Tea, rails and architecture: 3 ways to explore Chiayi County

Chiayi county, in Taiwan’s southwest, stretches from the Taiwan Strait across the green fields of Jianan Plain and to the central mountain range – stopping just short of Yushan, Taiwan’s highest mountain. The county wraps around its namesake city of Chiayi, which is easily reached from Taipei via high-speed rail and inter-city bus. It’s the main jumping-off point for journeys into the Alishan National Scenic Area.

Indeed, Alishan is what draws most people here: its oolong tea plantations, its fruit-forward coffees, its sacred mountains and the chance to experience the traditions of the indigenous Tsou people. Most of all, people come to ride the steam-powered Alishan Forest Railway, which putters from one Japanese-era hamlet to the next past old-growth trees and mist-wreathed mountains. What follows are three ways to explore this fascinating county – whether it’s nature, cuisine or heritage architecture that draws you here.

You’ll never need to rent your own wheels in Taiwan, thanks to both stellar public transport and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle, which operates hop-on-hop-off bus routes throughout all 13 of the island’s counties. The latter is your ticket around Alishan and its fine oolong tea plantations, which occupy a misty section of mountain between 800-1,600m above sea level.

At the Shizuo Trails – a network of five short footpaths – you’ll stroll through a jade mosaic of tea fields. At YuYuPas Cultural Park, you’ll explore the culture of Alishan’s first people: the Tsou. The teahouses here are thatched in the style of traditional Tsou meeting halls, and have spectacular views over the park; head out on a plantation tour, which includes a guided tasting. On Saturdays, the Tsou showcase their music and dances in a 100-minute performance.

You can also buy tea at the Sheng Li Farm cafe, and at the FKUO Tea restaurant. The latter is run by a Tsou warrior and has a restaurant serving indigenous dishes such as millet dumplings and roasted wild boar.

Staying the night? Head to the family-run Tea Garden Homestay – set in a former tea factory – or SunSweetHouse, a Californian-style villa with huge, mountain-view windows.

One of Taiwan’s most-loved tourist attractions is the Alishan Forest Railway. The narrow-gauge line was built by Japanese colonists in the early 1900s to transport timber down to the coast. Today, a steam train putters daily out of Chiayi City and across the plains towards the forest.

Looking out from your retro, hinoki-wood carriage, you watch as the track-side acacias and bamboos become taller and denser. As you climb higher you enter temperate forests of Japanese cedar, pine and Taiwanese red cypress. Towards the horizon, the mountains loom in watercolour shades of mauve and powder blue.

The train terminates at Alishan Station, 2,216m above sea level. It’s in the National Forest Recreation Area: a complex of hotels, restaurants and walking paths. Stay the night at Alishan Hotel, which is part Japanese-colonial and part modern architecture. Rise early the next morning to catch the Zhushan Sunrise Watching Train, which chugs up the mountain to a viewing platform; there, you’ll see the sun’s first rays gild Yushan’s peak.

The ring-shaped roads that ripple out from Chiayi’s centre are packed with docking stations for YouBike, the government-run bicycle-sharing service. When combined with the city’s extensive cycle route network, it’s easy to discover several of Chiayi’s heritage buildings in just a day.

Begin at the train station. Close by, Chiayi Art Museum occupies three transitional-style buildings from the Japanese colonial era, which were once the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau. A short ride northeast is the Museum of Old Taiwan Tiles: a former timber storage building with a display of painted and embossed tiles and a unique souvenir shop.

Yet further northeast is a trio of treasures. The Alishan Forest Railway Garage Park has an impressive collection of antique locomotives; across the road is the 1912 Beimen Station, the former departure point for the forest railway. The Hinoki Village is a complex of around 30 Japanese-built dormitories that now house cafes and boutiques.

Towards the perimeter, you’ll find the Chiayi Old Prison, first opened in 1922 and now a museum. Nearby is the neatly landscaped Chiayi Park, which you can gaze down upon from its 62m-high Sun-Shooting Tower. There, you’ll also find the Chiayi City Historical Relic Museum: two exquisite former Japanese administrative buildings with traditional paper screen doors.