Hakka Tour

The iron gate at the end of Shiyingzi Bridge separates the ancient trail and the industrial road. After passing through the gate, you will enter the realm of nature. The Raknus Selu Trail ribbon and the No. 001 mileage marker at the fork also indicate the beginning of Shien Ancient Trail.

Shien means "stone-covered hill" in the Hakka language. Shiyingzi Mountain is nearby so the locals called this place Shien. Therefore, the ancient trail that is under the ridge of Shiyingzi Mountain is called Shien Ancient Trail.

There is a section of the trail where you must cross the creek. There used to be a bridge here (ruins of bridge piers on both sides can still be seen). However, after the damaging of heavy rain, crossing the creek is now by going over the hard stone plates in the creek, making this section of the ancient trail quite special.

At the other end of Shien Ancient Trail is an old Sanheyuan called Qinghe Hall with a history of nearly a century. It was built by the ancestors when they came to Emei from Beipu via Shien Ancient Trail. It is a well-preserved Hakka-style building.

Fengluque, the ditches ancestors dug on the ridgeline, were used by Han people as the Aiyong Line (the defense line against the attack of indigenous people) . Later, Han people went deeper into the mountains. The surrounding mountains were developed as tea gardens. As Fengluque is located on the ridgeline at the top of the mountain, the cool breeze also made it a rest stop for porters who transported tea at that time.

Along the way, you can see many relics from the agricultural era, such as the ruins of terraced fields along the hillside, and the slope protection and irrigation canal, all of which have witnessed the hard work of the ancestors.

At Shien Ancient Trail, you can enjoy the secondary forest landscape with diverse nature and wildlife. The terraced fields reclaimed by the ancestors were abandoned for decades, from which new forest grew. In the process, many wild animals have also returned here.

As soon as you are on the ancient trail, in addition to hearing the barking of Reeves's muntjacs, you can see the tracks of wild animals along the rock wall. You can also see a variety of insects and birds, such as the colorful butterflies, and Taiwan blue magpies.

In terms of plants, along the way, you can see trees in the mulberry family Ficus fistulosa, King's fig, and red fruit fig tree; as well as rusty-leaf Muuna, chrysanthemum wood, and broadleaf elatostema. In addition, the low-altitude leguminous plant with the largest pods, soap-bark vine, can be seen here. There are rich ecological resources here.