Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN • Updated 19th September 2018

Chiayi, Taiwan (CNN) — As a red and cream-colored train chugs up the Alishan mountains of Taiwan, hikers and villagers stop and wave at the passengers on board.It feels like an adventure, harking back to a time when train travel was new and exciting.And in a way, it is.The train has embarked on one of the newly introduced cruise-style tours on the century-old Alishan Forest Railway, a network of 71.4 kilometers (44.4 miles) of narrow-gauge rail lines in central Taiwan's Alishan mountain range.

Former Japanese logging railwayCompleted in 1912 under the Japanese occupation, the Alishan Forest Railway was used to transport now-endangered Taiwan cypress trees from Alishan. After logging was banned, it lived on as the only passenger train to ride up the mountains.Today, it remains one of the world's most historic and beautiful mountain railways.Running between Chiayi city at an elevation of 30 meters (98.4 feet) to Chushan at 2,451 meters (8,041 feet) -- the highest train station in Taiwan -- the Alishan Forest Railway offers diverse natural scenery.It's the highest narrow-gauge mountain railway in Asia -- higher than the famed Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, which ascends from 100 meters to 2,200 meters.Best of all, many aspects of Alishan rail network remain as they were 100 years ago. The railroad ties are still made of solid wood and drivers have to get off the train and manually switch the track direction."It feels more human, unlike the cold and automated modern machines," says Liao Yuan-chiao, an Alishan train captain.A rail enthusiast, Liao left his job as a lecturer six years ago to work as a train assistant at the Alishan Forest Railway.

"I like railways because I love the low noise from a diesel train motor -- you can hear the changes in the sounds when the machine changes its speed. It sounds alive."Luckily, Alishan Forest Railway hasn't been replaced by electric trains," Liao adds. "It's totally my paradise."

The "cruise tour" is one of several attempts to rejuvenate and preserve Alishan Forest Railway under newly-minted management -- the recently established Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office (AFRCH) of the Forestry Bureau.The railway's popularity plunged after the faster and easier Alishan Highway was built in 1982.Its services have been disrupted by natural disasters and derailments multiple times. After taking over, AFRCH closed the railway for three months for maintenance and check-ups before reopening in June 2018."Alishan Forest Railway is a priceless cultural heritage [for Taiwan]." says Tang Yu-chin, a spokesperson of AFRCH. "Therefore, preserving Alishan Forest Railway isn't just for tourism purposes but for promoting this culture."

Themed tours are carried out regularly. The current series runs every Wednesday until mid-October.Instead of just highlighting Alishan attractions, it focuses on the history and culture of the Alishan Forest Railway. Travelers spend time at various stops including the wooden Beimen and Jhuchi stations, which were rebuilt to match their original designs."I used this before when I was a lumberjack," says Hsu Chao-huo, an 87-year-old volunteer guide at the small museum at Shizilu Station, pointing at the rusty saw on the shelf."I've been living on Alishan all my life. The mountain is better for my health -- the land below is too hot."The cruise concludes at Hinoki (Taiwan Cypress) Village near Beimen Station -- a cultural village consisting of 28 wooden Japanese-style houses there were occupied by Japanese officials half a century ago.

Working at the Chuchi Township Office, along the Alishan Forest Railway, Lai Guo-hua started taking aerial photographs of the area around four years ago."I grew up next to the railway," he says. "My grandfather and my father both worked for the Alishan Forest Railway."I thought it'd always be there -- until there were voices who wanted it demolished completely. Some thought we shouldn't bother maintaining it as we could just use the highway nowadays."Then I started photographing the Alishan Forest Railway so I could introduce it to those who didn't know the line. It's filled with memories of my growing-up -- and of all the residents along the tracks."Those voices are still there -- so we're trying our best to introduce the Alishan Forest Railway so more travelers will know about it, too," chimes in Wu Han-en, a part-time tourism lecturer in Tainan who also works as the stationmaster of Fenqihu (one of the railway's bigger stops).

Getting to AlishanThe Alishan Forest Railway isn't a continuous line as one section of track between Shizilu Station and Alishan Station was damaged in a typhoon.Travelers can take the main line from Chiayi Station to Fenqihu Station (2 hours, 20 minutes) and continue the journey by bus from Fenqihu Station to Alishan Station.Only one train departs from Chiayi, at 9 a.m on weekdays. Two more trains (at 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.) are added at weekends. (Find the schedule on this website).From Alishan Station, there are three shorter lines -- Shenmu Line, Zhaoping Line and Chushan Line -- that ferry passengers between the main Alishan Stations to the attractions around the Alishan Scenic Area.Visitors should bear in mind, the best views are on the right-hand side when traveling uphill and on the left when running downhill.The technical stuffApart from its history, it's worth learning some train lingo to truly appreciate the uniqueness of the Alishan Forest Railway.For instance, it features a loop line, spiral route track design, S-type lines and 180-degree U-turn lines as well as Z-type lines -- it's rare to experience all these formations in one railway system.The train makes four loops through multiple tunnels as it spirals up and down the narrow peak of Duli Mountain.

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