Liushidanshan (六十石山) has a special meaning to Yeh Rih-yang (葉日洋), deputy press secretary of the Taiwan Railway Administration.
Born and raised in a village at the foot of Liushidanshan, he and his mother would go up to the mountain, rain or shine, and pick wild sweet potato leaves to feed the family's pigs.
"As a child, I had to help my mother carry two large bundles of sweet potato leaves with a shoulder pole," Yeh said, "It took three hours just to make it to top, and only a little less than three hours to walk back down again."
Commercial development has changed Liushidanshan a lot since Yeh was a child. However, the area has been designated a national scenic area preserving much of its former natural beauty and adding new delights. Blossoming tiger lilies can be seen on the hills in the summer time and the area has become a magnet for tourists.
Nine hundred and sixty meters high, the mountain is situated between the East Coast Mountain Range and the Central Mountain Range. It belongs to the administration of the Fuli Township (富里) of the Hualien County.
A horrendous flood in 1959 caused the residents of Yunlin County to migrate to the area, and some of them commenced cultivation of the surrounding fields.
Whenever asked about their harvest, local farmers would answer about "60
Later, farmers discovered it was more appropriate to grow tiger lilies than rice. While some paddy fields remain, about 230 hectares of fields in the mountain region now grow tiger lilies.
Several large kiosks have been constructed in the area and each is named after the different tiger lilies growing there -- including Huanghua (黃花), Hsuantsao (萱草) and Wang-you (忘憂).
The last of these kiosks is located at the highest point of the East Coast Range.
Looking down from the kiosk, you can see the tiger lilies grown in the valley interspersed with a smattering of paddy fields. Looking east, in the distance you can see the Central Mountain Range covered in mist. The beautiful vista has helped the place gain a reputation for being a "mini Switzerland."
The tiger lily season, which begins in July and ends in September, draws over 200,000 tourists to the mountain every year.
Currently, large tour buses are prohibited from entering the mountain. Visitors have to change over to medium-size buses or sedans in order to secure an entry permit.
As Liushidanshan becomes a popular tourist attraction, the hostel industry within the region is also booming. There are currently about 16 registered private hostels operating in the mountains.
Nonetheless, one often needs to reserve a room in advance, as the occupancy rate is high during tiger lily season.
The growing influx of tourists has presented a management problem for local transport.
Chang Jenn-chyan (
Chang said the administration was also assessing the possibility of building a cable car, to connect the mountain with Loushan camping area in the south. The estimated cost of the project is NT$800 million (US$25 million).
Meanwhile, Chang said the administration also planned to draft a more detailed trail map of the area to facilitate hiking. He hopes this will help garner the attention of the overseas tourists.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it