Giant Tree of Alishan Introduction
The Alishan Sacred Tree is a red cypress that is over 3,000 years old, with a unique feature of two trees embracing each other. It was once the largest in Asia in terms of both age and diameter. Located at the 69-kilometer mark of the Alishan Railway, it is renowned alongside Alishan's sunrise, sea of clouds, high-altitude railway, and cherry blossoms as one of the Five Great Wonders. In 1906, Japanese engineer Fujiro Ogasawara discovered a grove of giant trees in Alishan, averaging two to three thousand years in age. However, due to plans to lay a forest railway through the area, around 300,000 cypress trees were felled. This old red cypress was left standing because the heartwood had been completely consumed by lotus root fungus, making it "useless" and thus spared from the axe, even being adorned and worshipped. In 1953, the solitary sacred tree was struck by lightning, which consumed its hollow trunk and burned down to the ground, yet it held on tenaciously to life. However, a second lightning strike in 1956 finally severed the upper branches, leading to its complete death. In July 1997, the entire sacred tree could no longer withstand the weather and fell, shattering into four large pieces, which crushed the Alishan Forest Railway beside it. The Forestry Bureau decided on June 6 of the following year to lay the tree down artificially, allowing visitors to pay their respects to the remains of this towering giant. To celebrate 2007 and showcase Taiwan's spirit of resilience, a poll was held for the Second Generation Sacred Tree of Alishan. The tree, originally named "Guangwu Cypress," was selected in an event co-organized by the Chiayi County Government, the Administration of Alishan National Scenic Area, and the Chiayi Forest District Office, receiving a total of 13,846 votes. This tree is over 2,300 years old, stands 45 meters tall, has a diameter of 3.92 meters, and a circumference of 12.5 meters, making it quite massive and majestic. Thus, it was chosen as the Second Generation Sacred Tree and was renamed "Alishan Xianglin Sacred Tree" on January 1, 2007.
