing significant and diverse habitats such as subtropical broadleaf forests, temperate broadleaf forests, and cool temperate mixed coniferous (cypress) forests.

As a cultural asset whose properties match the UNESCO criteria for both cultural and natural features, the Alishan Forest Railway is a top candidate for inclusion to the UNESCO World Heritage List as a site of cultural and mixed properties.

Criterion I:

The Alishan Forest Railway is an industrial railway constructed for the commercial development of the forest, thereby making it a forest railway. The fact that it runs from 100 meters to more than 2,000 meters above sea level also makes it a mountain railway, while the section from the 2,200-meter-high Jhaoping Station to the 2,451-meter-high Zhushan Station makes it a high mountain railway. Therefore, the Railway has the characteristics of forest, mountain, and high mountain railways.

Moreover, a number of unique methods from mountaineering railway construction were used to connect the plains and mountains, making the Railway an exemplary and unique industrial railway and a masterpiece of human creativity.

Criterion II:

The Alishan Forest Railway is responsible for the abundance of wooden architecture used in the urban design of Chiayi City and County. Moreover, the forestry industry gave rise to urban settlements in Peimen Station, Fenqihu, and Jhaoping that remain part of Chiayi’s contemporary landscape and urban distribution today.

Criterion III:

Given the average performance of train tracks within the 1,000mm gauge range, the Alishan Forest Railway and its narrow gauge of 762mm on a non-rack railway is impressive. For instance, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway on the UNESCO heritage register surmounts an elevation difference of 2,144 meters, but the original Alishan Forest Railway ran from Chiayi to the 2,568-meter-high Dongpu Station, surmounting an elevation difference of 2,538 meters.

The contemporary Alishan Forest Railway maintains an elevation difference of 2,421 meters, making it the only 762mm narrow-gauge mountain railway in the world that can navigate such an elevation difference.

Criterion IV:

The Alishan Forest Railway is an outstanding technological ensemble that was constructed using mountaineering methods of extremely complex spirals, large-scale Z-shaped switchbacks, and U-turns. It ran on the Shay locomotive, which was the most widely used steam locomotive of its day, and the Alishan locomotives are preserved to remember the forestry and railway history that the region shares with the world.

Criterion V:

The Alishan Forest Railway stands testament to the history of human resourcefulness in accessing forest supplies. The Railway’s transformation into a tourist railway and the surrounding urban settlements that stemmed from the region’s forestry industry are also excellent teaching materials to highlight forest conservation.

Criterion X:

Fog-shrouded cypress forests are precious natural resources that are well within the range of the Alishan Forest Railway. In addition, the region contains nature reserves, subtropical broadleaf forests, warm temperate broadleaf forests, and cool temperate mixed coniferous forests (i.e. cypress forests), providing a unique and diverse ecological habitat. 

5-1. Scenic Alishan

In addition to abundant forest resources, the diverse ecosystem within these forests makes Alishan even more unique. A famous Taiwanese folksong touting “the mountains are green, the creeks are blue” aptly illustrates the magnificent natural environment of the Alishan region.

The five scenic wonders of Alishan –its sunrise, sea of clouds, sunset, colossal trees, and railway – draw tourists from around the world, and passengers who take the train are able to enjoy the different forest vegetation of tropical, subtropical, and temperate zones.

While Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the Taiwan Daily News newspaper once used a full page to introduce Alishan to its readers. The Japanese authorities also listed Alishan, Taroko Gorge, and Hehuan Mountain as important tourist sites in Taiwan, which reflect the high degree of significance they attached to Alishan.

5-2. Adversity & Challenges

Alishan is frequented by millions of tourists each year and the influx of tourist buses has brought significant damage to the environment. The ongoing damage requires constant maintenance and reconstruction work. 

Natural disasters have also inflicted considerable harm. NT$1.05 billion was budgeted for national reconstruction in the wake of Typhoon Morakot, a deadly typhoon that wrecked southern Taiwan in 2009. The areas along No. 18 Provincial Highway, a major road connecting cities in western Taiwan to the Alishan National Scenic Area, are still under reconstruction and excavators dig where green mountains and blue creeks once stood.

In short, the rapid depletion of Alishan’s ecological resources is due to both natural and human activity.

5-3. Conservation Awareness

The concept of cultural preservation has become more widespread in recent years, and as a member of the international community, Taiwan has spared no effort in cultural heritage preservation and research.

However, due to the sensitive nature of Taiwan’s international standing, Taiwan can only become more globally competitive through the construction of a robust national identity and embracement of local cultural features. The conservation and presentation of native history and literature, industrial development, and cultural heritage will be the key to furthering Taiwan’s global participation.

Therefore, part of Taiwan’s cultural policy directive is to preserve, research, and revive the valuable cultural heritage of the Alishan Forest Railway.

5-4. Railway Characteristics:

• Circular and spiral rails: To connect Dulishan Station to Chiayi, which are 27.36km apart, the Railway managed the steep climb by spiraling on tracks around the mountains to reach the summit. The three spiral loops loosely resemble a gastropod shell.

• Horseshoe rails and 180-degree curves: There is a particularly precarious section between Jhuci Station and Jhangnaoliao Station, roughly at the 17km mark on Jiaren Mountain. To enhance the elevation of the Railway, the tracks were built on a 180-degree curve, using a horseshoe technique commonly found among mountain railways around the world.

• Zig-zag rails: The Alishan Forest Railway also employs the switchback method to overcome steep inclines. The zig-zag alignment requires the train to reverse direction before continuing forward, and is nicknamed “the wall grazer” because of the train’s proximity to the cliff walls. The method is usually employed in cases where there is insufficient room for the train to manage a full turn.

• Unique locomotives: To comply with the steep gradients of Alishan, the steepest of which measures 6.25%, the original Railway used Shay steam locomotives from U.S.-based LIMA Co. The type SL locomotives depend on adhesion traction instead of cog racks, which is a rare choice for mountain railways, and are equipped with bevel gears and vertical cylinders.

5-5. Comparison to World Heritage Sites

In comparison to the Alishan Forest Railway, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway listed in the UNESCO world heritage register is a non-electric mountain railway that has the narrowest gauge tracks and longest route in Asia. It began operations in 1881 and was registered as a World Heritage Site in 1999. The Himalayan railway employs spiral and zig-zag tracks to access the summit station of Ghum, which is 2,257 meters above the sea. The route offers vantage of one of the most important Himalayan sights – Kanchenjunga, the world’s third tallest peak.

The Alishan Forest Railway is a non-electric mountain railway that runs on a 762mm narrow-gauge track. It began operations in 1912, employs spiral and zig-zag rails as well, and its summit station is the 2,451-meter-high Zhushan Station. As a combination of forest railway, mountain railway, and high mountain railway, the Railway offers magnificent sights such as sunrises, sea of clouds, forests, and sunsets. To witness the sun rising from behind Yushan, Taiwan’s tallest peak, is one of the special experiences only offered by Alishan.

5-6. Future Prospects

The average impression of the Alishan Forest Railway is limited to its usage as a method of entry to the Alishan National Scenic Area, while the rich historical and cultural heritage of the region is largely ignored.

Through promotion of its history and culture, as well as the development of new tourist attractions, the Alishan Forest Railway is poised to become a world-class cultural heritage site that can strengthen the nation’s soft power and help Taiwan engage with the international community through cultural diplomacy.