Taiwan Hiking Journal: Da Tong Shan (大同山) and Da Dong Shan (大棟山)

The paths of this hike are popular and well trodden but I really like this place. When I first came to Taiwan I lived near here and walked here often. Today, after leaving the busy city streets behind this hike felt like walking in a peaceful green tunnel filled with the sounds of birds and insects and in one part, the occasional rooster. This is a moderate hike but it is definitely not easy. There are lots of steps and the route I took is long. But the paths are almost all wide and very well maintained with good footing. Highlights include the New Taipei City Arms Park, several temples, great views all along the walk and two peaks.

Distance/Time: 17.19 Km/5.5 hours. I covered a lot of ground and I pushed myself because I was trying to beat the afternoon rain. At a slower pace, it would take longer to do the whole walk. It would be easy to cut out one of the two peaks and do a shorter walk.

What to take: Nothing other than the usual things. There are convenience stores near the beginning of the hike and also some things for sale at Qingde Temple. The path is wide so I wore shorts.

Transportation: I took the orange line to the Huilong MRT Station and started walking from Exit 2.

The hike: I left Huilong Station by exit 2 and turned left. Then walked to the intersection with Zhongzheng Road (there is a police station on the corner), crossed the road and turned left soon passing over a small stream. I followed this road for a few blocks until coming to two signs pointing to an alley on the right. One says New Taipei Military Cemetery and the other says New Taipei City Arms Park. There is a Hi Life just on the corner as you enter the alley, and looking straight down the alley steps can be seen climbing right up the hill at the end of the alley.

When I got to the Arms Park I was a little disappointed because it was under repair and blocked. But only one section was closed and it was easy to get around it by walking up the country lane on the left until I came to a sign for Da Tong Shan. I turned right and went to check out the Arms Park which is full of military hardware, like tanks, planes and a missile. After looking at these I took the stairs climbing up behind the main building of the arms park. This soon turned into a nice narrow paved path and emerged on a platform next to a shelter house and a playground.

I went straight between the shelter house and the playground, following an uphill path. From here its a steep climb mostly up steps to the first view point which offers an excellent view of the city. It took me about an hour from the MRT station to reach the first view point.

After taking in the view, I continued straight along a path until it joined a road and then straight on the road. On the way you come to a wooden boardwalk on the left which leads to another good view point.

I walked until I came to a fork in the road. Just next to the left fork is a short steep muddy path with ropes that climbs to a ridge and the next view. At the top there is a sign pointing to Qingde Temple and Da Tong Shan. Emerging at the temple you can go either left or right. These are two paths that pretty much run parallel to each other. I took the right path, walking through a small market, following signs for Da Tong Shan. I reached Da Tong Shan (237 meters) an hour and 45 minutes into the hike.

After Da Tong Shan the path continues straight right through a Tudigong (Earth God) temple. Soon I took a muddy path on the left that cuts over to the other parallel path that I could have take back at Qingde Temple. This was also a really nice path with groves of bamboo and farms plots nearby and at one point I could hear people practicing traditional Chinese instruments in a little farm next to the path.

When I came to a temple with a distinctive red roof I turned right passing through the temple and walked down to a country road. You could continue straight until the path reaches the road but because of the way the road twists and turns its shorter to cut off before the end. I turned right and uphill walking back toward Qingde Temple by road. This road was very active with lots of walkers and I even saw two people giving haircuts at the side of the road. Only $100 NT for a haircut. Along the way there is an interesting temple on the left with a huge golden statue at the entrance that is worth checking out.

I walked up the road steeply until I came to the trail head for Da Dong Shan. There is a wooden sign post and the path cuts up to the left contouring the hill. Follow this path all the way up to Da Dong Shan (405 meters). There are some side paths but the signs for Da Dong Shan are clear. The path was muddy but wide with good footing.

I stopped here to have a sandwich while enjoying the view

The path to Da Dong Shan sometimes splits but rejoins soon

It took me 4 hours to walk from the MRT station to Da Dong Shan but I took a pretty big detour on the way. After checking out the view I went back out the way I came, rejoining the road and walking straight back to the path I took from the Arms Park. The only difference is that when I reached the shelter house, my legs rebelled against the thought of more stairs and so I took a right and walked down a country road to the trail head which was a bit longer but gentler. The descent took an hour and a half.

If you wanted to make the walk shorter you could, instead of climbing Da Dong Shan, of course just return on the road and path after visiting Qingde Temple and Da Tong Shan. Or conversely cut out the side trip to Qingde Temple and Da Tong Shan and just climb directly up to Da Dong Shan. To get to Da Dong Shan directly, instead of taking the path to Qingde Temple, just take the left fork in the road and go along the road looking out for the signs for Da Dong Shan, which in this case would be on your right. The names for these two mountains in Pinyin can be confusing. In Chinese Da Tong Shan is 大同山 and Da Dong Shan is 大棟山.