Where is Nantou, Taiwan?
Taiwan is a mountainous island located in the Pacific Ocean in East Asia, southwest of North America. With the largest number and density of high mountains in the world, Taiwan is known for producing one of the best quality High Mountain Teas. The island of Taiwan was formed approximately 4 to 5 million years ago between the tectonic plates of Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate that converged together at a complex boundary point. Along this boundary running the length of the island and continuing southwards in the Luzon Volcanic Arc (including Green Island and Orchid Island), the Eurasian Plate is sliding under the Philippine Sea Plate.
The terrain in Taiwan is divided into two parts: the flat to gently rolling plains in the west, where 90% of the population lives, and the mostly rugged forest-covered mountains in the eastern two-thirds that are prone to earthquakes. The eastern part of the island is dominated by five mountain ranges, each running from north-northeast to south-southwest, roughly parallel to the east coast of the island. As a group, they extend 330 kilometers (210 miles) from north to south and average about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from east to west. They include more than two hundred peaks with elevations of over 3,000 meters (9,800 feet).
Nantou County of Taiwan （南投縣） is found in the central part of the island, parts of which is embedded in the Central Mountain Range （中央山脈）. This mountain range extends from Su’ao in the northeast Yilan County （宜蘭縣） to Oluanpi at the southern tip of the island in Pingtung County（屏東縣）, forming a ridge of high mountains and serving as the island's principal watershed. The mountains are predominantly composed of hard rock formations resistant to weathering and erosion, although heavy rainfall has deeply scarred the sides with gorges and sharp valleys. The relative relief of the terrain is usually extensive, and the forest-clad mountains with their extreme ruggedness are almost impenetrable such as the Taroko Gorge located in Hualien County （花蓮縣）.
Nantou County is one of the tea heavens for producing the best quality High Mountain Oolongs in Taiwan. Nobody can miss out on the signature Dayuling （大禹嶺茶區）Tea Mountain Range that stands at 2,200 meters to 2,800 meters. As the highest-grown oolong tea in the world, Dayuling Oolong boasts an unique high mountain aroma and fragrance that very few oolong teas can compare. However, with the government‘s efforts to implement wilderness conservation and reforestation enforcement in the Dayuling tea region, there are less and less tea gardens that truly produce Dayuling High Mountain Oolong today. Nantou also includes the Lishan Tea Mountain Range（梨山茶區）at 1,800 to 2,200 meters that produce high altitude Lishan Oolongs that carry sweet honeysuckle flavours of fruits (pears, peaches,apples) and sweet vegetables. Other major High Mountain tea regions of Nantou are Shanlinxi （杉林溪茶區）at 1,600 to 1,800 meters that have scents of alpine fir and Hehuanshan （合歡山茶區）at 1,100 to 1,500 meters that have aromas of high altitude fresh air.
