Situated on the border of Miaoli and Hsinchu counties, this mountainside temple complex and network of hiking trails remain woefully under-promoted. But to those in the know, it’s one of Taiwan’s most captivating destinations.
Back in 2009, I pitched a tourism piece to the in-flight magazine of a Taiwanese airline. Tired of seeing articles on the same old places, I suggested a write-up on a sorely unappreciated location: Shitoushan – a fabulous temple complex and network of hiking trails on the border of Miaoli and Hsinchu counties.
Having lived in Miaoli for my first four years in Taiwan, I had been a regular visitor to the trails. When I arrived in June 2001, the Miaoli section of the Lonely Planet Taiwan guidebook comprised little more than a short paragraph on Shitoushan, also known as Lion’s Head Mountain Scenic Area (獅頭山風景區).
In that first month, I hopped on the local bus from Miaoli City, changing at Toufen Bus Station and alighting at the old archway trailhead before making the ascent to the main car park, where most people begin their visit.
I had read that you could spend the night at some of the temples and monasteries on the mountainside and, for a wet-behind-the-ears Westerner whose idea of Chinese monasteries had been shaped by Shaw Brothers kung fu flicks, this was an exciting prospect. While I didn’t encounter any martial arts practitioners, my trip was unforgettable.
After exploring the main temples on the lower tiers and hiking through the gorgeous mountain forest to the complex’s highest point, where a stone stele marks the border with Hsinchu, I spent the night in a tiny pilgrim’s cell at Yuanguang Temple.
As dusk descended, a furious electrical storm broke. I peered from my window as scintillating flashes of lightning illuminated the hidden forest and percussive claps of thunder reverberated across the mountainside. It was both spooky and enchanting. After a vegan breakfast at dawn, I watched morning prayers before descending and returning to the urban hubbub.
It was a profoundly moving experience that sparked my affection for Taiwan’s mountain landscapes. So when I had the opportunity to propose an overlooked destination for the in-flight mag, Shitoushan (which by that point I had visited perhaps a dozen times) immediately came to mind.
Alas, while the English-language editor was receptive to the idea, management rejected it as “not foreigner-friendly.” They were, I was told, “wary of promoting places that are off the beaten track.”
This type of circular reasoning is sadly far too prevalent among top brass in Taiwan’s travel and tourism sector. It begs the question: How does a location become better known if it is not promoted (on the grounds that it isn’t well known enough)?
“There are not that many foreign tourists, especially since Covid,” says Wu You-wei, whose family has run a pair of stores at Shitoushan for 26 years. “Most visitors are religious people who come to worship at the temples.”
While the Wu family’s stores cater to this steady stream of supplicants with powdered incense, tabletop censers, and other temple paraphernalia, their focus is preserved goods – particularly black sesame powder-based products. One regional specialty that uses the powder is lei cha (擂茶) – also known as “pounded tea” or, more poetically, “thunder tea” (雷茶), based on the homophony of the two words. Using a base of green tea leaves, this supposedly restorative beverage can also contain an assortment of ground nuts and seeds.
“It’s a typical Hakka drink,” says Wu’s mother, who runs the larger of the two stores, which can be found en route to the Quanhua Temple – the first major building in the complex. “Very good for your health,” she adds.
She supports her son’s view that foreign visitors are relatively few, though she says the backpackers who arrive often stay in the temple guesthouses and dormitories.
These days, Quanhua Temple hotel seems to be the only option for regular visitors hoping to spend a night at Shitoushan. On a recent visit to the Yuanguang Temple, where I had stayed all those years ago, the Buddhist nun in reception told me that overnight sojourns were no longer possible.
“I think they only take pilgrims nowadays,” says Alice Lin, who has worked as a manager of the Quanhua hotel for the past five years. But Lin, who speaks English well, paints a more positive picture of the number of foreign tourists.
“We get a lot of Europeans and Americans staying here,” she says, citing the combination of Chinese religious culture and nature as a major selling point. “I think a lot of Westerners who have high pressure in their lives come to take a rest,” she adds. “It’s quiet and calm.”
That may be true of the three basement levels in which the guest rooms are located, where the buzzing of cicadas, chirping of birds, and murmur of chanted sutras are the only sounds to break the silence, but up top in the courtyard things can get a little more raucous, especially during weekends and festivals. From a kitchen attached to the side of the temple, vegan meals are served to visitors at a marquee in the courtyard. A stay at the hotel entitles guests to breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The temple itself, which dates from 1897, is the oldest and only Taoist place of worship at Shitoushan. From the steps to the level below, one gets a magnificent view of the roof of the Japanese-era Futian Temple, which was completed in 1915. With its flamboyant swallowtail design, featuring phoenixes, dragons, and elephants, this rooftop was an iconic image for photographers long before the Instagram crowd got wind of it. The steps are the ideal spot to capture the roof in all its glory and the valley beyond.
