The Forestry Bureau’s Pingtung Area Forestry Management Office has announced that it is to introduce a badge for climbers who have reached the summit of the tallest mountain in southern Taiwan — northern Dawushan (北大武山) — to encourage the public to visit and be closer to nature.
At 3,092m in height, northern Dawushan is the only mountain in the southern Central Mountain Range to exceed 3,000m and is one of the nation’s five tallest.
The Paiwan Aborigines consider it their holy mountain, calling it Meli-miligang, or “Fantastic Beauty.”
Photo copied by Lee Li-fa, Taipei Times
Northern Dawushan is also home to the largest virgin forests in the nation, the bureau said.
The Pingtung County Government holds a rite of passage for young people every year that involves climbing northern Dawushan, it said.
The badge is to be accompanied by a frame with a representation of Taiwanese hemlock as viewed from Siduoli Cliff (喜多麗斷崖), as well as a photograph of the climber on the summit of northern Dawushan.
The framed badge and photograph will cost NT$800, the bureau said.
A climber surnamed Chen (陳) said that reaching the summit of northern Dawushan is not easy, and the badge and photographs would be official recognition for all those who complete the climb.
The badge is good quality and would become a collectible item, he said.
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