The Starry Skies: The Main Peak of Yushan - Above Taiwan's Tallest Mountain

Reporter/Provider - TaiwanPlus
Publish Date -
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What does the starry sky look like from nearly 4,000 meters? If you ask astronomers, they will tell you you don’t need to climb so far! If you climb a smaller mountain, the stars will look the same. Yet why do people still climb the highest peak in Taiwan to stargaze, carrying heavy equipment and risking physical exhaustion, even though there are observatories reachable by road. If some things are already done by others, should they never be attempted again? If so, there would be no need for others to repeat the feat of Sir Edmund Hillary, who conquered Mount Everest in 1953. The experience is the journey towards the highest point of Taiwan. And when you reach Yushan’s main peak, you can look up to the Heavens embellished with stars, and look down to see Taiwan’s west coast cities lit up at night: Taichung, Changhua, Chiayi, and Tainan. You can see the islands of Penghu, and the boats in the Taiwan Strait. On your Yushan-climbing trip, you should arrive at the Paiyun Lodge by afternoon. After dinner, walk out of the lodge and stroll over to the Hill of Broken Rocks. Lie on the hill, and watch the sea of clouds and the crescent moon. Seven bright stars form the Big Dipper, a big spoon dangling above the northern hills. The second star on the handle is actually two stars—Mizar and Alcor, one orange, one blue. At 3 a.m., the zig-zagging mountain paths are lit up by the headlamps of hikers, who want to catch the sunrise. Photographers must make their way up Yushan at night to get a bird’s eye view northward. Time-lapse photos, and the starry sky in the background revolving around the Northern Star, mean images will never be dull.

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