It’s not just the casual visitor that has been enamored by the view. In early May, Oscar-winning French director Régis Wargnier and an 80-strong film crew spent two days at the temple filming scenes for La Réparation, a drama featuring a chef who journeys to Taipei for a culinary fair following a mysterious phone call connected to her missing lover. Prior to filming, a special “blessing ceremony” was held in Taipei. The movie is slated for release in November.
Rooms at the hotel range from NT$1,000 to NT$2,800, depending on the floor, size, and amenities. Many have small balconies affording a spectacular panorama of the surrounding countryside. In the distance, the Quanhua Pagoda can be spotted, peeping from the foliage like a diffident, lanky teen at a crowded party. “People like to sit outside and just enjoy the scenery, especially at sunset,” says Lin.
The pagoda is a multi-level columbarium, which contains dozens of urns filled with the ashes of the departed faithful, many of whom asked to be laid to rest amid this serene setting. The tower and its terraces offer stunning views of the countryside around Nanzhuang Township and in the distance, Sanwan, a region noted for its pears. The site receives little foot traffic, as it’s located at the top of the opening section of the trail from the old gate, which few visitors bother with.
Chasing zen
Aside from Quanhua and Futian – the largest and grandest of the temples – there are many other religious sites along the interlocking trails at Shitoushan, including several cave temples set in recesses in the rock face. For the best overview of the area, take the Shishan Historic Trail from either the old archway at the Miaoli end in Nanzhuang or the Lion’s Tail Archway at Emei Township in Hsinchu County. The shorter trails branch out from the Shishan route, forming loops that can be explored as diversions depending on time constraints and fitness levels.
The area is administered by the Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area Headquarters under the Tourism Administration, which itself is a department of Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications. In addition to Shitoushan, the Taichung-based Tri-Mountain HQ is responsible for two other mountain regions – Lishan in Taichung’s Heping District and Baguashan, which straddles Changhua and Nantou counties.
When the Tri-Mountain Headquarters was created in 2001, there seemed to be little rhyme or reason for the decision to combine these geographically distinct areas. What caused the move?
“That’s a good question,” says Sherry Chang, an employee in the Tri-Mountain HQ’s recreation section. “To be honest, it was mainly just to reduce staff.”
As a side trip from Shitoushan, Chang recommends visiting Emei Lake. This picturesque destination features a suspension bridge, scenic waterside trails, and a large Buddhist monastery. Outside this rather incongruously opulent building is an equally lavish 75-meter bronze statue of the Maitreya Buddha – reportedly the largest such effigy in the world.
“There’s also the Nanzhuang Flower Festival in May,” says Chang. “And you can discover the culture of the indigenous Saisiyat and Atayal people in this region.”
The best places to do this are found further into the countryside around Donghe Village, where – many years ago – I used to ride out to a secluded watering hole, long reclaimed by the rubble of a landslide. Almost every hillside lane here leads to tiny hamlets inhabited by members of subgroups of the Sasiyat and Atayal peoples, and the region is decorated with mosaics, murals, and statues that incorporate indigenous motifs.
“From Nanzhuang Old Street, you can take a bus or drive to Xiangtian Lake in Donghe Village,” says Chen Li-jun, a representative of the Nanzhuang Visitor Center. “It’s a beautiful place, surrounded by mist, and really worth visiting.”
The area adjoining the lake hosts the Miaoli portion of the biannual Pasta’ay festival, which is dedicated to appeasing the spirits of a race of small, dark-skinned people who were exterminated by the Saisiyat, according to their oral tradition. In recognition of the lake’s spiritual importance to the Saisiyat, the Museum of Saisiyat Folklore was established at the site in 2002.
While buses to the area run from Toufen and Zhunan Train Station, Chang recommends using your own transportation if possible. “It’s probably best if you have a car or scooter,” she says, “as some of these places are a little difficult to get to.”
For Josh Ellis, a photographer, blogger, and long-term resident of Taiwan, Shitoushan and the environs offer a “zen-like experience” that most people will only ever come across in TV and films.
“There are few places in modern-day Taiwan comparable to Shitoushan,” says Ellis, who has written extensively about the region. Ellis lists encounters with groups of cheerful hikers and pilgrims, the soothing sounds of Buddhist rituals, and historic places of worship as the drawcards, and he recommends an overnight stay at a temple to get a taste of the monastic lifestyle.
“Shitoushan has always been one of my personal favorite excursions,” he says. “Whenever I need to escape the city for some fresh air and a little peace, it’s my go-to destination.”
