Giant Tree Boardwalk Introduction
After the legendary life of the Sacred Tree in Alishan came to an end on June 1998 due to natural collapse, it was replaced by the Alishan Xianglin Sacred Tree and the Giant Tree Boardwalks. Currently, there are two phases of Giant Tree Boardwalks in the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, divided by the Shenyi Bridge. The first phase of the boardwalk starts at the thousand-year-old cypress and is built using eco-friendly methods, featuring elevated wooden pathways and point-based concrete bases. The endpoint is at the site of the Sacred Tree. The boardwalk stretches 600 meters and includes three high wooden bridges, allowing visitors to admire 20 giant red cypress trees with diameters ranging from 5 to 12.1 meters and heights of 25 to 42 meters. Completed in November 1998, visitors walking along the path are often in awe of the magnificent scenery, exclaiming that "great trees are beautiful." In August 1998, to connect the giant red cypress trees around the Spirit Tower, the Forestry Bureau set up a wooden fence and constructed a viewing platform between the Alishan Xianglin Sacred Tree and the thousand-year-old cypress. This, along with the first phase of the Giant Tree Boardwalk, formed a substantial system of giant trees within the recreation area. Starting in 2001, a second phase of the Giant Tree Boardwalk was opened, beginning at the Shenyi Bridge near the Sacred Tree site. This boardwalk is 418 meters long and features 16 giant red cypress trees scattered along the path, with Tree No. 28 being the largest at a chest height diameter of 4 meters, and Tree No. 2 being the oldest. Every year from mid-March, the area along the Giant Tree Boardwalk is adorned with the blooming of the Forest Rhododendrons, creating a colorful display of flowers that beautifies the towering cypress forest. Occasionally, with mist drifting through, it forms a unique floral scene of Alishan's flower season.
