The entrance to the 鳳崎落日登山步道 (Feng qi luo ri mountain hiking trail). Given that the highest point of the trail is at about 135 meters above sea level the "mountain" part may be a little exaggerated, so don't expect any mountains or even snow. :-)

Near the entrance there's an old M48A3 Patton gun tank of the type that was used in the Vietnam war. It's not entirely obvious why it is where it is but it's still interesting.

鳳崎落日登山步道 (Feng qi luo ri hiking trail) has recently been (re?)built, so it's very nice to walk. Almost a little too easy ...

When the forest lightens up not only can you see Hsinchu's coast and the beautiful ocean ...

... but also a life-sized Tyrannosaurus from the 小叮噹科學遊樂區 (Little Ding-dong Science Park), a small theme park right next to it.

Apart from a theme park the trail passes an army tank exercise area and what looks like the remains of a landfill where some people are still treasure hunting.

The trail eventually leads to ...

... a little recreational area for children of all ages to play.

Army bunkers can be seen all along the way ...

... as well as caterpillars and other animals.

The 鳳崎落日登山步道 (Feng qi luo ri hiking trail) eventually leads to an open area that has a little shop/café and - cover your ears - a karaoke place where people perform who have been banned from more urban karaoke bars and are now torturing wildlife and nature loving hikers.

Apart from the karaoke background it would be the perfect place to watch a sunset.

Said little shop has prices that can easily compete with your around-the-corner convenience store.

For a short while the 鳳崎落日登山步道 (Feng qi luo ri hiking trail) becomes a little more natural, just the way we like it.

At the end of the trail you'll see the 蓮花寺 (Lotus temple).

I always enjoy the warning signs. I've been to 3000+ meter mountains that apparently had fewer dangers. :-) My favorites are the ones about the killer bees and the cliff!

A nicely done 3D map of the whole hiking trail. You can even see the tank from the trail head at the lower right!

A 觀音 (Guan yin) statue in front of the 蓮花寺 (Lotus temple).

The view of West Hsinchu and Zhu bei taken from ...

... one of the panorama platforms along the trail.

Getting ready for 加里山 (Jia li shan) ...

A mushroom "farm" along the way.

The first obstacle on the way to 加里山 (Jia li shan) is a creek that has to be crossed. A few hundred meters before this creek we met a young couple who had just turned around because of the high water level. It had indeed rained for a few days before our hike but we didn't want to give up that easily. So, some of us simply took off their shoes ...

... while others jumped across a bunch of large stones making for an extra adrenaline kick. :-)

After a bit of jumping, climbing, and wading everybody made it safely to the middle of the stream.

From the middle the 佳里小橋 (Little Jia Li bridge) leads across the second half. We're not sure why the bridge's name carries the character 佳 instead of 加, but that's what the sign says, so we're sticking with it. :-)

This morning the 佳里小橋 (Little Jia Li bridge) was slightly under water but we made it anyway with only minor amounts of water in our shoes.

加里山山屋 (Jia li shan mountain shelter), a little less than half-way to the peak, is a good place to take a quick rest. (Some less congenial people from other hiking groups also seem to think it's a good place to smoke, but the clean air of a hiking trail never is!)

Some people have interesting ways of crossing obstacles.

The last quarter of the hiking trail involves a lot of climbing on ropes and roots, which was a bit of a challenge given the wet floor, but nevertheless a lot of fun.

After roughly 800 meters of ascent we were finally at the top of 加里山 (Jia li shan), 2220 meters above sea level.

Time for a group photo!

Happy, yet slightly disappointed over the (inexistent) view we took a brief rest and then got ready to descend a few minutes and find a quiet place to cook lunch.

Our lunch: Noodle soup with vegetables, egg, and meat balls.

Hiking makes hungry! 吃很大!

The descent was almost slower than the way up but certainly entertaining.

Because there had again been some light showers in the area we were a little afraid at first that the water level might have risen again. Luckily it hadn't and the 佳里小橋 (Little Jia Li bridge) was already back out of the water - still slightly unstable though as it would dangerously tilt the moment someone stepped on it.

View of the refreshing creek ...

Crossing 佳里小橋 (Little Jia Li bridge) for the second time.

Done! After a solid day of hiking we came to understand how 加里山 (Jia li shan) got its nickname of "training mountain".