TW-1441071 棲蘭國家森林遊樂區 Cilan Forest Recreation Area, Datong, Yilan

This postcard from Annie Tian (21 January 2015) Postcrossing shows trees located in the Cilan Forest Recreation Area in Datong, Yilan.

This wilderness recreation area is only 38 km from Yilan and Lotung Town. The main attraction in this area is the nursery for Crytomeria trees. President Chiang Kaik-shik’s Hall, flora and fauna viewing park, cherry and peaches blossom area, jungle trails, Mini Tarzan Forest Playland, etc are other attractions. There are cottages and wooden cabins in the wilderness available for nature lovers. Visitors can also enjoy the taste of the local cultivated product called “Monkey Head Mushroom”.

Cilan Forest Recreation Area is only at a modest 400-metre altitude and this is where three main rivers of the county converge. The small Veterans and Forestry Conservation Museum presents an intriguing picture of life in this area when it represented a "wild east" frontier. It turns out that many of the "veterans," crucial to development of these mountains, were not former members of the ROC military but, rather, PRC soldiers captured by US forces in the Korean War and who chose to come to Taiwan instead of being repatriated.