Sunrise at Jhushan

So, we woke up very early on Friday morning. Around three in the morning, because, at around 4:10, the train that would take us to Jhushan was leaving. Jushan is a place famous for the sunrise over peak Yushan, one of the highest mountains in Taiwan, at almost 4000m. Don't you think we were alone, the train was probably completely full, because seeing that sunrise is one of the attractions in Alishan.

We could not see much of the outside during the trip, because the windows were all steamed, even if with the little light of that time and inside a forest there was not much to see

We arrived after 20 minutes in the train, and people started running up the stairs to get out of the station, go by two square-like places along the road, with balconies looking to the East, and with several stalls selling food and/or gifts, to finally reach the top of the hill, where there was another balcony with a spectacular view of the valley below. There was not anybody selling anything here, because to get to the top there were only stairs, but there were two small pavilions or kiosks (I wouldn't know how to describe them) that put the chinese touch


The Sun was supposed to rise behind the mountains at 5:20 and, meanwhile, people didn't stop taking pictures and more pictures. I can't say I was surrounded by a deafening silence, but I could have wished I was deaf, with one guy using a megaphone and explaining who-knows-what, because he only spoke Chinese, and everybody talking and shouting. It looked as if I was in a market


Little by little, the sky was lightning up. I guess the question is why the big expectation. Personally, I have been always attracted to a nice sunrise and I still have some places from where I would like to see it. Being born in a land where it is difficult to see the sunset at sea, the sunrise for me, with those very red suns just behind the horizon, is one of the more beautiful things that can be seen. The Sun was not red in Jhushan, too high in the sky and, consequently, hurt the eyes much more. But it was still the first Sun and the best thing to do was to close my eyes, raise my face to the Sun and enjoy how the sunrays were slowly warming me up.

Fortunately, once the Sun was completely up, people started running down the stairs, as if a pack of demons was chasing them, to get to the train that was supposed to leave half an hour after the sunrise. So, silence arrived little by little, while the Sun kept warming me up. The question is what is the point to go to the trouble of climbing up the hill, see the Sun and then rush out of there. But they are like that here.



As the train left the station, we began our walk down the path that would take us from Jhushan to Alishan crossing the thick forests in-between. But that's something for another moment.