Tickets for maple viewing tours on the Alishan Forest Railway in December are to go on sale on Nov. 18, the Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office said yesterday.
The “dancing maples” themed steam train tours traverse Chiayi County’s Alishan National Forest Recreation Area and Erwanping (二萬平), stopping at key stations along the route and several exclusive maple-viewing spots, it said.
There would be performances at Jhushan Station (祝山), the highest station in Taiwan, and Dueigaoyue Station (對高岳), the office said, adding that those who join would have an opportunity to view the famous “sea of clouds” at Erwanping.
Photo courtesy of the Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office
Five tours are to run on Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30, and tours are limited to 100 passengers, it said.
Tours reservations are to cost NT$3,100 (US$101), and would include train tickets, a meal and souvenirs, the office said.
The tours would run on the Steam Locomotive No. 31, a Shay locomotive previously used for the logging industry, the carriages of which are made entirely of Taiwanese cypress, it said.
Ecological photographer Huang Yuan-ming (黃源明), known for his pictures of the Alishan sea of clouds, is leading the tours, it added.
Passengers would be served a seasonal lunchbox on the return journey, featuring regional delicacies such as handmade bread from the Tsou indigenous community, locally grown pumpkin and wild onion leaves, it said.
Tickets can be booked online at the official Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office’s Web site or Facebook page, with reservations to open at 10am 15 days before each departure date, it said. Bookings can be made at (05) 277-9843 ext. 359.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS