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Before the lakeside ring road was built, travelers who wanted to worship and sightsee at Wenwu Temple had to take a boat to the landing below the temple, then climb a long, extremely steep staircase on foot. It was so strenuous that the steps were nicknamed “the Stairway to Heaven.” After the ring road was completed, visitors could reach Wenwu Temple much more easily, and the old staircase below the temple was gradually forgotten. In recent years the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration restored the stairway: the 150-meter slope now has exactly 366 steps—one for each day of a leap year. A rest platform is set at the first step of every month, and the names and dates of the twenty-four solar terms are carved along the sides, so that while climbing at a leisurely pace visitors can also learn about Taiwan’s traditional folk culture. The stairway is therefore called the “Wenwu Temple Year Steps” or “Year Steps Trail.” Besides the solar-term information, the Year Steps Trail features “Prayer Wind Chimes,” giving visitors a fun way to make a wish. First buy a wind chime stamped with your Chinese zodiac sign at Wenwu Temple; after it has been blessed by the priests, write your name and wish on it. Ring the large wind chime at the trailhead, then walk down the steps and hang your personal chime on the railing that corresponds to your birthday—mission accomplished. There’s another diversion while you walk: each step is carved with a calendar date and the name of a famous person, Chinese or foreign, who shares that birthday. Look for the step that matches your own; hunting for it makes the 366-step climb feel effortless.