Hemei Mt is a small mountain near the MRT Xingdian station (Bitan), the southern terminal of the green line. Bitan, which means green lake in Chinese, is famous for its green river and suspension bridge. If you visit Bitan, be sure to visit the mountain at the same time.
The Bitan Suspension Bridge is 100 m away from the Xingdian station. Just walk through the famous bridge, and then, you can find the entrance of the Hemei Mt hiking trail near the bridge pier. The trail is about 1000 m long with 100 m elevation gain. It takes 25 mins to arrive at the summit ( elev 152m), and you will be rewarded with a fantastic view of the whole Bitan area. Taipei101 is also a obvious subject of the scenery.
 |
| The entrance of the trail. |
 |
| The map of the trails |
 |
| The Trail |
 |
| A pond on the trail. |
Camphor trees are frequently seen in Taiwan, but most of them are young. Camphor was Taiwan's main industrial product before the massive chemical synthetic procedures were invented. Therefore, it is not easy to meet a camphor tree so big. You can rub a leaf and smell the typical aromatic odor.
Taro is also a common plant in the forest of Taiwan, but this wild species is poisonous. Do not try to eat it.
Taiwanese and Japanese hikers are always looking for the triangulation points on the mountain summits, which were set up for geodetic measurements 100 years ago. Nowadays, they are functionally replaced by the artificial satellites. Gathering the triangulation points becomes a pleasure for local hikers.
There are several hiking trails on Hemei Mt , and you can take anyone if you want. The small mountain is enclosed by the roads, therefore, it is impossible to be lost. I spent 1.5 hr to finish almost all of the trails.
If you still have time to kill, you can take a paddle boat tour in Bitan, or try the tea and cuisines at the cafe on the river bank. There is an Ubike station near the trailhead, and you can bike from Bitan to Taipei city centre along the river bank, and vice versa. Hiking, boating,and biking are the thiathlon of Bitan.
Simple info:
Xingdian MRT station
Entrance at the Bitan Bridge pier
25 mins to the summit.
