Explore Shanping Forest Ecological Garden

　Shanping Forest Ecological Garden reopened on New Year's Day. Located 750 meters above sea level, it has become a popular spot for eco-tourism. Shanping is excellent for viewing Plum Blossoms, Cherry Blossoms, Peach Blossoms, and azaleas. Spring is the best time to come to the area. It is also home to 134 bird species, ten of which are endemic to Taiwan, offering a paradise for serious bird watchers.

　Shanping is famous for its Cinchona cultivation, the tree that produces the malaria treatment quinine. As a result, Shanping was an important area for the cultivation and research of Cinchona during the Japanese colonial period. After Japanese colonialism ended, Shanping continued to be an area for forestry research. In 1997, Shanping Forest Ecological Garden was established.

　The park opens from the beginning of November until the end of April. Visitors are required to apply for a permit 14 days before their visit. The ecological tour begins at the Forestry Promotion and Education Center. Then visitors see the Earth God temple in the back and walk the trail. If you continue onwards, you will be surrounded by mesmerizing broad-leaved forests scenery. The trail ends at the Bamboo Garden. In 1970, internationally renowned bamboo expert Mr. Lin Wei-jhih established the garden and collected and planted more than 60 bamboo species. 

　Visitors are then recommended to hike the 2.5-kilometer Senshan Trail, which usually takes two and a half hours. Visitors will see low-altitude tree species along the trail, including Taiwan Incense Cedar and Agathis dammara. 177 plant species, including Cupressus cashmeriana, Agathis gammara, and Ceylon olive, can be seen in the arboretum.

　At the end of the forest road lies the oldest and most well-preserved building in the area-“Wumu House.” Mr. Lin, the previous experiment forest's director at the Kyoto Imperial University, lived in Wumu House. It was built with Taiwanese cypress and Formosan Michelia wood and was previously Mr. Lin's dormitory. It is now open for visitors. Zihcingtang, another historical building, has a black and white display of old photos of the area. It gives visitors insight into the region's history and its Cinchona trees. Shanping Forest Ecological Garden is a beautiful place for nature and history lovers alike to enjoy the region's flora and fauna and take a walk into the past.

扇平森林生態科學園 俯拾皆風景

　　今年元旦「扇平森林生態科學園」重新開放，讓生態旅遊愛好者雀躍不已。春天是位於海拔750公尺的扇平最繽紛的季節，梅、李、櫻花、桃、杜鵑花綻放。

　　扇平是適合栽種金雞納樹的環境，金雞納樹樹皮含有奎寧，是治療瘧疾的特效藥，因此扇平在日治時期即為栽種、研究金雞納樹的重要據點，臺灣光復後，扇平持續林學的研究，1997年，扇平成立「扇平森林生態科學園」，區域內共計有134種鳥類，包含10種台灣特有種，有著「賞鳥者天堂」的美譽。

　　扇平開放參觀的期間為每年11月1日至4月底，造訪扇平須於入園14天前提出申請，探索扇平的自然生態可從林業教育推廣教育中心為起點，從其後方的土地公廟出發，走在園區自然步道，步道前段沿著扇平溪支流設置，續行可見高大闊葉林，俯拾皆風景。

　　園區步道的終點為「竹類標本園」，由1970年由國際聞名的竹類專家林維治先生蒐集各種竹子所設置，目前約有六十餘種竹類，接著前往「森山健行步道」，全長2.5公里，單程需時約150分鐘，沿途低海拔天然林林相完整，還可見到台灣肖楠、菲律賓貝殼杉等珍貴樹種。

　　在「樹木標本園」種植177種木本植物，比如喀什米爾柏、菲律賓貝殼杉、錫蘭橄欖等。林道盡頭，座落扇平園區內最古老、保存最完善的建築「五木齋」，彼時為日本京都帝國大學演習林場長在扇平的公務宿舍，以台灣特產檜木、烏心石等珍貴木材建築而成。

　　「自慶堂」是園區內另一棟特色建築為，現在展出黑白老照片，可一窺彼時在扇平園區內曬金雞納樹皮的情況。