Early in October my school had testing for the students so teachers only had to work in the mornings. Because I don't speak Chinese much more than to give my address, buy bubble milk tea and say "I'm sorry," --- and I'm not a homeroom teacher, I got to take a day off right before the Moon Festival, also known as the Mid Autumn Festival. I decided to go on an adventure to Ali M
ountain, 阿里山, as the locals know it. Mt. Ali is in the same county as Chiayi City, where I live. Because the area where I went to adventure, Zhongzheng Village, is 7,461 feet above sea level, it took hours to get there and the climate changed drastically during those 2 and 1/2 hours. As it turned out, I went even further up into the mountains to watch the sunrise at Yushan National Park on the following day. It was a wonderful experience, with a mystical beauty and a history going back thousands of years. Apparently, the Tsou aborigine
s were the earliest known inhabitants of the area. During the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, much of the cypress forest area of Alishan was logged. In order to transport the logs back down the mountain, a railroad was built. Today, that railroad is a huge source if pleasure to all who ride the Alishan train (including me). This is not your ordinary
train or train track. I'm told there are only 3 of these narrow gauge railroads in existence in the world. While I took the bus to Ali, when I returned to Chiayi City, I took the train. A foreign teacher from Tainan City joined me in the adventure. That's probably a good thing. With my sense of direction, I would probably still be wandering around them mountain if Linda hadn't been along. Oddly, there was a school in the midst of the forest there..... maybe I could have gotten a job there teaching English. ;-) The whole time I was at Alishan, fog (clouds?) came and went. Back in the US, I never had much opportunity to s
pend more than a few hours in the mountains, or simply went through them getting from one place to another. So this trip seemed all the more mystical and beautiful. The temples and ancient trees scattered through the forests helped intensify the experience. One of the temples I saw in the forest, Tzuyan temple, has a Buddha which was a gift from king of Thailand to the Japanese emperor while Japan occupied Taiwan. It is said that the bronze statue is filled with gold dust. In the temple where the Buddha resides, is a garden with twisted vines and orchids. Much of the area still holds considerable Japanese influence, from the gardens to the temples and monuments, as well as the railroad itself and the cherry trees they planted after logging the cypress. If there was any possibility whatsoever that I thought this haven reminded me of America, i
t was completely forgotten when I came across the monkeys. Although not "tame" by any means, monkeys here will walk right up to you and extend a hand in hopes of a treat. I would imagine that people who explore deeper into the forest are able to catch glimpses of rare animals, birds, plants and other wildlif
e. I hope one day I can come back to Alishan and Yushan when I am more free to explore, but I will never be able to hike the steep trails or cover any great distance on foot. There is a Chinese legend which is listed in the Taiwan Insight Guide about the mountains here. Being a romantic at heart, I wil
l take the liberty of quoting it here. "In ancient time, clouds and rain symbolized the mating of Heaven and Earth. It is said that a king of Sichuan made an excursion to Wushan, or Sorcery Mountain, where he grew tired in the middle of the day and fell asleep. He dreamed that a woman approached him and identified herself as the Lady of Wushan, saying, 'Having heard that you have come here, I wish to share pillow and couch with you.'
When the lovers later parted, the woman told the king, 'I live on the southern slope of Wushan, on top of a high hill. At dawn I am the morning clouds; in the evening I am the pouring rain. Every morning and night I hover about these hills.'" Okay, o
kay, so that legend isn't romantic at all, is in fact rather sleazy. And just where would a mountain hiker come across a pillow and couch anyway? I do like the part about the woman being th
e morning clouds and the evening rain. We sometimes need fantasy to let us stop for a minute and look closer.... become those things which bring us joy and delight in the experience. If it takes a legend to cause us to pause and breathe in our environment, appreciate it on different levels, then let us share legends. Pictured here also is the Tree Spirit Pagoda, or Shuling Ta, as it is better known as in Taiwan.
