Written/Compiled and Reported by Li Xinyi, MOOK Travel Life Network
Alishan National Forest Recreation Area is a significant and popular tourist destination in Taiwan. The Chiayi Forest District Office under the Forestry Bureau is actively promoting the Alishan revitalization project. Within Zhapuding Park at an elevation of 2,274 meters, it combines nature and cultural thinking in its planning and revitalization efforts. The office invited modern poets such as Zheng Chouyu to write poems on the theme of “Poetry for Alishan,” carving these verses into stone, glass, and wood to create the Alishan Poetry Trail, giving Zhapuding Park a new lease on life. It is expected to open before the cherry blossom season.
The popular destination Alishan will unveil the “Poetry Trail” and an elevated cherry blossom viewing path called the “Cherry Path” in March. (Image provided by MOOK Editorial Department)
The Chiayi Forest District Office under the Forestry Bureau noted that since last year (2012), it has been working on the revitalization project of Zhapuding Park. The park features a variety of flowering plants, including cherry blossom forests, calla lilies, weeping crabapples, azaleas, wisteria, and hydrangeas. Rare bird species such as the white-eared sibia, bush warbler, grey-cheeked fulvetta, and green-backed tit can also be spotted here, along with the geological landscape of the Tatachia Cliffs, making it rich in both natural and cultural characteristics. In recent years, as recreational functions within the forest recreation area have been enhanced, the Chiayi Forest District Office has focused on constructing a literary trail in Zhapuding Park. Poets were invited to write about Alishan, using poetry to document the land’s stories. The poets invited include renowned figures from various periods of Taiwanese poetry, ranging from modernist poets such as Lin Hengtai, Zheng Chouyu, Xi Murong, Yin Di, and Lin Huanzhang, to mid-generation poets like Xiao Xiao, Zhang Mo, and Bai Ling, as well as Nobel Literature Prize-nominated poet Li Kuei-hsien and local Taiwanese poets such as Lu Hanxiu and Du Ye.
Additionally, the Chiayi Forest Management Office has constructed an elevated walkway within Zhapuding Park, spanning a total length of 176.7 meters, with the highest point reaching 14 meters. From the end platform, visitors can admire the majestic Mount Tatachia and gaze down at the elegant fir tree canopies and expansive cherry blossom seas from above, offering a unique perspective to appreciate the beauty of cherry blossoms blooming from both beneath the trees and high among their branches. After brainstorming among the office staff, the walkway was officially named the “Cherry Path” and is expected to open to visitors before the cherry blossom season.
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