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Thanks to the accelerated progress of the public-private partnership for lodging and catering services in Dasyueshan National Forest Recreation Area, a brand-new lunch banquet will be offered starting 4 June, and the first 20 cabins will reopen for accommodation on 21 July. The remaining guest rooms will gradually reopen between August and October after renovation. For more information, please visit the “Taiwan Forest Recreation” website or the Taichung Branch website of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency. You may also call the Dasyueshan Visitor Center at (04) 2587-7901. Taiwan possesses the largest expanse of giant-tree alpine forest on Earth, and the Dasyueshan Forest Recreation Area—lying on the southwest section of the main Snow Mountain ridge—holds the most intact tract of this forest, spanning hemlock stands, cypress groves, and warm-temperate broad-leaved forests dominated by Fagaceae. Every ecological belt still preserves representative giant trees, making it the most nuanced forest-park under the Forestry Administration’s management. The terrain rises and falls sharply, descending from the highest summit—Hsiaosyueshan at 2,997 m—south-westward through Anmashan, Chuanhsingshan, and Shaolaishan to the Shaolai Creek valley at ~1,000 m. The Hsiaosyue Trail, between 2,200 and 2,600 m, features both hemlock and warm-temperate broad-leaved forests. Its upper section is a hemlock forest whose under-story is dominated by rhizomatous Yushan bamboo that grows in such solid stands it looks like a meadow from afar. Occasional lone Hinoki cypress and snags hint at past crown fires. Drifting clouds frame towering, verdant hemlocks—an ink-wash landscape come alive! The lower section, near Chuanhsing Work Station and the hemlock ecotone, is a Fagaceae belt of Synaedrys oaks and Quercus aliena. These oaks occupy the upper warm-temperate broad-leaved zone (1,800–2,500 m); the huge Synaedrys and the Pasania in front of the lodge recall the once-splendid broad-leaved forest. Their acorns feed squirrels and white-faced flying squirrels and provide forage and cover for many birds. From Anmashan Work Station to the nursery is the best vantage for Dasyueshan’s sunset. Fiery clouds and mist-shrouded peaks compose a scene that lifts the soul. Enter the loop forest-bath trail: Taiwan red cypress and scattered Hinoki remain the stars. Beneath them, Trochodendron, Illicium, Neolitsea, Litsea, Synaedrys, and the tree-form Rhododendron (found only in eastern Himalaya and Taiwan) crowd the second storey, forming a mixed conifer–broad-leaved stand. After October, filmy ferns on the cypresses turn red and yellow, welcoming autumn and creating a dreamy mist-forest. Ground ferns dominate in both numbers and diversity, thriving in the constant damp. On the way to the lookout, glance across the forest road: pale, erect Sikang firs stand on the high ridge, set off by dark hemlocks; below are cypress, two-needle pine, and Taiwan pine, with bamboo under-storey—layer upon layer of colour that holds every gaze. The 360° platform is the finest place to view the west ridge of the Central Snow Range: north to Hsiaosyueshan, east to Chiayang and Chien shan, behind you the Hehuan massif, south to Pai-kou-ta-shan and Pahsienshan, below the Tachia River and the broken Central Cross-Island Highway; on clear days even Yushan is visible, and northwest to Shaolaishan, Yuantsuishan, Chuanhsingshan. While scanning the horizon, watch for the hopping White-whiskered Laughing-thrush—close encounters are unforgettable. Come in the morning; afternoons are usually a white-out. And while strolling the forest road, “Careful—a Swinhoe’s pheasant may be right beside you!” In the woods, surprises reward the attentive. From Hsiaosyue Lodge to Tian Pond, a gentle trail is lined with Taiwan white pine—an easy stroll through pine forest. Most pines have winged seeds for wind dispersal, but “Taiwan fruit pine” lacks wings; instead, its large seeds attract nutcrackers and Formosan macaques, which carry or drop them—sacrificing many seeds but gaining wider dispersal. Rest at Jui-hsueh Pavilion by Tian Pond, built December 1967. The couplet by the first director of the Forestry Research Institute reads: “Auspicious hues rise from green peaks; clear air and light grace every side, offering joy to the beholder. Snow-capped ridges array emerald trees; flowers and birdsong amid myriad hardships—here we ascend.” The words capture Tian Pond’s view of Hsiaosyueshan, adding history to the forest. A 1,400-year-old red cypress—50 m tall, 4 m dbh, 13 m girth—once ranked 11th largest in Taiwan. As Chuang Tzu wrote: “Now you have a great tree and worry it is useless. Why not plant it in the village of Nothing-Exists, in the wilds of the vast and empty, then loiter idly beside it, sleep carefree beneath it? No axe will cut it, nothing will harm it. Being useless—how could it bring distress?” Its forked trunk and poor form probably saved it from the saw.