Jinshuiying Old Trail (Fangliao Section) Introduction
The Jhinshuiying Ancient Trail starts in Shuidiliao, Fangliao Township, Pingtung County, and extends eastward to Dawu, Taitung County, after crossing the Central Mountain Range ridge. The total length of the trail is 47 kilometers, with the highest elevation reaching 1,300 meters. Along the route, there are three major protected areas: the Jhinshuiying Broadleaf Forest Protected Area, the Dawu Taiwan False Cypresses Nature Reserve, and the Dawu Taiwan Oil Cypress Nature Conservation Area, which are rich in plant geography and research value, making it very suitable for ecological and deep travel. During the Qing Dynasty, the plains indigenous peoples of western Taiwan used this path for collective immigration to the mountainous area of Beinan (Taitung). In the eighth year of the Guangxu era (1882), it was reopened as a road for opening the mountain and pacifying the indigenous peoples, named the "San Tiao Lun Road". During the Japanese colonial period, the Japanese modified it into a military road connecting Fangliao in the west with Dawu in the east, and it was renamed the "Jhinshuiying Mountain Crossing Trail". Cultural heritage sites that still exist along the Jhinshuiying Ancient Trail include the "Guzailun Old Society", "Chushui Slope Site", "Jhinshuiying Qing Dynasty Barracks Site", and the "Jhinshuiying Japanese Police Station", all of which are precious historical sites. Notably, Hu Shi's father, Hu Tiehua, served as the governor of Taitung during the eighteenth year of the Guangxu era; he used this ancient trail to travel to Taitung for official duties. For centuries, the Jhinshuiying Ancient Trail has traversed the Dutch, Japanese, and Republic of China eras, becoming the most convenient mountain crossing route for the Dutch, the Beinan, Paiwan, plains indigenous peoples, Han Chinese, and Japanese at the time. It greatly benefited activities such as patrols, missionary work, commercial transactions, immigration, mail delivery, hiking, and academic research, making it the oldest, most representative, and most frequently used trail in Taiwan's history.
