The railway leading to Alishan is 72 km in total. It starts from the space 30 meters above sea level and rises up to 2450 meters above sea level, the gradient of which is so big that is rare in the world. From the mountain foot to the peak, train ascends as if it were travelling spirally along “winding staircase”. Circling mountain and warming itself into tunnels, striding valley, with birds hovering below the train wheels. Along the route of ascending in a few hours, one can enjoy the scenery of vegetation of four categories in tropical, sub-tropical, temperate and frigid zones. Those rare and grotesque trees form the “green sea” on the Alishan. When the mountain wind blows hard, the mountain forest, like terrifying waves, makes big loud thunder, which is the famous soughing in the forest trees of vast area in Alishan.

Every tourist for Alishan is interested in witnessing the majestic view of “Mystical Tree of Alishan”. On the east side of the Mystical Tree Railway Station of the main Peak of Alishan, there stands a sturdy towering tree slightly slant. Although the main trunk is broken, yet the branches on the top are green and verdant. The tree is about 52 meters high and the diameter is about 23 meters, which needs ten more people to jointly embrace it. It is estimated that its high age is 3000 odd years, a king tree in Asia.

The oriental cherry all over the slopes of Alishan is also a wonder. During spring, red and white oriental cherry blossoms up hill and down dale, crowding together gorgeously. They mingles with the verdant forest, as if the peaks of Alishan had been splendidly attired in green clothes dotted with red flowers, making one intoxicated.

In the evening, there appears often the magnificent sea of clouds in Alishan. Reaching the terrace at the peak, when one looks far into the distance, he can see the white clouds emerging form valleys and hovering with wind. Sometimes it looks like a vast expense of water drowning mountains and peaks, making pinnacles and tops of trees above turn out like floating islets. Sometimes it looks like waves breaking and foaming with tides high and low. Sometimes it looks like earth covered with cotton, and you feel a vast expanse of whiteness under you feet. When it is fine day, the verdant sunset-bathed sea of cloud glitters in different colors, dark-brown, apricot pink, sapphire blue, bright red and dark green, all changeable without end, it appears more mystical and attractive.

There is a beautiful sun observation tower on the terrace of the famous Zhu Mountain peak of Alishan. At the crack of dawn, if you ascend the tower in the midst of freshness of air, you can see the grey outline of Yu Mountain far away would suddenly be edged with golden glow when radiance, increases all of a sudden. At the very moment, the sun as if jumps out off the top of Yu Mountain, shining with boundless radiance to all sides, myriads of golden rays burst one after another from blue mountain and verdant valley, a scene majestic in all its variety.

Traditional cakes and pastries are characterized by flaky crusts, fluffy innards, and outsides often a bit crispy, with heavy use of items associated with farm living such as egg yolks, taro, red beans, mung-beans, and so on. The taro and beans will be made into a paste and lightly sweetened, but the taste of the good earth is still there, and bakers place great emphasis on getting the ingredients from the field to your palate as quickly as possible and with as little adulteration as possible. Today’s consumer enjoys variety, and sellers endlessly roll out new treats, but you’ll find these are primarily based on traditional varieties with some tailoring done to suit current tastes and lifestyles. Following, we’ll first head out into farm country, to the pristine areas of Yilan and Hualien counties on the east coast, dropping by a well-known bakery in each area and check out its “famous foods” before heading back to Taipei.

I-Lan Cake Company – Thin Tastes Good
When the Yilan County government decided to focus on tourism as the core of the county’s economic development, Master Liu Deng-hui of I-Lan Cake Company decided to develop a unique Yilan-based pastry. His renowned handmade I-Lan Cake has emerged as perhaps Yilan’s best-known signature product, a favorite with tourists. It is in fact a biscuit, the world’s thinnest at just 0.1 cm thick, crispy, transparent, and delicious. The shop’s best-selling product is the 15-pack I-Lan Cake family gift set, with biscuit flavors including the county’s popular Sanxing onion, sesame seed, maple sugar, milk, cheese, and even barbecue.

I-Lan Cake Company
Add: 130, Chunjing Rd., Sec. 2, Luodong Township, Yilan County

Hualien County Cakes – Ever “Taste” a County?
It’s name synonymous with quality, Hualien County Cakes differs from other cake shops in the area by offering a wide diversity of choice rather than specializing in a single item. This is one of the most popular cake and pastry shops in the city of Hualien, offering old-style cookies and other baked goods in addition to cakes. The shop’s signature “county cakes,” labelled simply “Fresh Cake” in English on their pretty boxes, have brown cane sugar as the main ingredient. Cut a slice and you’ll see numerous sweet long veins of brown streaking one side to the other. Also recommended is the delectable walnut cake, featuring softened nuts and raisins. All the shop’s major treats are available in attractive gift boxes.

Hualien County Cakes
Add: 1 Zhonghua Rd., Hualien City

Kong Kee Pastry Shop – A Taste of Hong Kong
Located in the Ximending area of Taipei, Kong Kee is run by kindly folks from Hong Kong. The owners proudly inform customers they use no preservatives, no artificial coloring, and minimal sugar, utilizing instead naturally sweet ingredients. On display is a wide range of taste experiences. These include the shop’s unique renditions of pineapple cakes, mung-bean cakes, honey cakes, an organic fruit cake, and catchy-name creations such as “Emperor Qin Cake” and “3Q President Cake” (“3Q” is pronounced “san Q,” which sounds like “thank you,” and “Q” is local slang term meaning “chewy”). All Kong Kee items make great gifts, especially because they are presented in wonderfully artistic gift boxes.

Kong Kee Pastry Shop
Add: 6-2 Hanzhong St., Taipei

Nancy Cake – A Taste of American Flair
Nancy Cake in no way fits the familiar Taiwan cake and pastry mold. Owner Nancy Lin produces designer cakes in the Western fashion, having lived, learned her trade, and operated a bakery in the US. She decided to come back to Taiwan after the Tourism Bureau brought her over for demonstrations. Her creations have caused quite a stir, notably her made-to-order erotic cakes, but she’ll make most anything you desire and takes great pride in producing treats that look pretty darn close to the real thing; she’s made a McDonald’s burger and an IBM notebook, among many other objets d’art. Beyond cakes, Nancy Cake also makes delicious home-style designer cookies. A wide range of gift-box selections is on display.

Nancy Cake
Add: 5, Lane 2, Alley 345, Renai Rd., Taipei