All language subtitles for The Worlds Most Scenic Railway Journeys S03E08 1080p WEB DL H264 BTN_track3_[eng]

Escape with us on a journey around

one of the world's
most beautiful islands.

A beguiling blend of the old
and the new.

We'll travel
on three remarkable railways...

..find inner peace
in ancient rituals...

When you do this right, you can feel
the calm of the tea.

..and wonder at what nature can
create over millions of years...

You've got to come to see
the Marble Gorge.

..and destroy in seconds.

The old bridge would easily
fall apart

when it's shaken by
an earthquake wave.

We'll meet the people that live
and work along the line...

It's very beautiful and it will
touch your heart.

..on our way to the very top of one
of the world's great mountain lines.

This is no ordinary
railway journey -

..this is one of the most scenic
railway journeys in the world.

Taiwan.

Our journey begins at the western
edge of the Pacific Ocean,

where the port city of Hualien
lies in the shadow of mountains

swathed in tropical forests.

At the railway station,
resplendent after a 2018 face-lift,

it's shortly before
ten in the morning.

At Platform 3B, the last few
northbound passengers are boarding.

The Chu Kuang Express, propelled by
a E200 electric locomotive.

We're moving now.

It pulls away right on time
at 09.54.

Joining us is rail journalist and
lifelong train enthusiast Tingwei.

I always loved the train.

When I was, like, three years old,

I began to ask my parents

to take me on the train.

Tingwei will be our companion

for the first leg of a journey
packed with the very best

Taiwan has to offer.

Taiwan lies at the edge
of the Pacific Ocean

just off the coast of China.

As we head north from Hualien,

we'll take in the epic landscapes of
the Taroko National Park

and the stunning Yilan coast

on our way to the capital - Taipei.

Then, we'll hurtle down the west
side of the island

on a high-speed line

as far as Chiayi city.

From there, we'll head into
the central highlands

on the historic
Alishan Forest Railway

where we'll end our journey with
a vintage locomotive trip

amidst the stunning
Alishan Mountains.

Railway's a very good, comfortable
way of travel.

You can just relax and enjoy
the scenery.

People who are heading to northeast
just sit at right side -

and it's right

cos we can see the sea!

Dominated by row upon row of
mountains

that rise from the Pacific,

Taiwan's east coast is its least
populated region by far.

Less than 5% of the island's
23.5 million inhabitants live here.

Well, in the east coast line
you see amazing cliffs,

beautiful rocks

and very, very natural
without any houses or highways.

We're approaching our first stop.

Now we are arriving
in Xincheng station.

We're on the edge of one of the most
spectacular places in the world.

And, just three miles inland
from Xincheng,

is the entry point
to the Taroko National Park.

Its 920 square kilometres account

for some of Asia's
most astonishing scenery.

Rising from just above sea level...

..to more than 3,700 metres.

Most days, the landscape
also includes Sandra.

A park veteran with
24 years' guiding experience,

she knows exactly where visitors
should head to first.

If you come to Taiwan,
you don't come to Taroko Gorge,

that means you've never been
to Taiwan.

So, you got to come to see
the Marble Gorge.

Taroko Gorge is the product of
Taiwan's extraordinary geology.

The island lies at the junction
of tectonic plates.

Over millions of years,

the collision between them has
forced this landscape skywards.

The tectonic movement lift up all
the rock from the ocean bed

up to the ground. Now you see it.

This is the best scenery in Taiwan.

The lofty peaks are
beautiful enough...

..but it's Taroko Gorge's walls
that make it truly unique.

As the mountains formed over
millions of years,

river erosion carved
a swathe through them

and exposed hundreds of metres
of marble

that would otherwise be hidden
underground.

The river cutting
and land kept rising

and so it create this very, very
sheer marble gorge

you see now.

Viewed from ground level,

Taroko Gorge is a remarkable sight.

But, since August 2020,

the park's newest attraction...

..has offered visitors
an even better perspective.

Here, we come to
the Zhuilu Suspension Bridge.

This is a amazing spot.

You no need to walk long distance

and, then, you can go and see
straight down to the Taroko Gorge.

And the gorge is just magnificent.

The bridge itself is 196 metres long

and the width is 2.5 metres wide.

From here to the bottom of the river
is 152 metres.

You've got to come and see it.

Next, we're back on the train...

