Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office

The Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office was established on 1 July 2018 with the approval of the Executive Yuan. The Office is committed to the sustainable development of the Alishan Forest Railway and its cultural heritage, with operational safety as its highest priority.

The Office emphasizes the integrated development of tourism, culture, ecology, and agricultural resources to enhance the added value of related industries along the railway corridor. We are also committed to promoting cultural education, strengthening public understanding of, identification with, and support for the Alishan Forest Railway. In recent years, the Office has expanded international railway cooperation, drawing on overseas best practices to position the Alishan Forest Railway as an international symbol of Taiwan.

On 9 July 2019, Alishan Forestry and Railway was officially designated by the Ministry of Culture as Taiwan’s first national-level “Important Cultural Landscape.” We will continue to maintain close attention to railway operations and safety, advance education and public engagement, and strengthen cultural heritage preservation. 

Centered on “SHINE,” inspired by the iconic sunrise of Alishan, our governance framework is defined as follows:
S – Safety: ensuring reliable and secure transport services;
H – Harmony: fostering social responsibility and employee well-being;
I – Intelligence: promoting smart operations to enhance administrative efficiency and transparency;
N – Necessity: ensuring transparency and strengthening integrity and accountability mechanisms;
E – Efficiency: delivering effective operations and prudent use of public funds.

Through these principles, we strive to build a transparent, trustworthy, and integrity-driven governance environment.
 

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.