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Yushan (玉山; also known as Jade Mountain) is the highest mountain in Taiwan and the fourth highest mountain on an island. Yushan and surrounding moutains belong to Yushan Range, which is part of Yushan National Park in Taiwan. The highest point of the range, Yushan, is 3,952 metres (12,966 ft) above sea level. Yushan was once in the ocean and raised to the current height when the Eurasian Plate slid under the neighboring Philippine Sea Plate. Yushan is even more magnificent if you consider it rises 10,000 metres (32,808 ft) steeply from its nearby ocean floor in a short distance.

Yushan is one of the favorites among Taiwanese mountain climbers. It also attracts climbers from all over the world. Due to humid ocean climate surrounding the island of Taiwan, Yushan is often surrounded by clouds. So, it is famous for the forever-changing cloud formations around the mountain. Because its vantage position, it's also good for watching sunrises and sunsets on top of it.

Yushan National Park

Yushan is part of Yushan National Park, one of the national parks administered by Taiwan. The park is known for its diverse and rich wildlife and ecology. The flora and fauna around Yushan spans from tropical and subtropical at its base to alpine at its peak.

Under Japanese rule, Yushan was designated part of the Niitaka (New Highest) Arisan National Park (新高阿里山国立公園) in 1937. Several other mountains higher than 3,000 metres (9,843 ft) are also located near Yushan, including Siouguluan Mountain (秀姑巒山, 3825 m, the 3rd highest mountain in Taiwan), Mabolasih Mountain (馬博拉斯山, 3785 m), and Guan Mountain (關山, 3668 m).

Alternate names

Jade Mountain was first observed by westerners in 1857. W. Morrison, captain of the American freighter SS Alexander, sighted this mountain while departing from Anping Harbor, in what is now Anping, Tainan. He recorded this sighting in his naval log, and the mountain gained the name Mount Morrison in western literature.

In 1900, after the annexation of Taiwan by the Japanese, two Japanese anthropologists, Torii Ryūzō and Mori Ushinosuke, became the first people to have been recorded ascending the mountain. They gave the mountain the name Niitakayama (新高山) or Mount Niitaka, literally the "New High Mountain", because it was even higher than Mount Fuji (3,776 m (12,388 ft) above sea level) over 176 metres (577 ft) in Japan (Empire of Japan) in earlier 20 century.

Under its Japanese name, the mountain was used as the secret code to signal the carrier fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy to begin its attack against Pearl Harbor. The code was Niitakayama Nobore (literally "Climb the New High Mountain")

Gallery

• Yushan Range, eastern side view. Yushan Range, eastern side view.
• The map of Location of Yushan National Park.
• The $1,000 banknotes of New Taiwan dollar choosed Jade Mountain for the one of symbols of Taiwan. (underside) The $1,000 banknotes of New Taiwan dollar choosed Jade Mountain for the one of symbols of Taiwan. (underside)

See also

• Taiwan
• Yushan Range
• Yushan National Park
• List of mountains in Taiwan
• List of islands by highest point

Sources

1. Yushan National Park Website.
2. Taiwan's National Park Website.
3. MacDonald, Scot (1962). Evolution of Aircraft Carriers — the Japanese Developments (PDF). Naval Historical Center, Washington Navy Yard, DC. Retrieved 2006-08-10. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

External links

• Yushan National Park Official Website
• National Parks of Taiwan
• Barking Deer - Permits and Summit Hikes
• Jade Mountain on Google Maps
• 2007 trip report and climbing information

• Mountains of Taiwan