Hehuanshan

Mount Hehuan
Hehuanshan in summer
Highest point
Elevation	3,422 m (11,227 ft)
Listing	100 Peaks of Taiwan
Coordinates	24°10′53″N 121°16′53″E / 24.18139°N 121.28139°E / 24.18139; 121.28139Coordinates: 24°10′53″N 121°16′53″E / 24.18139°N 121.28139°E / 24.18139; 121.28139
Geography
Location	Nantou and Hualien counties, Taiwan
Parent range	Central Mountains

Mount Hehuan (Chinese: 合歡山; pinyin: Héhuān Shān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ha̍p-hoan-soaⁿ; also called Joy Mountain) is a 3,416-metre-high (11,207 ft) mountain in Central Taiwan. The peak lies on the boundaries of Nantou and Hualien counties and is within the Taroko Gorge National Park. Hehuanshan is a popular destination for the local people of central Taiwan. The 3,421-metre East Peak and 3,422-metre North Peak of Hehuanshan are actually both higher than the main peak.

Snow, rare in the rest of Taiwan, is relatively common on the mountain during winter months. The Hehuanshan Road leads most of the way up the mountain to Wuling, a saddle between the Main Peak and the East Peak of Hehuanshan. Wuling is the highest point on the island of Taiwan accessible by public roads.

There was at one point a ski lift on the mountain, but later, due to the inconsistency of snowfall, the lift was removed. Remains of the ski lift mechanism are still visible to hikers on the east peak trail.

From the Hehuanshan Road, a trail about one kilometer long leads to the summit of the main peak. At the summit, there is a weather station.

Hehuanshan is part of the Central Mountain Range (中央山脈) that makes up the backbone of Taiwan.

In the past, a military training area was built in the proximity of Hehuanshan. The mountain range also features the remains of a ski lift, reportedly used by Taiwan's elite during the martial law period and inaccessible to most people. The unreliability of snowfall has meant that the ski lift was abandoned years ago.

The Hehuanshan Road is currently the only paved road leading across the Central Mountains from Taichung City to Hualien via the famous Taroko Gorge. The Central Cross-Island Highway, which originally crossed the mountains north of Hehuanshan, was damaged during the September 21, 1999 earthquake and had been under repair for five years afterwards. But prior to its re-opening disaster struck again in form of a typhoon and it was decided to keep it closed indefinitely.