Located at an altitude of 2,374m and 4.9km away from Dayuling, Guanyuan is a flat ridge area with a vast, unobstructed view. Since the opening of the Central Cross-Island Highway it has been a new attraction. The average July temperature is approximately 16℃, making it a perfect spot for summer getaway.
Situated at a high altitude, Guanyuan is above the cloud forest belt, where you can overlook the famous view Hehuan Cloud Watching”. Guanyuan lies close to Taci Jili River (midstream of Liwu River.), so when the airstream rises along the valley, the water vapor gathers here. Therefore, occasional fog obscures the mountains or creates a tumultuous sea of clouds. This scenery has long won Guanyuan a reputation for cloud watching.
The best hours for cloud-watching are in the morning and afternoon. When the sun rises, the sea of clouds will often disappear. In the afternoon, with weakened sunlight, the sea of clouds will slowly reappear. If you are lucky, when the clouds are higher, you can see the clouds cascading over Dayuling. Depending on conditions, Mt. Qilai North Peak also provides a magnificent sea of cloud scenery particularly with the breathtaking red sky that is commonly present at sunset.
The vegetation is comprised mainly of conifers such as Taiwan spruce, Taiwan hemlock, and Taiwan red pine. There are also hardwood species such as Alpine oak and Taiwan red maple. In the autumn, the deciduous trees change colors from green to different shades of red and yellow. The beautiful red maple leaves make Guanyuan a colorful world. From Guanyuan to Dayuling, it’s a habitat shared by mid- and high-altitude birds. Guanyuan is a bird paradise.
Brief Introduction to History
The original site of Guanyuan was located at a lower elevation than current Guanyuan with an altitude of approximately 2,000m. Historically, the Tuoboge tribe (from the west of Central Mountain Range) and Truku tribe (from the east of Central Mountain Range) used to fight each other here for control of hunting ground.
During the Truku War in 1914, Guanyuan was the Japanese troops first stop upon their march eastward from the Hehuan Mountains to attack the Taroko area. The leading Governor-General Sakuma Samata once stopped here to command a battle. Further naming Guanyuan after the strategically important “Sekigahara” in Gifu Prefecture, Japan.