LISHAN, WULING and FUSHOUSHAN (梨山/武陵農場/福壽山農場)

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On this road trip for Travel in Taiwan magazine, we visited the high-mountain farms of Wuling and Fushoushan. It was a nice trip.

01:25 Siyuan Pass 思源啞口
02:30 Wuling Farm 武陵農場
04:15 Qijiawan River 七家灣溪
05:00 Wuling Farm Campground 武陵農場露營區
06:55 Snow Mountain Trailhead Service Station 雪山登山口服務站
10:15 Taiwan Salmon Eco Center 台灣櫻花鉤吻鮭生態中心
14:20 Huanshan Village 環山
15:55 Lishan 梨山
17:55 Fushoushan Farm 福壽山農場
19:45 Tianchi Pond 天池
25:00 Deji Reservoir 德基水庫


Read Travel in Taiwan at: http://tit.com.tw/appdownload.html

Travel in Taiwan on FB:   / taiwantravelmag  

Wuling Farm: http://www2.wuling-farm.com.tw

Fushoushan Farm: http://www.fushoushan.com.tw

Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area: http://www.trimt-nsa.gov.tw


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Travel in Taiwan (2015, Nov./Dec.)
By Rick Charette

"Wuling Farm (www2.wuling-farm.com.tw) was settled by retired servicemen in 1963, with a focus on fruit-growing. These men had come from mainland China in the great late 1940s Nationalist exodus to Taiwan. The government set up this and other high-mountain veterans’ farms along the Central Cross-Island Highway, built 1956~1960 by many of these same servicemen, to help the decommissioned vets earn a living.
These days, only a few show orchards still exist, and most of the cultivation that still goes on is dedicated to tea. A single easy-grade road traverses the farm valley, with a side road leading up to the alpine-meadow campground and beyond up past tea orchards to the Mt. Xue Trailhead Service Station, starting point of the high-mountain hiking trail leading to the peaks of Mt. Xue (Snow Mountain), which is part of Shei-Pa National Park (www.spnp.gov.tw). The side road is a fine choice for a moderately strenuous walk (about 2 hours return).
There are numerous pleasant short walking trails branching off from the main road, and you can also rent bicycles beside the farm’s visitor center. Note that during the fabulous spring cherry-blossom season there can be comparatively heavy traffic into the recreational farm, though visitor numbers are controlled.

For my part, beyond the spirit-lifting panoramic scenery, the farm’s two highlights are the landlocked salmon and Taoshan Waterfall Hiking Trail. The critically endangered sub-species, one of the world’s rarest fish, was trapped in the Dajia River system’s upper reaches during the last Ice Age. Learn about preservation efforts at the Taiwan Salmon Eco Center, and view the fish au naturel at the roadside/riverside Fish-watching Lookout. The popular waterfall trail starts at the main road’s terminus, past Wuling Suspension Bridge, another good salmon-spotting platform. The paved, pine tree-shaded 4.3km forest walk, mildly strenuous, ends with a grand view of the 50m-high falls, cascading down like twisting white ribbons of silk. Give yourself 3 hours (return). If you return around dusk wildlife spottings may well be a bonus reward."

"The entrance to Fushoushan Farm (www.fushoushan.com.tw), another veterans’ farm, is directly above Lishan. The village is high up a mountainside; the farm, higher still, takes up the mountain mammoth’s uppermost reaches. Beside the visitor center of the farm is the Apple King, a magical, photogenic tree onto which 43 apple varieties have been grafted, all named on an information board. (Note: free guided farm tours, in Chinese, are launched daily from the center.)
One of the farm’s best-known draws, Tianchi (Heaven Pond), sits at the mountain’s very top. This is the best farm location for views of Mt. Xue’s west peak, though often blocked by cloud and mist in the afternoon. Daguan Pavilion, beside, is an airy two-story Chinese-style building once used by Chiang Kai-shek as a temporary residence. Two other farm villas built for him, Fushou Villa and Sunglu Villa (his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, spent more time at the latter), are today accommodations for visitors staying at the farm.
My most pleasant walk during our stay – the farm has a number of easy trails – was through the broad, fragrant orchard behind the visitor center, which has good English signboard information, leading to the immortals-amongst-the-clouds views at Guanxue (“Snow Viewing”) Pavilion and Songlin (“Pine Forest”) Trail. Among the autumn produce readying for harvest were numerous apple varieties and persimmons, along with such unexpected treats as kiwi fruit and chestnuts."