This semester the field trip was to the highest mountain is Taiwan, Ali Shan. At an elevation of 2663 meters( 8734 feet ) it is higher than Mount Fuji in Japan and on the Asian Continent, you have to go into Tibet before the mountains are higher. Ali Shan is now mostly a tourist destination, from the summit of Ali Shan they can see the sunrise from the East over the Pacific. The Hotels on Ali Shan cater to tourist who wake before sunrise and watch the sun rise from the East.
Ali Shan has snow! On cold days in Taiwan 10C(50F) Taiwanese can drive up Ali Shan and play in the snow.
From Tainan to Ali Shan is about a 5 hour bus ride, so we left about 7AM and got there just before noon. I made a strategic mistake mistake getting on the bus too soon. After which I was surrounded by Spanish speaking students for the entire five hours to and back. I should have waited for others to board the bus and sat next to English speaking fellow students.
Living in the flat plain of Tainan it is easy to forget that Taiwan is mostly mountains.
Other than tourism there isn't much economic activity but there are tea farms on the sides of the mountains.
There have been some landslides on the mountain road up to the summit, this is one time we trust the bus driver to take as much time as he feels necessary.
At the top, tourist walk about the mountain trails, being in Taiwan there are always Taoist temples.
And unique flowers like this protected one leaf orchid.
And Magnolias that you never see at the lower elevations.
It was a good trip but the RR line that normally runs at the summit was down so I'll just have to come back another time.
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