Alishan National Scenic Area It is renowned far and wide for its breathtaking sunrise and sunset, a sea of clouds, enchanting gorge waterfall, beautiful cherry blossom and magnificent giant trees. The scenic area’s unique Z-shaped forest railway and the culture of the local Tsou aborigines add to Alishan’s uniqueness. Visitors can immerse themselves in the cedar forest and breathe in some invigorating pythoncidere. The fragrance and sweetness of Alishan’s high mountain tea is also popular with tea lovers.
Please visit the Alishan official website for more information.
The Charm of Tsou Culture Most of the Tsou tribe is concentrated in Chiayi County in the beautiful Alishan National Scenic Area and in Kaohsiung City along the spectacular Southern Cross-island Highway. In Alishan, the Tsou tribe is the pillar of cultural tourism. There are eight Tsou villages in the scenic area: Laiji, Dabang, Tefuye, Shanmei, Sinmei, Lijia, Chashan and Leye. Each of the villages has developed a characteristic theme upon which to center its community development and tourism promotion efforts.
The Precious Artcraft– Koji Pottery Koji is a special ceramic art originating from Chiayi. It is a kind of soft ceramic sintered at a low temperature. In earlier times, Koji ceramic was employed for wall-decorations in numerous temples in Taiwan. Nowadays some of the Koji ceramic trinkets have turned into household collections. Koji figures are usually historic warriors, emperors, and animals in folklore, or figures depicting Chinese culture and history.
Fenci Lake When visitors go to Fenci Lake first time, they always ask the local people about Fenci “Lake” and try to find the lake. They didn’t know it is just a vivid description for a type of geographic environment. Fenci Lake is surrounded by mountains on the east, west and north sides, so it makes the place look like a dustpan. It is surrounded by clouds and looks like the shape of a lake, so people called it the “Dustpan Lake”.
Zengwun Reservoir Scenic Spot Zengwun Reservoir Scenic Spot is the largest reservoir in Taiwan, located in the Liouteng Pond Canyon, the meeting point of Dapu Township in Chiayi County and Nansi Township in Tainan County. It supplies water for all agriculture and industry utilities in southwestern Taiwan and helps to prevent floods from occurrence, generate electricity, provide public water resources, and water the Jianan Plain, together with the Wushantou Reservoir. In addition to the spectacular hydraulic engineering landscape, the scenery around the reservoir is very beautiful. Peaks and ridges are all piled up with lush trees with reflections on the wavy green water, making it a hot tourist’s spot in southern Taiwan.
The Hoameiliao Nature Preserve Taiwan’s west coast is known mostly barbarian except for the prosperous fish-breeding industry there. However, there is a treasure place southeastern to Budai Township in Chiayi County, still untouched by material civilization, the “Hoameiliao Nature Preserve”. The protection area is located in Hoameili in Budai Township. Since the Bajhang River and the Longgong River meet and silt up here, there are many natural resources here as a result, so the Executive Yuan made Hoameili a nature protection area in its “Taiwan Coast Natural Environment Protection Plan”. The protection area includes the offshore sand bar northern to the Bajhang River, the Hoameiliao Lagoon, the Mangrove Forest, the entrance of the Longgong River and the wind-proof forests. It is a good place to watch water birds and swamp animals and plants.
Sun Moon Lake The Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area is praised for its five major recreational systems, including the lake, Shueili River, Puli, Jhuoshuei River and Jiji. The surrounding areas stretch to cover known tourist spots including Taumi, Checheng, Jiji, Shueisheda Mountain, Sangyong Falls, Mingtan Reservoir and Shueili River.
Divided by Lalu Island, the Sun Moon Lake scenic area got its name from the unique terrains that look like sun on one side and crescent moon on the other. Crowned as one of the Eight Wonders of Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake is also the most famous source of hydroelectric power; offering key tourist themes - “high mountain and lake”, “indigenous culture”, and ”nature ecology,” the Sun Moon Lake Scenic Area attracts more than six million visits each year.
Please visit the Sun Moon Lake official website for more information.
Above pictures are provided by tourism Bureau of Chiayi County.