Alishan Forest Railway

The route

The Alishan Forest Railway climbs from Chiayi, on the plains of south-western Taiwan, to the Alishan forests in the Central Mountain Range. Its main line is 86 km long and laid to a narrow gauge of 762 mm. The first trains reached Erwanping, the original terminus, in October 1912, and the line was soon carried further up the mountain. It was built as a forest railway, and its trains brought timber down from the high forests.

To gain height on steep, unstable slopes, the builders used a spiral and Z-shaped switchbacks, where the train runs forward into a siding and then reverses up the next leg. The Dulishan Spiral, below Fenqihu, combines one spiral loop with four switchbacks. Along the way the line passes through more than 50 tunnels and over 77 wooden bridges, with gradients of up to 6.26 percent.

In 2009 Typhoon Morakot set off landslides that cut the main line. Trains returned to Fenqihu in January 2014 and to Shizilu in 2017, and after Tunnel 42 was finished in April 2024 the whole line to Alishan reopened that July. The railway is now managed by the Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office under Taiwan's Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency.

What to watch for

1. Fenqihu, the lunchbox stop

   The film opens at Fenqihu, 45.5 km from Chiayi. Its old name means 'dustpan lake', after the bowl of hills around the village; there is no lake. In steam days trains paused here to take on coal and water, and villagers sold railway bento to the passengers, a trade that helped the town grow. Its loco shed is the only one of the line's three major sheds still standing as a wooden building.

2. Duolin and the view east

   About 5 km on, Duolin was once called Duoluoxian and only became a regular stop in 1985. It lies near a small Tsou community, and as the train turns right at the station the ridge of Dadongshan comes into view across the valley, when the cloud allows. Some trains run through without stopping, which is why the halt looks so quiet in the rain.

3. Pingzhena, where the Z begins

   Past Shizilu, watch for Pingzhena at 1,711 m. It is a switchback station: the train runs into a dead-end track and then sets off again in the opposite direction, starting the Z-shaped climb above 2,000 m. The railway's own guide puts the boundary between the subtropical and temperate zones here, so the character of the forest changes as the train gains height.

4. Shenmu, the Sacred Tree

   Shortly before the terminus the train passes Shenmu, at 2,138 m, which began life as the line's Third Switch. It is named after a red cypress said to be about 3,000 years old that stood by the track until lightning and heavy rain brought it down; the site was declared a heritage site in 1997. Alishan station itself was the Fourth Switch.

What you will see

The film was shot on 20 August 2025 from the cab of charter train No. 371, in heavy rain. It starts at Fenqihu, 1,403 m up, the main midway stop of the line and a mountain village known for its old street. The line then continues through Duolin, at 1,516 m, and Shizilu, at 1,534 m, the station that marked the end of the line between 2017 and 2024.

Above Shizilu the train climbs past Pingzhena, at 1,711 m, to First Switch, at 1,827 m, and enters the Z-shaped switchbacks that take the line above 2,000 m. Much of this upper section had no trains for 15 years after Typhoon Morakot.

Erwanping, at 2,000 m, was the end of the line when it opened in 1912. The last stretch passes Shenmu, the Sacred Tree station, at 2,138 m, and ends at Alishan station, 2,216 m, a wooden building with arched pillars that was rebuilt after the 1999 earthquake and reopened in 2007. Short branch lines serve Zhaoping, Shenmu and Chushan, which at 2,451 m is Taiwan's highest station.

Station by station

1. FenqihuA mountain village 45.5 km from Chiayi and the main midway stop. Its wooden station was rebuilt in the style of the original after 2004, and the old street climbs the slope beside it.
2. DuolinA small station at 1,516 m near a Tsou community in Dadongshan, a regular stop only since 1985. Some trains run straight through; on a clear day Dadongshan rises across the valley.
3. ShiziluOn the south ridge of Shizilu Mountain at 1,534 m, the station nearest the Alishan Highway and the way in to the Tsou villages of Tfuya and Tabangu. It was the end of the line from 2017 to 2024.
4. ErwanpingAt 2,000 m, the first terminus when trains arrived on 1 October 1912, until Zhaoping took over in 1914. It is one of two stations on the line built on a U-shaped curve of track.
5. AlishanThe terminus at 2,216 m, once the line's Fourth Switch and the start of the Zhushan and Shenmu branches. The wooden station closed after the 1999 earthquake and reopened in September 2007.

Riding it for real

Trains on the main line run from Chiayi to Fenqihu and on to Alishan, a journey of almost five hours for the full climb. Tickets are sold by the Alishan Forest Railway, and special trains such as the one in this film are run for charter groups. From Alishan station, early-morning trains climb the Chushan branch for the sunrise; their departure times change through the year with the time of sunrise.

Heavy rain and typhoons can still close parts of the line. Check the Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office for current timetables, fares and any suspensions before you travel.

The video is embedded from YouTube and remains on its owner’s channel. Views count toward the original video.