“Seeing Yushan is like seeing home.” Artist Teng-Pho Tan once captured the vastness and nostalgia of the sacred mountain viewed from Chiayi City in his painting “Accumulated Snow on Jade Mountain.” As landscape scholar Professor Monica Kuo noted, Yushan holds an irreplaceable symbolic position in Taiwanese art, literature, geographical landscapes, disaster resilience, national landscapes, and the hearts of the people. Starting today, the Yushan National Park Headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior (hereafter referred to as the Yushan National Park Headquarters) is launching the “Seeing Yushan - Beauty from Multiple Perspectives” image collection campaign. Director-General Jui-Chang Cheng of the Yushan National Park Headquarters invites everyone to join in recording this century-long gaze and watchfulness.
Yushan, standing at 3,952 meters, is Taiwan’s highest peak. Its majestic presence along Taiwan’s central mountain range not only shapes the island’s stunning geography but is also deeply ingrained in its history and cultural memory. In the past, indigenous people considered Yushan to be a sacred mountain. Historical texts from the Qing Dynasty already recorded its majestic form. During the Japanese colonial period, it was named “Shinkouzan” (New High Mountain) because it was over a hundred meters higher than Mount Fuji. After the war, the name “Yushan” was restored, and writers such as Sheng Wu, Lieh Chen, and Bunun author Husluman Vava began to depict Yushan in their works. Through their emotional and spiritual interpretations of Yushan’s sacredness, the mountain came to represent not only a natural landscape but also a symbol of culture and spirit.
Taiwan, situated in the direct path of typhoons in the Northwest Pacific, finds its natural protection in the Yushan and Central Mountain Ranges, which form Taiwan’s roof. These mountains serve as a natural barrier against frequent typhoons and extreme weather events, effectively acting as a guardian of the nation. Between the sea of clouds and the horizon, that peak that appears and disappears from view is like a silent guardian, watching over this land steadily and peacefully for ages.
On clear days, from the plains and hills of central and southwestern Taiwan, and even from urban areas, one can often see the rolling mountain ranges in the distance, with the pointed peaks often being Yushan. Sometimes, if you look to the east when driving on highways, expressways, or along the Taiwan High Speed Rail, you might catch a glimpse of Yushan in the distance, rising above the mountains. This moment of gazing is not just a visual discovery; it’s a profound reconnection with the land itself.
Director Jui-Chang Cheng emphasized that Yushan is not only the highest peak in Taiwan but also the highest point along the Tropic of Cancer axis, commonly referred to as the “Peaks of the Tropic of Cancer.” The significant altitudinal variation has created a highly diverse range of flora and fauna. This event particularly emphasized the diversity of “perspectives.” Beyond the emotional perspective offered by artists and writers starting from the plains of western Taiwan, where they looked up to Yushan in their daily lives, this year we also encourage the public to capture the majestic sight of Yushan and its surrounding peaks standing above the sea of clouds from other perspectives in southern and eastern Taiwan, or while taking a break during their travels.
Participants are free to use any type of camera or mobile phone to capture their photographs. They may also submit scanned copies of old photos.
The event will adopt a lottery-based approach to encourage public participation, and participants will have the opportunity to win exquisite promotional items simply by submitting their entries. In addition, the Yushan National Park Headquarters, National Park Service, Ministry of the Interior will select 30 works that possess a unique perspective and landscape spirit, providing NT$5,000 in image usage fees per piece, and making your images an integral part of promoting national aesthetic beauty.
Director Jui-Chang Cheng hopes that through public participation and image sharing, the diverse landscapes of Yushan can be showcased, allowing more people to appreciate the beauty of this sacred mountain that protects Taiwan’s land.
We sincerely invite everyone to look up during their daily lives and travels, to find that familiar and majestic mountain silhouette, and to capture their own “Seeing Yushan” moment in photos.
