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The Alishan Sacred Tree is a giant red cypress that spans the space between two trees and has an age of over 3,000 years. Its age and trunk diameter have once ranked first in Asia. It is located beside the 69‑kilometer mark of the Alishan Railway, and, together with Alishan’s sunrise, sea of clouds, mountain railway, and cherry blossoms, is called one of the Five Great Marvels. In 1906, Japanese engineer Kōsuga Toru discovered the Alishan giant‑tree cluster, whose average age was about two to three thousand years. Later, because the forest railway was planned to cut through the area, 300,000 cypress trees were almost entirely felled. The old red cypress that survived, however, was spared by axes because its heartwood had been completely devoured by a type of fungal root, and it was even consecrated as a deity with ribbons tied around it.

The solitary, crane‑like sacred tree was struck by lightning in 1953. The lightning fire traveled along the hollow trunk to the ground, yet the tree clung tenaciously to a sliver of life. A second lightning strike in 1956 finally severed the upper branches of the sacred tree, causing its complete death. In July 2007, the entire tree collapsed under wind and rain, its trunk breaking into four large sections and crushing the Alishan forest railway beside it. The Forestry Bureau, on June 6th of the following year, decided to manually topple the sacred tree in place so that visitors could pay their respects to the remains of this towering giant.

To welcome 2007 and showcase Taiwan’s resilient spirit, the Alishan Second‑Generation Sacred Tree election was held. Originally named “Guangwu Cypress,” the sacred tree was chosen through the joint “Who Will Challenge the Alishan Second‑Generation Sacred Tree?” election organized by the Chiayi County Government, the Alishan National Scenic Area Administration, and the Chiayi Forest Administration. It received a total of 13,846 votes. The tree is over 2,300 years old, stands 45 m tall, has a diameter of 3.92 m, a stem circumference of 12.5 m, and is remarkably large and proud. It was therefore selected as the second‑generation sacred tree and renamed “Alishan Fragrant Forest Sacred Tree” on January 1, 2007.