Cherry kings of Alishan

The cherry trees of Alishan are once more in full bloom. In spite of the fact that the impressive specimen known as the ‘cherry king’, growing in the open space in front of Chiayi Forest District Office (嘉義林管處) is over 80 years of age, it continues to set the pace in the Alishan cherry-blossom season. Each year Taiwanese tourists that flock to the area to enjoy the impressive display of cherry blossoms, quietly obey park rules by remaining within the restricted zone to take photos or enjoy a romantic picnic lunch beneath the cherry trees; in addition, by and large tourists remember to adhere to eco principles by taking away their garbage for recycling. In stark contrast, mainland tourists coming to Alishan for the cherry-blossom season, not only recklessly trample all over the turf, but even dare to climb up the cherry trees in the hope of getting a better snapshot. In order to protect the growing environment of the park’s cherry king while providing a balanced interaction between man and nature, this year Chiayi Forest District Office has taken the step of building a panoramic viewing platform.

PeoPo 公民新聞 by 公義使者

Cherry kings of Alishan
URL:http://www.peopo.org/news/109190

(以下是中文對照)

櫻王‧櫻亡 影音

照片

紅極一時的阿里山櫻王盛開了，這株長在林管處阿里山工作站前方空地的的櫻王，雖然已有80年的樹齡，但向來是阿里山櫻花季的指標。台灣遊客賞櫻，都靜靜的在管制範圍外拍照或聆賞，浪漫的還在櫻花樹下吃便當，並按垃圾分類原則帶走垃圾。反觀大陸遊客來到櫻花林，非但大剌剌的踐踏草皮，還得攀附櫻花枝幹拍照。為了保護櫻王的生長環境，嘉義林管處今年特別在四周鋪設木柵並搭建賞櫻平台，目的就是希望提供人與花之間的互動平衡。