Dakeng

Dakeng occupies the mountainous southwest quadrant of Taichung’s Beitun District, spanning elevations from 112 to 859 meters above sea level. Since its designation as a scenic area by the Taichung City Government in 1976, the region has evolved from a remote relay station en route to Xinshe into a managed natural reserve covering some 3,300 hectares. Often compared to Yangmingshan for its verdant slopes and temperate climate, Dakeng offers a blend of steep ridges, forested valleys and creek-carved terrain. In 2014 it received formal status as the “Taichung City Dakeng Scenic Special Area,” under the supervision of the Tourism Bureau’s Scenic Area Management Office, ensuring that trails, facilities and ecological preservation coexist under a single authority.

Before the onset of Han settlement, the Pingpu people inhabited the broad valley that now forms the heart of Dakeng. During the Qing era and early Republican period, waves of Hakka farmers established terraced plots and villages along gentle streams. The name “Dakeng” reflects this landscape: “Da” signifies large, while “Keng” denotes valley or pit. The oldest settlement, known as Sanguangli, has since become a transport nexus called Dakengkou. Under Japanese administration, the area was divided into three fortified villages—Mindeli, Dakengli and Dongshanli—several of whose names survive in local hamlets. The Japanese also introduced tobacco cultivation, making Dakeng one of Taiwan’s first tobacco-producing zones. Although that industry has faded, a handful of tobacco-drying towers remain, silent reminders of a bygone economy.

Agriculture continues to shape Dakeng’s identity. Orchards of lychees, pomelos and citrus climb the lower slopes, while bamboo shoot groves and oncidium orchids occupy more sheltered hollows. These crops chart the seasons: spring blossoms give way to summer citrus fruit, autumn lychees and winter shoots. Farming roads connect the five original villages—Minde, Dakeng, Dongshan, Minzheng and Fuzi—linking families who have lived here for generations.

The region’s hydrographic network defines both its beauty and its trails. Six creeks—Dakeng Creek, Zhuoshuikeng, Qingshuikeng, Hengkeng, Beikeng and Fuzikeng—cut channels through ridges and gorges, sustaining dense stands of broadleaf and mixed forest. More than thirty species of deciduous trees create a brief, vivid display when the dry season transitions to monsoon rains, rivaling the colors found at Aowanda. That seasonal shift draws photographers and naturalists seeking unmanipulated vistas of red, gold and russet.

In 1999 Taiwan experienced the magnitude-7.3 quake known as the 921 earthquake, whose rupture along the Chelungpu Fault crossed Dakeng’s flank. Surface offsets up to several meters exposed hot springs beneath the forest floor. These springs now punctuate the landscape with mineral-rich pools. At the site of two damaged schools—Jungong Elementary and Dongshan Junior High—the Dakeng Earthquake Memorial Park preserves fractured walls and fault scarps as educational exhibits. Connected directly to Trail 9, the park’s modest parking area and gentle slopes make it a favored spot for reflection.

Recreation in Dakeng centers on an interconnected network of mountain hiking and biking trails, managed by the Taichung City Government. Twelve marked routes total roughly 17 kilometers of paths, ranging from slippery log steps to concrete-access roads. The oldest five trails occupy the western flank of Toulin Mountain. Planned by National Chung Hsing University’s Garden Research Office and completed in 1981, they follow natural contours and stream courses, incorporating ropes and wooden stairs where the grade steepens. Trails 6 through 8, built in 1990 on Xiping Mountain, offer gentler routes to the Tanzi–Beitun district boundary, while Trails 9 and 10, opened in December 2005 and March 2008 respectively, provide additional links across the network. A short connector, Trail 9-1, debuted in November 2013, enhancing access between the main routes.

Each path offers a distinct encounter with terrain and vegetation. Trail 1, at 1,566 meters, takes about ninety minutes to traverse. Under a cathedral of tung trees, hikers find shade and a cascade of white blossoms in May and June. The canopy feels like an umbrella of foliage, keeping the air cool.

Trail 2 spans 1,200 meters and requires roughly two hours. Its quiet slopes reveal platforms and observation towers at rest points. Come autumn, clusters of Sapindus fruit dangle like lanterns amid rustling leaves.

Trail 3, also about two hours for 1,275 meters, mounts several steep slopes along ridge crests. With fewer overhead branches, it exposes hikers to sunlit clearings, ideal for watching species such as the red-bellied hawk and green-winged pigeon.