..and we exchange Taiwan's
ancient landscapes

for its ultra-modern capital

as we continue our journey

to the awe-inspiring
Alishan Forest Railway.

We're almost 20 miles

into our journey along
Taiwan's Pacific coast

and there's no end in sight

to the magnificent scenery.

You can see the Qingshui Cliff now.
It's, yeah, it's amazing.

Well, here comes the tunnel.

On the next leg of our route,

we'll cross from Hualien County
into its neighbour, Yilan.

We'll then leave the Pacific behind,

as we head inland to Taiwan's
capital, Taipei.

You can see the paddy fields now.

It's like mirror.

Yilan is more densely populated
than Hualien.

It's cloudier, too.

In the wintertime,
if you go closer to north,

the weather is worse!

It's still very beautiful.

Even in the very bad weather,
you can feel the nature,

feel the scenery,

feel the shape of this country.

I think that's very, very great.

The railway isn't the only way
to enjoy the coastal scenery.

In Yilan County,

it runs alongside one of this
cycle-crazy country's

most popular bike routes.

This is cycle route number one

which circles the entire island...

..covering 600 miles.

Keen riders, like Linda and Molly,

enjoy it whenever they can.

People in Taiwan really enjoy
cycling because we have, like,

perfect environment here.

We are a bike country.

Bike kingdom!

You know, it seems really normal
to us that,

"Oh, yeah, let's do the
cycling trip this weekend."

It's a very normal thing in Taiwan.

Cycle route number one
cost £26 million to complete...

..and is a great asset
to the country.

You have mountain on one side,
ocean on the other,

and the concept of time feels
different.

It's slowed down.

You can cycle a little bit

and stop anywhere you want to

and enjoy the nature.

It's really feeling the breeze
and feeling free.

It feels carefree!

And it's flat so you don't have
to exhaust yourself.

Which means, that when you make it
to Taiwan's most easterly point...

Oh, wow!

..you'll have plenty of energy
left to celebrate.

We made it! Yay!

So, after 24 metre's ride
finally we are here -

this is the Sandiaojiao lookout.

It wasn't that hard.

Mm. It was pretty easy

if you consider the beautiful
scenery you see along the way.

It's just very rewarding.

For those heading back
to civilisation

after a hard day in the saddle,

the railway lends a helping hand.

The Old Caoling Tunnel - a mile and
a half stretch of former railroad -

makes the ride home
a much easier one.

Our journey now heads towards
the capital.

Tingwei has joined
a regional train...

..a Korean built EMU 500...

..where he's sharing his carriage
with local fishermen and farmers.

If I have enough time,
I always chose to take local train.

Travelling on a local train is
so much fun.

You get to see, like,
the real life of people

so, if you want to feel
the real thing,

I think local train's maybe a must.

It's getting towards lunchtime.

With buffet cars and food trolleys
a rarity on Taiwanese trains,

our next stop, in Fu Long,

is a very welcome one.

There's not much to Fu Long.

The beach pulls in a few surfers

but, otherwise, it's a sleepy place.

With one exception.

On a weekday morning,

Fa Chi Bento is a hive of activity.

An ultra-efficient food
production line

delivering up to
600 bento boxes an hour.

Head chef, A-Fa, founded this
family business 23 years ago.

Bentos originated in Japan.

These meals in boxes became popular
in Taiwan while the island was

under Japanese occupation
in the early 20th century.

Nowadays, their practicality
makes them

the go-to meal for train travellers.

But, these bentos have closer ties
to the railway than most.

A-Fa and his family used
to sell them

from the platforms
at Fu Long station.

The platform selling ended abruptly

with the advent of
air-conditioned trains.

You can't pass a bento box through
a window that doesn't open.

But the food at Fa Chi remains
so popular

that hungry travellers still
stop to eat at Fu Long.

Hunger sated,
we're on the move again.

We're heading inland

into a very different landscape.

Now we are entering, er,
the Taipei basin.

Taiwan's capital
and its suburbs are home

to almost a third
of the island's population.

So, we can see so many mansions,
houses, some factories.

Yeah, it's quite a different place.

Like many modern cities,

Taipei hides much of its transport
infrastructure from view.

Here comes the tunnel!

The last eight miles to the city
centre are underground.

And now we are approaching Taipei

and it is the end
of this part of the journey.

Right. Let's go.

Our stay in the capital will be
a brief one.

