Shouka (, alternatively 壽卡, el. 460 m), formerly known as , is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

located in southern

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, transversing the

Central Mountain Range The Central Mountain Range is the principal mountain range on the island of Taiwan. It runs from the north of the island to the south. It acts as a barrier between the east and west coasts, hindering travel. The tallest peak of the range is ...

. Administratively, Shouka is at the border of

Shizi, Pingtung Shizi Township is a mountain indigenous township in Pingtung County, Taiwan. It is the largest township of the county. The main population is the Paiwan people of the Taiwanese aborigines. Names The original Paiwan name for the area was Tjak ...

and

Daren, Taitung Daren Township () is a mountain indigenous township in Taitung County, Taiwan. The main population is the Paiwan people of the Taiwanese aborigines. History In 2012, Daren, along with Wuqiu Township in Kinmen County (Quemoy), was proposed by ...

. Shouka is a major intersection in road travel in Taiwan, bringing together traffic from

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Taitung City Taitung City () is a county-administered city and the county seat of Taitung County, Taiwan. It lies on the southeast coast of Taiwan facing the Pacific Ocean. Taitung City is the most populous subdivision of Taitung County and it is one of the ...

, and

Kenting Kenting National Park ( zh, c=墾丁國家公園, hp=Kěndīng Gúojiā Gōngyuán}), commonly known as Kenting ( zh, c=墾丁, hp=Kěndīng), is a national park located on the Hengchun Peninsula of Pingtung County, Taiwan, covering Hengchun, C ...

. It is the highest point of the

South-Link Highway The South Link Highway is a section of Provincial Highway No. 9 (Taiwan), Provincial Highway No. 9 from Taitung City to Fenggang, Taiwan, Fenggang, Pingtung County, in Taiwan. The section of the highway from Taitung City, Taitung to Ansuo is coas ...

and the intersection of Provincial Highway 9 and County Highway 199. The point is also a popular destination for road cyclists. The character "峠" is a ''

kokuji In Japanese, or are kanji created in Japan rather than borrowed from China. Like most Chinese characters, they are primarily formed by combining existing characters - though using combinations that are not used in Chinese. Since kokuji ar ...

'', a Japanese character that does not appear in Chinese, which is why "卡" is occasionally used in its place.

History

The South-Link Highway was originally built by during Japan's rule over Taiwan. Construction of the highway ran between 1933 and 1939 and became an important link between Taiwan's east coast with the rest of the island. The highest point of this highway was named "Kotobuki Pass" at its completion. A police checkpoint once stood at Shouka, but has been abandoned. The building has been transformed into a rest stop for cyclists.

Recreation

Shouka is a popular destination for road cyclists. Cyclists attempting to cycle around the island of Taiwan must climb up to Shouka, as there is no other road possible between Pingtung and Taitung. It is also one of two sections with substantial elevation gain, the other being

Suhua Highway The Suhua Highway (), also called the Suao-Hualien Highway, is a section of the Provincial Highway 9 in Taiwan, starting at Su'ao Township, Yilan County and ending at Hualien City, Hualien County. With a portion built alongside very steep c ...

. Taiwan Cycling Route No.1 passes through Shouka. The 22.2 km climb along Provincial Highway 9 from Daren is listed as one of the top 100 cycling climbs in Taiwan, with an average grade of 4.2%. On April 11, 2009, the Pingtung County government turned a former police checkpoint into the "Shouka Cyclist Rest Stop" (壽卡鐵馬驛站) to accommodate passing cyclists. The staffed rest stop provides water, toilets, and repair tools free of charge for cyclists. The Water Resources Agency also operates a

rain gauge A rain gauge (also known as udometer, ombrometer, pluviometer and hyetometer) is an instrument used by meteorologists and Hydrology, hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation in a predefined area, over a set period of t ...

on top of the rest stop.

References

{{reflist Mountain passes of Taiwan Landforms of Pingtung County Landforms of Taitung County