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Come to Xitou, this great outdoor classroom: gaze upon a sea of bamboo, take a forest bath, wash the dust from your soul, and revel in the wonderful baptism of phytoncides! In the late Qing Dynasty, Xitou was a mountain village known as the “source of the stream.” In 1970 it was designated a forest recreation area. Nestled on the foothills of Fenghuang Mountain in Lugu Township, it is one of seven experimental forests belonging to National Taiwan University’s College of Bioresources and Agriculture and a famous summer retreat. Surrounded on three sides by mountains, the air is so fresh that even breathing tastes naturally sweet! The park is planted with precious species such as Japanese cedar, Taiwan red cypress, hinoki cypress, and ginkgo. Dense forests and cool temperatures make it perfect for forest bathing, bird-watching, hiking, or educational field trips. Legend tells of a 3,000-year-old “red-cypress god-tree” that grew around a massive boulder; though several of its trunks are hollow and rotted, it still stands proudly. Beside the sacred-tree trail lies a Japanese-cedar forest; walk the creative forest skywalk to observe the cedar canopy up close! In the giant-bamboo grove, a thousand qing of bamboo sea creates a serene setting ideal for a stroll or rest. There is also the ginkgo forest, nicknamed “grandfather-grandson tree.” With over a hundred trees more than eighty years old, it is one of Taiwan’s largest ginkgo stands. Within the quiet bamboo grove sits a bamboo-decorated building known as the Bamboo Lodge. Once the retreat of President Chiang Kai-shek, its doors are now locked to the public, yet its elegant, comfortable architecture remains unforgettable.