Greetings from Alishan, Taiwan, whose red cypress forests offer timeless beauty

Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR’s international team shares snapshots of moments from their lives and work around the world.

In November, during one of the last weeks of my posting in Taiwan, I went to my favorite place there: the red cypress forests of Alishan, a region renowned for its misty mountains and excellent high-altitude tea.

I loved the volcanic treks and stunning, cerulean coastlines of Taiwan, but it was these ancient forests that I came to love the most. Their mossy glory and stillness felt timeless, and they helped me find an inner calm after years of fast-paced, often stressful reporting. In this picture, the late-afternoon sun was peeking through this grove of cypresses at just the right angle. Another hiker walking past me commented that the rays were like “god’s smile.”

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