Hehuanshan: Pristine white magic

Of course there was this practical issue of not getting parking anywhere in the vicinity of the farm, which wasn’t all that surprising to us, having experienced similar phenomena innumerable times, but since it was quite early in the morning—just about 9 a.m.—and the weather was bone-shattering chilly, we were a bit disappointed.

As we began driving up along Provincial Road 14 following the brown board sign of Hehuanshan (合歡山) National Forest Recreation Area, our initial disappointment paved way for pleasant surprises when we got the glimpse of a glistening white layer on the peaks of the Hehuan Mountains looming far ahead.

Gradually more and more peaks appeared, all covered in thick white, and in no time snow came knocking at our car doors—blanketing the grassy slopes on the roadsides and on the road as well. It was our first “snowy escapade” in Taiwan, and needless to say, we were as excited as a bunch of school kids on their first date.

At 11,207 feet, Hehuanshan (“shan” means mountain in Mandarin), located in the Nantou region of Central Taiwan, is a tourist destination that’s well known for its spectacular Alpine scenery—high mountains, startling blue skies and lush meadows. The only thing missing is a shimmering blue-green lake.

A motorable road winds its way through the mountain regions—designated as Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area—making it pretty convenient to explore the surroundings and enjoy the fantastic views. The road leads all the way up to Wuling, which is also the highest motorable point in Taiwan; from there it is only a few kilometers’ trek to the top of the main peak, also named Hehuanshan.

It snows sparsely every winter there, but as the island has been experiencing its coldest winter this year, the snowfall had intensified during Chinese New Year. And the day we visited, it happened to snow the most the previous night. Although we were just plain lucky, having been out on our CNY holidays and missing our regular sources like the China Post or ICRT, the news spread like wildfire through the Chinese media.

The road was heavily crowded—choc-o-bloc with all sorts of vehicles and all kinds of people. Well, nobody seemed to mind. Everyone was so engrossed with the vista, which for many of us was the experience of a lifetime.

It was a beautiful day—bright and sunny, perfect for an outdoor adventure. As the car trudged up along the serpentine road, the progress was painstakingly slow, mostly due to heavy traffic, but occasionally the road got so slippery that it became difficult to drive and required utmost caution.

But no complaints, as we utilized the time by alighting often from the car and walking on the snow-covered trails, savoring the white washed landscape to our heart’s content. We also indulged in the revelry of making our first snowman—which to my daughter’s chagrin more closely resembled a snow-snail—and had our first snow-fights.

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