Xueshan or Sekuwan (in Atayal, formerly known as among others) is a mountain in the Heping District of

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

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 ...

. It is the 2nd-highest

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in Taiwan and in

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

, at above sea level. It is located in the Shei-Pa National Park and is visible in good weather from hills near Taiwan's capital

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

Names

''Xuěshān'' is the

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

romanization In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Latin script, Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and tra ...

of the Chinese name meaning "

Snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

y Mountain", it is romanized as ''Hsüehshan'' using the previous Wade-Giles system. Japanese historian Taira Shidehara suggests that is short from , transliteration of Atayal ''Sekoan'' or ''Sekuwan'' which means "cracking into gravel". During the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, the mountain was known to Westerners as It was also known as (properly, ''Sānchāshān'') from a Chinese name meaning "3-Forked" or "3-Prong Mountain". During

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

's occupation of Taiwan, improved surveys showed that Xueshan was shorter than Yushan on Taiwan but taller than in the Japanese Islands. Its name was accordingly changed to ''Tsugitakayama'' (次高山), meaning "Next-" or "Second-Highest Mountain", in 1923.

History

The mountain was first climbed in 1935 by Japanese climbers. The Japanese

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

designated Xueshan part of the by the

Governor-General of Taiwan The governor-general of Taiwan (, shinjitai: ) was the head of the Government-General of Taiwan in the Japanese era (including Formosa and the Pescadores) when they were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945. The Japanese governors- ...

on 12 December 1937.

Climbing

Xueshan is a part of the Shei-Pa National Park and so climbers are required to apply for a park entry permit. This can be done 5–60 days in advance. International hikers can apply for a park entry permit between 35 days and 4 months in advance. After that a police mountain entry permit must be applied for. This can be done at the police station in

Wuling Farm Wuling Farm () is a tourist attraction farm in Heping District, Taichung, Taiwan. History The farm was established in 1963 to provide employment for retired servicemen. At the beginning of the reclamation phase, the first director of the farm ...

on the spot. There are two cabins on the trail. The first, Chika Cabin, is at the mark. The second, 369 Cabin, is at the mark. Both cabins are spartan, and contain bunker style beds. Hikers must bring their own sleeping and cooking gear. The peak is at the mark.

Gallery

Image:HsuehshanMainPeak.jpg, Xueshan Main Peak Image:TheHolyRidgeline.jpg, Shengleng Trail (Holy Ridge Trail) Image:Hsuehshan_1st_circlevalley.jpg, Cirque or Landslide Valley #1 Image:Hsuehshan CueiChih TheGreenJadePond.jpg, Cui Pond

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * * {{Authority control Landforms of Taichung Mountains of Taiwan Mountaineering in Taiwan