If you want to be on the top to enjoy the scenery, be close to the mountain, or take your kids to a special hiking tour, you can start off with Yangmei’s Xiucai Hiking Trail! Drive on Yangmei Xiucai Road, then turn left upon seeing China Motor. Go straight towards Tiande Temple and you’ll see the wooden arch at the trail entrance. When you walk into the scaffolding green tunnel, 4 km long green tour thus begins! First, you’ll warm up with the "Stairway to Heaven Yangmei," a total of 497 steps. While climbing up the slope, don’t just focus on the stone steps in the front, the rich ecology beside you is even more eye-catching! You’ll get to see not only colorful wild peonies, the towering camphor trees that demonstrate exuberant vitality, the flying lycaenidae, sasakia and Neptis nata lutatia butterflies, but also rhinoceros beetles, stag beetles and up to 50 species of birds. Sometimes, the crested serpent eagles, the besra sparrow hawks and other protected animals appear unexpectedly, making the entire forest an amazing ecological classroom. After climbing the Ladder to Heaven, you’ll see the even tea plantation that follows the mountain edge line, and that is the Xiucai Bike Path. Standing on the top of Taiping Mountain (only 300 meters above sea level) and being embraced by the mountain wind, you’ll have a bird’s eye view of the entire Yangmei City, Xinpu City and Freeway No. 1. On sunny days, you can even overlook the Guanyin coastline. The boundless scenery releases your mind and also takes away the lethargy of climbing the stairs. Keep heading towards the tea plantation and another spectacular view will be unfolded in front of your eyes. Under the blue sky, the layers of tea trees are smooth and beautiful, as if arranged in the perfect measurement of the vector curves. If you visit here during the flowering season, you’ll see cherry blossoms in spr...