I have fond memories of the weeping cherry tree in our front yard transforming from deep pink buds to pale white petals raining down into the fresh shoots of spring grass. Last spring in Taipei was my first remembered spring without cherry blossoms.  I’d originally intended to visit Kyoto this weekend for the Cherry Blossom Festival where people picnic under the cherry trees.  Cherry blossoms are special in Japan because they embody the transience of mono no aware– a delight that holds a note of sorrow, because we know that it will pass all too quickly.

Visiting cherry blossoms in the misty mountains of Alishan was the chance to see their blush delicately intermingled with the forest of trees around them.

The deep pink of this particular kind of cherry tree I’d never seen before.

The kind that I’m more accustomed to is paler– and most of those were still in bud, though a few managed to bloom.

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Though it was still early in the season, some cherry blossoms and petals managed to slip down and nestle in the grass.

Happy Spring!

To get to Alishan, we took the high speed rail and then transferred to the mountain train from Chiayi train station. The mountain trains are small and curve around and through the mountains (the map looks something like a child gone silly with a crayon). They push through tunnels and bamboo forests up to where the forest becomes Cypress trees. The air gets cooler and cleaner filtered through all those trees.

This mountain train is coming down from the mountain into a little town that we stopped in. The trains are narrow, and switch from being pushed to being pulled up the mountain. The conductor literally hops out and pulls the switch to change the tracks as the train changes direction and circles higher.

The train station above the highest convenience store (rather appropriately–Hi-Life) in Taiwan.

But what people go to Alishan for are the trees.

There are trees that are over a thousand years old in Alishan, often with names like: “Giant Tree #3.”

Stump in the shape of a heart.

There are a lot of stumps in different shapes– my photography skills were too limited to catch the pig and the dragon and the phoenix…

This time of year is good for a visit because of the cherry blossoms!

on Alishan.