Tomorrow, our pace will quicken...

..as we hurtle on one of the world's
fastest trains

towards the stunning mountains of
central Taiwan.

It's late morning in Nangang
in southeastern Taipei.

We're about to set off
on the next leg of our journey.

We'll be travelling south across

the more populated western
side of Taiwan.

We'll stop off at the ruins of
Longteng Bridge

as we travel to Chiayi city,

gateway to the magnificent
Alishan Forest Railway.

It's a 160 mile journey...

..but we'll be there
in barely 90 minutes...

..because we're travelling

on one of the most advanced trains
ever to take to a track.

This sleek beauty is a THSR 700T.

From the same bloodline as
the Japanese bullet trains,

it's every bit as fast as it looks.

Soon the landscape is flashing by.

Sipping on his business class coffee

is Taiwan high-speed rail section
chief Dr Sung Hung-Kang -

a man surely itching to brag about

his trains' staggering top speed
of 186mph?

Or their massive 10.26 megawatt
power output?

Well, not exactly.

Forget the speed,

relish the reliability.

An astounding 99.96% of Taiwan's
high-speed trains arrive

exactly on schedule.

But, punctuality isn't the only
source of pride for Dr Sung -

..his railway is also, arguably,
the safest on the planet.

Whatever the emergency,

the system will alert
central control

and, if necessary, automatically
bring trains to a halt.

It might need to be one day.

Earthquakes are an inevitable
fact of life in Taiwan.

And railways aren't immune.

A few kilometres
from the high-speed rail line,

geologist and railway expert
Jing-Heng is at a site

that shows just how destructive
nature in these parts can be.

We're looking at
the Longteng Bridge.

It was built in 1907 as part of
the trunk line

that connected Taipei and Gaujung.

No trains have passed this way
since April 1935...

..when a 7.1 magnitude earthquake
struck -

..its epicentre just ten miles
from here.

Felt across the country,

it destroyed 30,000 homes...

..and left 3,000 people dead.

The death toll was the highest
in Taiwanese history

and the old bridge was built with
bricks and stones, as you can see,

and they're just stuck with cement

so they easily fall apart when
it's shaken by an earthquake wave.

The bridge's pillars never stood
a chance of surviving the tremors.

Even the aftershocks reached
six on the Richter scale.

Many tourists think that, er,

the Longteng Bridge is all about
those brick arches where we were

but, actually, where we're standing
now looking at the stream,

was the place where
the main bridge was.

The bridge was broken
and they evaluated

and thought it is impossible
to repair it

so they just built
another new bridge to replace it.

The remains of the original bridge
have carved out

an unlikely second life
as a tourist attraction.

Listed as an historic site in 2003,

they continue to remind visitors of
the havoc earthquakes can wreak.

For me, this bridge is also

a monument of the competition
between human and nature.

And it's just lucky
that it's preserved

because it's a important part of
the railway history.

Back on the high-speed train,

our serene progress continues.

We're already nearing
our destination,

and we're right on time -

of course.

We're not stopping in Chiayi -

..just exchanging one railway
for another.

It's eight miles from the high-speed
station to the city centre

and Chiayi's main station.

This is the departure point

for the final leg of our journey

on one of the world's greatest
mountain lines -

the Alishan Forest Railway.

Our 28 tonne diesel locomotive is

unlikely to manage 186mph
any time soon.

But no matter.

We're going to have a great journey

because this, er, railway is
quite special.

Riding with us is railway volunteer
Shu-Min,

a lady whose links to the line go
back as far as she can remember.

I grew up near the Alishan railway

so I can just hear the train
whistling sound every day.

TRAIN HORN BLASTS

So, I got deep emotion with it.

From Chiayi, this beautiful route
climbs into the Alishan Mountains,

snaking its way around
the remarkable Dulishan Loop,

on its way to Feng Chi Hu.

From there to Alishan,

the line is under reconstruction

following typhoon damage.

Then, it's open all the way to
the stunning mountain viewpoint

at the end of the line.

This railway's quite old.

It's over 100 years old.

Er, Japanese built this railway.

It's finished in 1912,
during Japanese occupation time.

The Japanese never envisaged this
as a passenger line.

They built the railway

to ship timber harvested
high in the mountains.

It was a mammoth feat of engineering

that took six years to complete.

The stretch we're approaching...

Now we're about 500 metres high.

..was the most challenging by far.