Trail 4, the most demanding of the original set at 1,810 meters, ascends and descends precipitous sections. It affords uninterrupted views of Toulin Mountain’s forested crests, evoking comparisons to the rugged profiles of Taiwan’s central ranges.

Trail 5 measures 2,058 meters and requires nearly two and a half hours. Along its course, waypoints include Black Pine Pavilion, Gaofeng Pavilion and a wooden observation tower. Its summit at 859 meters represents the highest point within the old city limits. From there, one may gaze across Taichung’s urban sprawl to the distant Dadu Mountains.

A secondary branch, Trail 5-1, links Xietou Lane in Xin Community with the Hesong Pavilion on Trail 5 over 1,583 meters, providing a shortcut or alternative return path.

Trails 6, 7 and 8 present gentler grades. Trail 6 runs 1,650 meters in about one hour and forty minutes. It leads to Guanyin Pavilion, passing stands of ferns and taro at lower levels. Picnic facilities dot the route, including pavilions, children’s play areas and family-size tables.

Trail 7 extends 1,250 meters, reachable in about an hour. Situated near Fengdongshi Forest Park north of Jungongliao, it begins at a modest trailhead and moves steadily uphill.

Trail 8, at 950 meters and forty minutes, threads through mixed orchards before emerging at Fengdongshi Park on the Tanzi border.

Trail 9, opened in December 2005, covers 1,700 meters in about forty minutes. Its mostly flat course of concrete and wooden plank roads runs parallel to Dali Creek and the Fuzi section to the south. Convenient parking at its trailhead makes it a popular fitness route.

Trail 9-1, a 600-meter spur completed on November 30, 2013, links directly to Trail 9. Trail 10, introduced in March 2008, spans 1,200 meters and joins with both major and minor routes for further variety.

Beyond the main network sits Guanyin Mountain, sometimes called Southern Guanyin or Dakeng Guanyin. Its trailhead near the Dakeng Bridge on Kuozi Road rises to 318 meters in about twenty minutes. The summit, ranked number 042 among Taiwan’s “100 Small Mountains,” commands a view of Beitun District’s rooftops. Near the base, Guanyin Temple offers both cultural context and respite before the ascent. The temple stands beside Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology on Bu Zi Road, where worshippers pause to honor the bodhisattva of compassion.

Cyclists also find routes among these trails. While the hiking paths dominate, sections of wider track and service roads accommodate mountain biking, managed under the same municipal framework. Careful signage directs riders to appropriate ascents and descents, echoing the system created for hikers.

Dakeng’s management balances access with conservation. The Tourism Bureau’s Scenic Area Management Office schedules regular maintenance, trail clearings and safety inspections. Native vegetation regrows in cleared sections, and interpretive signs detail the region’s geology, history and ecology. The memorial park and visible fault scarps serve educational goals, reminding visitors of the area’s geological forces.

Seasonally, Dakeng shifts character. Spring mist settles in hollows and tung blossoms punctuate green slopes. Summer storms swell creeks and cool the forest interior. In autumn, maples and other deciduous species color the ridges; photographers often camp on Trail 1’s platforms. Winter brings quiet stillness, as bamboo undergrowth and evergreen stands filter pale sunlight.

Though urban growth has edged closer over recent decades, Dakeng retains a sense of distance. The grid of Taichung’s streets yields to irregular contours at the forest boundary. Sound carries differently under the canopy; distant traffic fades, replaced by birdcalls and wind in bamboo.

Visitors describe Dakeng not as an escape from city life but as its complement: a place where geology, history and livelihood converge. Trails reveal both local adaptations—tobacco towers, orchard paths—and universal forces—tectonic uplift, water erosion and plant succession. Through careful planning and incremental development, the Taichung City Government has maintained the area’s natural character while providing structured access.

In its valleys and ridges lies a record of human and natural interaction. From Pingpu dwellings to Hakka farmhouses, from tobacco fields to orchid groves, from the tremors of 921 to the calm of mineral springs, Dakeng persists as a living landscape. Each path offers a direct encounter with leaf and stone, pavilion and pavilion. The region’s complexity emerges not through grand gestures but through cumulative details: a rope-lined stair, a bird’s cry at dawn, the cracked wall of an earthquake memorial. In those details the area’s essence resides, urging a measured pace and thoughtful gaze.