By Leo R. Maliksi /Taiwan news, Staff Writer
Shueish
This is usually the first and major stop of Sun Moon Lake. It is a transportation center where numerous well-known hotels are located. There are free parking lots here accommodating over one hundred cars. It is strongly recommended that people taking a tour around the lake by boat, circulate in a clockwise direction.
Meihe Gardens
Before 1970 this site was a military police station. Meihe means plum and waterlily, the symbols of the military police. The Meihe Gardens, to the west of the Shueishe pier, is a new landmark built after the 921 Earthquake in 1999. In the seventies, President Chiang Kai-Shek often came to this area for a vacation and this guard station on higher ground, served as a control point for cars, pedestrians and boats that went by. It is now the best viewing garden of Sun Moon Lake.
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| Photo courtesy of Tourism Bureau |
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Sanctuary of Christ
The Sanctuary of Christ, above the Meihe Gardens and to the right of the Hanbi Trail, was built in the seventies for the exclusive use of President and Madame Chiang. The chapel retains the original interior furnishings and decor of the time when the president and his wife attended Sunday services here. The chapel exterior features traditional styling and a series of Romanesque columns which give the building a feeling of both familiar comfort and classic grace.
This well-built chapel survived the 921 Earthquake unscathed, testifying to the craftsmanship in building this place of worship for the nation's leader.
Nature Trails
A variety of nature hikes are there for visitors to explore the area's protected natural environment. Well-maintained trails with elevated wood walkways and stairways wind through the Scenic Area's hills and mountains and circle the lake.
Trails currently opened by the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area administration include: Hanbi Trail, Shueishe Lakeside Trail, Maolan Mountain Trail, Songbolun Trail, Dajhu Lake Trail, Frog's Head Trail, Shueishe Mountain Trail, Tutingzih Trail, and Cih En Pagoda Trail. Each has been designed to highlight specific natural or historical points of interest and visitors are encouraged to explore as many as possible.
Bicycle Path
The SML Scenic Area administration has designated a 4km stretch between Huantan 1st Tunnel to the Mingtan Water Outlet as a bicycle-only path. The path meanders through beautiful scenery and gives cyclists a wonderful view out onto the Toushe Basin to the south and Cinglong Mountain to the north.
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