Sitou is a forest recreation area, with ancient trees reaching for the sky, a good climate, and a number of other attractions including Shenmu (giant trees), dense forests, University Pond, gingko groves, and stands of bamboo.

I don't remember being this cold for years as I stand outside the little 'A' frame mountain hut, trying to find the most sheltered spot out of the worst of the biting, sub-zero blast of wind that buffets us.

Nantou may be the only completely landlocked county in Taiwan but the beauty of its natural features and landscapes definitely does not lag behind the rest of the island.

While I love hanging out in the hip Zhong Xiao Dong Lu neighborhood in Taipei, there are times when the hustle and bustle of city life becomes a little overwhelming and I long for a reprieve from the fast-paced technology-dominated world.

Thank heavens for its timely intervention. Had it not been for that invisible divine spirit guiding us, we would probably have spent another day in the overly crowded Chingjing Farm (清境農場) and missed out on the delightful experience of spending a day amid snow-capped hills, green conifers heavily laden in snow skirting the foothills.

I am intrigued by Alishan (阿里山). Thousands of people ascend the misty peaks every weekend -- but for what exactly? Some of the scenery is undeniably beautiful, but I find its deliberately planned walkways to be too ordered, too regimented.

Set like a jewel among the green hills and mountains of central Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) is glorious.

Taiwan's Yushan National Park (玉山國家公園) is a place of immense beauty. With panoramic views, overlapping mountains and deep, plunging valleys, Yushan has some of the most stunning mountain scenery anywhere in Taiwan.

Geographically speaking, Taiwan is an ancient land mass marked by enormous uplifting forces millions of years ago that formed the rocky Central Mountain Range peaks and valleys from north to south along the current island's spine.

Nantou, Taiwan's only completely landlocked county, lies at the island's geographical center and features some of its wildest countryside and loftiest peaks (it shares Jade Mountain, the tallest peak in northeast Asia, with neighboring Chiayi County).