Travel on newly introduced cruise-style tours on the century-old Alishan Forest Railway, a network of 71.4 kilometers (44.4 miles) of narrow-gauge rail lines in central Taiwan's Alishan mountain range.
"Alishan Forest Railway is a priceless cultural heritage [for Taiwan]." says Tang Yu-chin, a spokesperson of AFRCH. "Therefore, preserving Alishan Forest Railway isn't just for tourism purposes but for promoting this culture.
Completed in 1912 under the Japanese occupation, the Alishan Forest Railway was used to transport now-endangered Taiwan cypress trees from Alishan. After logging was banned, it lived on as the only passenger train to ride up the mountains.
Today, it remains one of the world's most historic and beautiful mountain railways.
Running between Chiayi city at an elevation of 30 meters (98.4 feet) to Chushan at 2,451 meters (8,041 feet) -- the highest train station in Taiwan -- the Alishan Forest Railway offers diverse natural scenery.
It's the highest narrow-gauge mountain railway in Asia -- higher than the famed Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, which ascends from 100 meters to 2,200 meters.
Source: CNN
Webpage: https://afrch.forest.gov.tw/