Summer Sun at Shei-Pa

Shouldering your heavy backpack, breathing hard, you exit the sunless forest. Before your eyeslays a small path along the stony slope. You fear that you will have to continue crawling yourway up the steep cliff toward the peak; you have no way of knowing that, only a moment away,will there be a spacious valley, outlined by a perfect arc, laid out before you: Taiwan’s largestcirque (a bowl-like valley), Syueshan Glacial Cirques.

Syueshan Glacial Cirques is 1,400 m. in length and 600 m. wide; it occupies nearly 1 km.sq.—larger than a soccer field. Regardless of how many times you may have seen it, thisvalley compels you to stop and savor the awe-inspiring scenery. At this point, you are near thepeak. Hiking along the path towards the main peak, you realize that easily reaching such anextravagant vista as the cirque has spoiled you.

As a result of having such a large valley, the entirety of the Shei-Pa area has a rich and thrivingecological environment. Multitudinous landscapes abound in the cirque and seasons oscillatelike clockwork here—as indicated by the timely prospering of azaleas, jade carpets of grass,and blankets of immaculate snow, all in their turn. As it is the very beginning of summer, purewhite azaleas speckle and adorn the valley—a colorful and awe-inspiring mosaic, they make.

Whether it be with a carpet of green or a blanket of white, Syueshan Glacial Cirques alwayswelcomes—with one of these gorgeous faces—any guest who may perchance visit.

• upper：Summer Sun at Shei-Pa / Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters