Giant Tree Boardwalk Introduction
After the iconic cypress tree in Alishan fell naturally in June 1998, it was replaced by Alishan Xianglin Sacred Tree and the Giant Tree Boardwalk. Currently, there are two phases of the Giant Tree Boardwalk in Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, with the Shenyi Bridge serving as a boundary. The first phase of the boardwalk starts from the millennium cypress, constructed using an elevated wooden walkway design with point foundations, ending at the former site of the sacred tree. The boardwalk is 600 meters long, featuring three elevated wooden bridges allowing visitors to admire 20 giant red cypress trees, with diameters ranging from 5 to 12.1 meters and heights between 25 and 42 meters. Completed in November 1998, visitors walking through this area marvel at the magnificent scenery, often expressing that "the bigger the tree, the more beautiful it is." In August 1998, to connect the red cypress giants around the Spirit Tree Tower, the Forestry Bureau set up a wooden fence between Alishan Xianglin Sacred Tree and the millennium cypress and built an observation deck, thus establishing a significant giant tree system within the recreation area along with the first phase of the Giant Tree Boardwalk. Starting in 2001, the Forestry Bureau opened the second phase of the Giant Tree Boardwalk from the Shenyi Bridge near the site of the sacred tree, which is 418 meters long, featuring 16 red cypress giants scattered along its path. Among them, the number 28 giant tree has a breast height diameter of 4 meters, making it the tallest in the boardwalk, while the number 2 giant tree holds the title for the oldest tree. Every year, from mid-March, the path along the Giant Tree Boardwalk is adorned with blooming Rhododendron forest flowers, creating a unique Alishan flower season landscape, often accompanied by mist.
