Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area

The Bong Bong Train, hot springs, an alpine lake, giant tree forests and Taiwan's treasured beech woods trace the century-long history of Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area. Taipingshan was formerly called 'Mien-nao', meaning 'lush and verdant' in the Atayal language. The Japanese surveyed its resources in 1914 and decided to develop it in 1915. As the Taiwan Nichinichi Shimpo reported on July 28, 1936, the name was coined by chief engineer Nakazato before the office was relocated, combining a transliteration of the indigenous name with the idea that, after Governor-General Sakuma's five-year campaigns ended, 'all under heaven returned to peace (taiping)' — the true origin of the name.