Caoshan Moon World

Caoshan Moon World at Tsouchen Township, Tainan County, is a terrain of slate-grey mudstone that consists of sandstone and shale. It connects with the mudstone badland in Neiman Township, Tianliao Township, and Yanchao Township of Kaohsiung County to form a landscape of mostly chalk soil. Highly alkaline chalk soil makes it nearly impossible for vegetation to grow here. It feels as hard as rock when it is dry and becomes muddy after rain. The rain washes and cuts the surface of the terrain, leaving geological features such as deep valleys and winding streams. Only plants with the greatest vitality are able to survive this badland. Apart from the barren land, there are only thorny bamboos and weeds seen within the nearly one thousand hectares of area, thus forming the most typical terrain of the "moon world".

On the way from Ganglin Village to Caoshan Moon World, only the peculiar angular landscape and jade green thorny bamboos meet your eyes. As the seasons move through their course and the sun rises and falls, Caoshan Moon World reveals her ever-changing faces. On the highest spot at an altitude of 308 meters under a clear morning sky, you can appreciate the rising sun and the multilayer changes in clouds and fog. In winter, thorny bamboos wither and turn yellow gradually and appear red in the next spring. March and April are the best months to observe such plant discoloration.

There seems to be an imposing manner in the Moon World's vast landscape, which makes visitors feel that all mountains are paying their respects to it. It is an ideal place for appreciating the setting sun and night scenery. The connected peaks of chalk soil hills that pile up one layer beyond another and the boundless and majestic terrain of the Moon World are the geographic landscape unique to Tsouchen. When you get off from a vehicle and look ahead to a distant place where there is a tract of green farmlands and plains, you would feel like you are looking at the Earth from the moon.