Master Craftsmen Share Techniques of Hand-Carved Stone Steps; Free Guided Tours Launch at New Taipei City Hiking Festival

Tourism Center / Taipei Report

The New Taipei City Government’s Tourism and Travel Bureau has carried out maintenance and renovation work on seven distinctive hiking trails. Today (18th), the first free guided tour event was held at Daqiling Trail in Shenkeng. It attracted hundreds of enthusiastic participants early in the morning, who along the way listened to master stonemason Fang Jingfu share fascinating insights on the construction techniques used in the trail renovation.


▲ Along the way, participants heard master stonemason Fang Jingfu share fascinating insights on the construction techniques used in the trail renovation. (Photo / Provided by New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Bureau)

Daqiling is located in Shenkeng District, New Taipei City, not far from the city center, and boasts beautiful and pleasant scenery. The trail renovation emphasizes natural construction methods and preservation, with almost the entire path now paved with hand-carved stone steps. These were crafted by Taiwan’s nationally renowned master craftsman Fang Jingfu, who used locally sourced soil and stones to shape each individual stone before laying them into the current handcrafted stone staircase of Daqiling. This approach preserves the essence of nature while achieving a refined and natural result — a construction method highly praised in recent years by experts in the field, including writer Liu Kexiang, and can be regarded as a form of high art in trail restoration.

Today’s free guided tours at Daqiling consisted of two sessions, provided by the New Taipei City Mountain Association with professional ecological commentary. One session was held at 10 AM and another at 2 PM. In addition, this year’s highlight of the Hiking Festival — a grand thousand-person hiking event — will take place on October 26th at Sandiaoling Hiking Trail. The Ruifang Sandiaoling Trail has long been highly recommended by hiking enthusiasts. Stretching from the trailhead near Shuoren Elementary School to Fuxing Temple in Wufenliao, the trail features babbling streams and stunning scenery. About halfway up, hikers must tackle a short section of cliff steps, which many find challenging and rewarding. Of course, the trail is also famed for its three beautiful and tranquil waterfalls: Hegu, Motian, and Pipadong.