Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office

Main Duty

1. Devote to investigate, educate, research, promote, preserve, and revitalize of Alishan forest railway and cultural heritage.
2. Assess, integrate, and re-develop the forest railway and cultural heritage.
3. Promote and market domestic and foreign tourism affairs of forest railway.
4. Boost international cooperation and interaction.
5. Maintain Forestry Culture Park, railway line, and stations' facilities.
6. Transport passengers and goods.
7. Operate the forest railway line and relative equipment.
8. Construct and manage bridges, tunnels, buildings, and engineering along the line.
9. Other duties relative to Alishan forest railway and cultural heritage.

Location and Area

Alishan Forest Railway is located at the south-western part of the Central Mountain Range on Taiwan Island. It starts from Chiayi City, passes through Zhuqi and Meishan Townships, and ends at Alishan Township. The total length of main line is 71.4 kilometers. The Zhushan Line passes through Xinyi Township, Nantou County. The office also manages the area of Chiayi Forestry Culture Park and Hinoki Village.

Types of Forest

In the area along the railway line, the biomes of forests vary greatly from tropical, subtropical, temperate to cold belts at different altitudes, forming vertical forest belts which constitute different forest types such as broad-leaved forests, coniferous mixed with broad-leaved forests and coniferous forests. The main species of coniferous forests include cedar, Taiwania, peacock pine, Chinese fir, and other pines; broad-leaved trees mainly contain sorghum, Taiwan Incense Cedar, and oak.

Climate

Alishan Forest is at the center of the subtropical climate area. The altitude of the area elevates from average 40 meters to the highest peak, Yushan, which up to 3,952 meters. The temperature decreases follow the increase of altitude, which forms tropical, subtropical, temperate, and frigid climates. The average annual rainfall is around 3,000 millimeters. The monsoon season is from May to September, and the rest of the months are in the dry season.