Fenqi Hu Scenic Area，Comfortable wooden boardwalk.
The Fenqi Hu Scenic Area has a number of interconnected trails that surround the station, such as the wooden horse and cedar trekking paths, and the high and medium altitude, coupled with the strong forest atmosphere, is definitely a recommended place to escape from the summer heat! There are also special scenery along the trails, such as bamboo slopes, Fenqihu giant logs, shrine ruins, Luding giant logs, and so on, so it’s absolutely no problem to stroll around for a day.
Table of Contents
Cedar Wooden Pallet(杉林木棧道)
The forest around Fenqihu is full of cedar trees, which is one of my favorite scenery in the forest! Walking on the clean wooden walkway is really relaxing, and that’s why there are always a lot of people coming and going on the walkway, laughing and chatting.
I arrived near the station at 8:00 a.m. and started walking along the cedar trestle. The weather that day was mostly cloudy, and the light and shadow that I was looking forward to were not visible at the beginning, so I thought I would wait for the afternoon to see if the fog would start, and the clouds and fogs in the forest were also very promising!
There are small pavilions in the forest where you can rest from time to time, and I have to say that the pavilions are really clean, so I would sit down and enjoy them every time I pass by! I didn’t want to be lazy, but I wanted to be quietly surrounded by the cedar forest.
When I was sitting in the pavilion, the expected light and shadow appeared, bringing a different atmosphere to the forest. During the walk on the cedar trestle, it was one of the few moments when light ran into the forest! I was satisfied with the photos I took.
And the trail is full of flowers, though I don’t know if they are planted artificially or wild, but they all add a bit of spice to this tall forest.
A small forest toilet with a textured cover.
The ground is full of broad-leaved plants and ferns. Without this wooden walkway, I think the trail would soon be drowned out by the plants, and in a world of green there is a straight upward tree, and the feeling of unity and consistency is really healing.
Shawnee Trail(肖楠木步道)
On the way back to the station from the cedar trestle, you can go via the Shonan Trail. The scenery changes a little bit along the way, and there are many more bamboo forests, and the bamboo forests contrast with the cedar forests in a thick and thin picture.
On the map, there is a 100 year old heather tree! It’s a pity that I didn’t find this spot until later, so I didn’t get to see it. If I have a chance to walk here again, I might be able to arrange a time to go there to see it.
Fenqihu Station(奮起湖車站)
Fenqihu Station is definitely the most crowded place in the neighborhood, and the nostalgic scenery of the Shanlin Railway is one of the must-see sights! Of course, there are also many famous snacks to buy, and the bustling atmosphere of the old street really feels like New Year’s Eve.
Cherry blossoms bloom here at the beginning of the year!
Four Square Bamboo Forest is located across the street from the station. At first, I was puzzled by the name and wondered why the word “Four Square” was used as the name, but it turns out that it is because the cross-section of bamboo is quadrangular in shape. (Of course, there can’t be a right angle, it’s slightly visible on all four sides, as shown in the second picture below.)
Gaozaikan Road(糕仔崁古道)
I only walked a short section of this old Gaozaikan Trail, mainly when I was on my way to the Fenqi Trail. Since the trail is made of stone steps, it is almost covered by low grasses.
Fenqi Trail(奮起步道)
When we arrived at the Fenqi Trail, the familiar wooden trestle appeared, and the goal of the day was to walk all the trails around us ~ although the scenery was mainly cedar forests, there were often surprisingly good-looking scenes, and the passers-by were also very enthusiastic! It wasn’t boring at all.
The first half of the trail is mostly built on the hillside, which is different from the cedar trestle shared at the beginning. From the photos, you can find that the handrails are only on one side ~ this also means that there will be more climbing up and down the hill, and the feeling of being a little short of breath but not tired is very soothing!
Lu Ding Giant tree (鹿鼎巨木)
The next two attractions are also on the Fenqi Trail. Walking clockwise, you will reach the Luding Giant Wood first, and when you see a sea of bamboo forests, it means you have arrived. In the photo, I wonder if you have noticed any difference from the previous bamboo forests? There is no cedar forest here, it’s just a sea of bamboo.
The Luding Giant Tree is deep in this sea of bamboo forest, at first I passed by and didn’t find the tree I was looking for, I almost missed it, the small notch on the trail let me find the explanatory sign, and it was only when I looked up that I suddenly realized it.
After walking downhill for a short while, I looked back and saw that the Luding Giant Tree was ready to disappear, and in the photo, I could only see it faintly at the end of the trail.
Shrine Site（神社遺址）
The second point after this is the shrine ruins. When you see a small pavilion in the forest, it means you are almost there.
The ruins of the shrine are a small platform made up of many stones. Standing in the small square in front of the shrine and resting for a while, you have a feeling of being enveloped in a spacious space.
wooden horse trestle（木馬棧道）
Wooden horse is a tool used to transport wood in the early logging era, in the wooden horse trek can be seen on the road similar to the railroad tracks ~ this is the early way to let the wooden horse walking, this trek is the day I walked the last trail, from 8:00 am to walk to 1:00 or so, walk to go to the station to buy a lunch box to eat the old street ~ the trail in fact, not very long, or the main time spent more time to take pictures.
Walking along the wooden horse trekking path, you will come to a wooden bridge in the middle of the way, which is quite beautiful!
One side of the wooden bridge is a bamboo forest, while the other side is a cedar forest. Walking across a bridge is like traveling to a different world!
The wooden bridge offers a rare view of the sky, and the forest surrounds you almost all the way.
Cuijipo（翠竹坡）
After crossing the wooden bridge, you will soon come to the bamboo slope on the map! As I said in the previous paragraph, after crossing the bridge, it’s like a new world, full of bamboo forests, and the scenery is very different from the previous one.
It’s called Cuizhu Slope because it’s an uphill climb, but the gradient isn’t too steep, and the S-shaped trail that divides the bamboo forest into two halves is very linear, so it’s perfect to use as a guide line for photos!
Rarely does light and shadow penetrate into the bamboo forest ~ I wonder if you’ve noticed that there’s a very special thing about this bamboo forest! I didn’t realize it until I came back to sort out the photos. There are a lot of cut bamboo trunks in the bamboo forest, which made the lines that should be vertical and straight upward more intertwined.
Fenqihu Giant Tree（奮起湖巨木）
Finally, follow the map to the Fenqihu Giant Wood at the end of the Wooden Horse Trail. After passing the Cuizhu Slope section, you will be back in the cedar forest again.
After a short walk, you will reach the giant tree! This is the last attraction of the trip, the longest one is the Fenqihu Giant Tree, surrounded by straight cedar trees, and there are a few chairs on the resting platform for me to rest for a while, enjoying the last spectacular scene of the day~!
The train track is right behind the giant tree, so I deliberately stayed longer to wait for the train to pass by, and wanted to see the picture of the small train passing through the forest, but eventually I couldn’t wait because of the time constraints.
From the end of the wooden horse trek, you can pick up the ordinary asphalt road and walk back to the train station, after a break, we started the return journey, starting from the Endeavour Lake Giant Wood, the sunshine disappeared for a long time before it finally showed up.
After crossing the small wooden bridge in front of us, we were ready to go back to the road, the small wooden bridge was built to cross the railroad tracks, and we waited on the bridge for a while, watching the shadows of the trees drifting in the wind, but we couldn’t wait for them, and we went to the train station to buy lunchboxes to eat, and finished the day’s trip.
Route Map
Google Map:
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（high speed railway station pick up the car）
