Ruitai Ancient Trail Introduction
The Ruifeng Ancient Trail is located in the village of Ruili, Meishan Township, Chiayi County, leading to the village of Taihe. Formerly known as the "Youhalin Trail," it is a famous route connecting Ruili and Taihe, with a total length of 5.2 kilometers, which takes about three hours to walk one way. The starting point of the Ruifeng Ancient Trail is next to the Dingfeng Tea Plantation in Luzaicailin. Along the way, it branches into two segments between the Mei Oil Pit and the Huaitou Ridge, forming a circular trail. The section from the Mei Oil Pit to the Huaitou Ridge, built in the 1870s, is steep with over three hundred stone steps leading uphill, and the current landscape is primarily bamboo forest, with a relatively monotonous ecology. The segment from the Mei Oil Pit and Wang Tian Ya to the Huaitou Ridge, reconstructed in 1931, has a gentler path, shaded by trees, making for an easy and pleasant walk, with varied landscape and richer ecology. Bird species such as the White-eared Sibia, Crestless Rock Thrush, Big-billed Crow, Little-billed Crow, Taiwan Barbet, and Formosan Bulbul can be seen, representing the essence of ecological observation along the Ruifeng Ancient Trail; one endpoint of the trail is the "Lake Bucket Bottom" in Taihe Village. The entire route features Moso bamboo forests and original forests, and varies with the seasons, allowing for the appreciation of plum, peach, pear, and cherry blossoms, as well as over one hundred species of ferns, contributing to a rich biodiversity of flora and fauna. Points of interest along the way include Worry-Free Forest, Cow Camphor Giant Trees, Seven-Step Echo Valley, Hero Slope, Huaitou Ridge, and Wang Tian Ya.
