Xiangshan Hiking Trail (Nangang Mountains)

The hill is named for its shape, like an elephant's head, and lies in Xinyi District in the south-east of the Taipei Basin. Like Hushan, it is made up mainly of sandstone; mountain-building has left steep yellow-brown rock walls and boulders along the trail, and with many kinds of wildlife and birds the whole hill is like a natural ecological park. Xiangshan has many different micro-environments, including ridges, rock walls, slopes, hollows and valleys, which support dozens of fern species. Ferns grow everywhere on the hill: some on tree trunks, some on rocks and slopes, and some cover the damp forest floor. The fern 金狗毛蕨 has a large population here, the largest in Taipei City; in the days before modern medicine it was used as a folk remedy to stop bleeding. In open, sunny, damp hollows there is also 筆筒樹, an ancient fern that has existed since the Jurassic. Xiangshan is the highest point in the Sishoushan (Four Beasts Mountains) trail system. With nothing blocking the view, it looks over the whole Xinyi business district, where landmark buildings such as the 101 financial tower, the World Trade Centre, 華納威秀 and 新光三越 can be picked out, and over the Taipei Basin. Its tail ridge runs down into Zhongqiang Park in Xinyi District, where local residents walk morning and evening, and it is a green area for weekend leisure. Liujushi (the Six Giant Rocks) is an unusual cluster of boulders on Xiangshan, also called Laolaixia. Climbing the rocks gives a view over the Xinyi business district, and it is a popular photo spot. In the early morning you can see Taipei 101 in the dawn light, and at dusk the buildings of Xinyi as the sun sets and the lights come on. At Yixian Pavilion on the summit, the platform at the end of the path beside the hexagonal pavilion looks over the whole of Xiangshan, especially the elephant's head and trunk. The bridge of the nose is Yongchun Senior High School, and the long trunk is the ridge platform reaching between Songshan Road and the Songde hospital branch (松德院區). On the Xiangshan trail towards the Songde branch is a stop called Yixiantian ('a thread of sky'): the two ridgelines are very close and the cliffs jut out overhead, so from the path hikers see only a narrow strip of sky between the rock walls. For a view over the Taipei Basin there is Chaoran Pavilion on the ridge, with an open outlook; its name 'Chaoran' comes from its view being the finest of all the pavilions on Xiangshan. From its platform you can see the Xinyi Planning District below, and further off Yuanshan, the Beitou incinerator, Guanyinshan and the Datun volcano group. Many people come here to watch the fireworks on New Year's Eve and National Day. Near the steps of Jushi (Giant Rock) Park there is a huge boulder with steps cut into it, which you can climb to look over the Taipei Basin. The path runs from the left hillside up to the ridge and down to the right hillside, giving views of the Taipei Basin from different angles. Interpretive signs along the trail introduce the hill's features, so it also serves as a nature classroom: by following the signs you can be your own guide. In the damp environment snails are numerous; 斯文豪氏大蝸牛 and 煙管蝸牛 can be seen almost everywhere on the hill. The hill was originally low-altitude primary broadleaf forest with rich and varied ecology. At the top, there are exercise facilities along the path for strength and lung capacity; people rest and exercise at Yixian Pavilion on the summit, and children run about among them.

Translated and shortened by DealTaipei from Taiwan's national tourism database. Sources are on the terms page.