Early in October my school had testing for the students so teachers only had to work in the mornings. Because I don't speak Chinese much more than to give my address, buy bubble milk tea and say "I'm sorry," --- and I'm not a homeroom teacher, I got to take a day off right before the Moon Festival, also known as the Mid Autumn Festival. I decided to go on an adventure to Ali M
ountain, 阿里山, as the locals know it. Mt. Ali is in the same county as Chiayi City, where I live. Because the area where I went to adventure, Zhongzheng Village, is 7,461 feet above sea level, it took hours to get there and the climate changed drastically during those 2 and 1/2 hours. As it turned out, I went even further up into the mountains to watch the sunrise at Yushan National Park on the following day. It was a wonderful experience, with a mystical beauty and a history going back thousands of years. Apparently, the Tsou aborigine
s were the earliest known inhabitants of the area. During the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, much of the cypress forest area of Alishan was logged. In order to transport the logs back down the mountain, a railroad was built. Today, that railroad is a huge source if pleasure to all who ride the Alishan train (including me). This is not your ordinary
train or train track. I'm told there are only 3 of these narrow gauge railroads in existence in the world. While I took the bus to Ali, when I returned to Chiayi City, I took the train. A foreign teacher from Tainan City joined me in the adventure. That's probably a good thing. With my sense of direction, I would probably still be wandering around them mountain if Linda hadn't been along. Oddly, there was a school in the midst of the forest there..... maybe I could have gotten a job there teaching English. ;-) The whole time I was at Alishan, fog (clouds?) came and went. Back in the US, I never had much opportunity to s
pend more than a few hours in the mountains, or simply went through them getting from one place to another. So this trip seemed all the more mystical and beautiful. The temples and ancient trees scattered through the forests helped intensify the experience. One of the temples I saw in the forest, Tzuyan temple, has a Buddha which was a gift from king of Thailand to the Japanese emperor while Japan occupied Taiwan. It is said that the bronze statue is filled with gold dust. In the temple where the Buddha resides, is a garden with twisted vines and orchids. Much of the area still holds considerable Japanese influence, from the gardens to the temples and monuments, as well as the railroad itself and the cherry trees they planted after logging the cypress. If there was any possibility whatsoever that I thought this haven reminded me of America, i
t was completely forgotten when I came across the monkeys. Although not "tame" by any means, monkeys here will walk right up to you and extend a hand in hopes of a treat. I would imagine that people who explore deeper into the forest are able to catch glimpses of rare animals, birds, plants and other wildlif
e. I hope one day I can come back to Alishan and Yushan when I am more free to explore, but I will never be able to hike the steep trails or cover any great distance on foot. There is a Chinese legend which is listed in the Taiwan Insight Guide about the mountains here. Being a romantic at heart, I wil
l take the liberty of quoting it here. "In ancient time, clouds and rain symbolized the mating of Heaven and Earth. It is said that a king of Sichuan made an excursion to Wushan, or Sorcery Mountain, where he grew tired in the middle of the day and fell asleep. He dreamed that a woman approached him and identified herself as the Lady of Wushan, saying, 'Having heard that you have come here, I wish to share pillow and couch with you.' 
When the lovers later parted, the woman told the king, 'I live on the southern slope of Wushan, on top of a high hill. At dawn I am the morning clouds; in the evening I am the pouring rain. Every morning and night I hover about these hills.'" Okay, o
kay, so that legend isn't romantic at all, is in fact rather sleazy. And just where would a mountain hiker come across a pillow and couch anyway? I do like the part about the woman being th
e morning clouds and the evening rain. We sometimes need fantasy to let us stop for a minute and look closer.... become those things which bring us joy and delight in the experience. If it takes a legend to cause us to pause and breathe in our environment, appreciate it on different levels, then let us share legends. Pictured here also is the Tree Spirit Pagoda, or Shuling Ta, as it is better known as in Taiwan.
1 comment:
What great photographs Cheryl. Wonderful.
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