Duli Mountain is a railway
architect's nightmare.

The lush vegetation conceals
a 200 metre wall of rock.

The problem is there's barely any
space for the line to climb it.

The solution is one of the great
wonders of the railway world

and features 11 tunnels.

To gain altitude, the track
makes two full circles,

passing both through and around
Duli Mountain.

Towards the peak,

space becomes even more limited

so the ascent is competed with
a figure of eight.

And now we are at the second loop.

And, er, this is tunnel five,
number five.

It's a really amazing measure

to build this railway.

20 minutes later,
and 200 metres higher...

..we finally emerge above
the Dulishan Loop.

The tropical lowlands are now
far below us.

We're climbing into the clouds.

Now we are about 1,000 metres high.

When you open the window...

..you see the air is different.

Outside you will see the mist.

It's very beautiful.
It will touch your heart.

Soon, we reach the final station
on this stretch of the railway.

RAILWAY ANNOUNCER SPEAKS

Set amidst stunning woodlands,

the village of Fenqihu feels

as much a part of the landscape
as the railway.

But both are relative newcomers.

These forests were originally
settled more than 5,000 years ago.

First to live here,
as hunter gatherers, were

one of Taiwan's indigenous peoples -
the Tsou.

Much has changed since then

but the Tsou remain
an important presence.

In villages across
the Alishan Mountains

nearly 7,000 maintain their unique
customs and culture

beneath the peaks their ancestors
first gazed upon so long ago.

The land provides in many ways.

Alishan Mountain tea is prized by
connoisseurs

but commercial production
in the region

only started a few decades ago.

Shu Jun's family owns one of the
areas many plantations.

The low temperatures and cooling
mists slow the tea's growth...

..allowing it to develop a deeper
flavour before it's harvested.

A brew this good is worth taking
the time to enjoy properly.

Tea ceremonies are both an art form
and an important social ritual.

A chance to pause and reflect

while sharing in one of life's
simplest pleasures.

Every movement in tea ceremony is
very important.

When you do this right,

you can feel the calm of the tea.

Next, our journey reaches
its climax

a vintage locomotive trip
to a stunning mountain viewpoint.

We're approaching the climax of
our epic voyage around Taiwan.

2,200 metres above sea level,
this is Alishan station.

From here, we're about to travel

to the top of the Alishan Forest
Railway on a very special train.

Leading the way, a diesel engine,

but, adding some extra heft
at the rear,

a lovingly restored
piece of railway history.

TRAIN WHISTLE BLASTS

This American built, 28 tonne,
Shay locomotive

first travelled the line more than
100 years ago.

It's one of three the railway has
reconditioned in recent years

to make visitors' journeys
even more memorable -

..a great source of pride for
employees like Ting-Choa.

We expect ourselves to become

the centre of this kind of steam
locomotive.

It's not only a forest railway

but also a cultural heritage
railway.

This one is the wooden carriage

which is made of Taiwanese
cypress timber.

So, in Japanese period,

they used this kind of carriage.

On this train we can open the window

and you can feel the sunshine going
into the carriage

and also smell
the fresh air outside.

And these trees more than
100 years old.

When we pass through this forest

I feel very indulged
in this atmosphere.

It's three and a half miles
to the top of the line

and our destination.

Now we are arriving at
Duigaoyue station.

A stone's throw from the platform...

..we reach our journey's climax.

This is a place which

a special railway journey should end

because you get this panoramic view

in front of us.

We're 2,400 metres
above sea level...

..but Taiwan's tallest mountains
still tower above us.

We can see there, that is the
highest peak of Taiwan - Yu Shan.

At nearly 4,000 metres,

Yu Shan makes Taiwan the fourth
highest island on the planet.

But, lofty peaks are

only half of what makes
this viewpoint so special.

Come at the right time

and you'll find yourself looking
down on a blanket of clouds.

If you can see all these mountains
and peaks clearly,

then, people feel happy and excited.

But, even if there is this sea of
clouds in all these mountains,

then, it will be another kind of
splendid scenery.

What would be better?

We've been dazzled by one of the
world's most dramatic coastlines...

..and witnessed what the sheer power
of geology can do

over millions of years.

And, in the blink of an eye...

..we've travelled
on the railways of the future

and of the past.

And, we've capped it all
with a steam-propelled trip

to the majestic rooftop of Taiwan.