Datong Mountain Hiking Trail Introduction
Datong Mountain is 237 meters high and is a hill on the southeastern ridge extending from Datong Mountain, located directly north of the Shanjia Station. It is often referred to as the backyard of the forest area. The Datong Mountain hiking trail consists of stairs, primitive trails, and concrete paths, with a total of three main routes that converge at Qinglong Ridge. Two of the trailheads are not far from Shulin Station and Shanjia Station, making it accessible by Taiwan Railways for hiking. The trail is densely shaded by trees, with gentle ups and downs, and the viewing platform at the summit offers an excellent view, allowing for a panoramic view of the New Taipei and Taipei metropolitan areas. The viewing platform at the top of Datong Mountain features a viewing area and a pavilion, where visitors can admire the impressive skyline of New Taipei and Taipei on clear days, as well as Keelung Mountain in Ruifang, with high-speed trains of the Taiwan High-Speed Rail resembling a long dragon passing through the city. At dusk, visitors can take a break at the viewing platform, enjoying the refreshing mountain breeze while waiting for the lights of thousands of homes to light up. The Dog Toe Mountain Ruins, also known as Jiucha Mountain or Dog Toe Mountain, have numerous Neolithic pottery and stone tools discovered by archaeologists, thus being named the Dog Toe Mountain Ruins. Midway up the mountain, there are temples such as Nanyu Fude Temple, Haiming Zen Temple, and Wang Mu Temple for hikers to rest, with Fude Temple also featuring a stone slide and a cold spring swimming pool for visitors.
