TW-231481

This colourful postcard came from Taiwan. Red train, rocky landscape, time of day - looks like sunrise or sunset. And on the postcard it is written, that it is Mt. Ali. So - what I found out about all this.

First about railways. Taiwan railway systems were constructed in the early years of the Kuang Hsu period of the Ching Dynasty from a request by the Taiwan Governor Liu Ming Chuan. The construction of first railway between Keelung and Taipei started in 1887, and was finished in 1891.

The Alishan National Scenic Area is a mountain resort and natural preserve located in the mountains of Chiayi County in Taiwan. It is 415 km² in area. It includes, among other things, mountain wilderness, four villages, waterfalls, high altitude tea plantations, the Alishan Forest Railway and several hiking trails. The area is popular among tourists and mountain climbers, and Alishan or Mount Ali  itself has become one of the major landmarks associated with Taiwan. The area is also famous for its production of high mountain tea and wasabi. Alishan is well known for its sunrises, and on a suitable morning one can observe the sun come up on a sea of clouds in the area between Alishan and Yüshan.

The Alishan Forest Railway is an 86 km network of 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) (narrow gauge) railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort. The narrow gauge lines were originally constructed by the Japanese Colonial Government in 1912 to facilitate the logging of cypress and Taiwania wood, however today the line caters mostly to tourists. Passenger carriages were first added to the trains in 1918. The locomotive on the picture is the diesel one.

Taiwan's government has listed the forest railway as a potential World Heritage Site. However, Taiwan's exclusion from the United Nations means it is unlikely to be formally recognized as a WHS in the near future.