In Taiwan there are quite a few places with trees that witnessed the arrival of the first Europeans, the first contacts of Aborigines with the Chinese and so on and so on. They are given names and enjoy governmental protection.

One such location can be found by No. 21 Cross-Island road at the altitude of 2600m, not far from Tataka (塔塔加) saddle of Yushan National Park, where two massive Formosa cypresses give a reminder that nothing lasts forever. They are called Fucishu (夫妻樹) or “Husband and Wife” in memory of an old story of a young couple whose parents would not allow their marriage. The desperate lovers decided to jump off a rock in Tataka and the two trees grew up on the spot where their bodies fell.

The trees had been there from time immemorial, but as noted above, nothing lasts forever. In 1963 a huge forest fire ravaged Tataka Saddle and the Fuci Trees did not escape its flames. Even though some visitors have noticed green leaves budding from the dry trunks and hoped for their revival, it was unfortunately a false hope, as the leaves belonged to other plants, and the Fuci Trees proved to be dead without any possibility of coming back to life.

As a matter of fact, authorities fenced the area around the trees to prevent injuries from falling branches, and experts warn that the trees may collapse within just a few years (as was the case several years ago of another iconic dead cypress tree in Alishan). So if you are keen on seeing the lovers' trees, you'd better hurry before the typhoon season arrives.