Ape Hill
Encyclopedia
Shoushan is the name of two mountains in Greater China
Greater China
Greater China is a term used to refer to mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. As a "phrase of the moment", the precise meaning is not entirely clear, and people may use it for only the commercial ties, only the cultural actions, or even as a euphemism for the Two Chinas, while others may...

.

Shoushan (首山) is located on the eastern side of Xingcheng
Xingcheng
Xingcheng , former name Ningyuan , is a county-level city of Northeast China with a population of approximately 140,000 urban inhabitants, and is located in southwest Liaoning on the northern coast of the Bohai Sea...

, Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...

, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. It is open to the public for recreation. Visitors can hike to its summit. The area around it features a temple on an adjacent hill.

Shoushan (壽山) is located at western side of Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...

, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, to the north of the main entrance to Kaohsiung Harbor. It was named Ape Hill by the Dutch in the 17th century to describe many monkeys on this mountain. It is also called Chaishan (柴山) and actually includes the Snake Hill (蛇山 - a 17th century term) in its northern part, and Long Life Hill (壽山 named by Japanese in 1911-1915 for the crown-prince Hirohito
Hirohito
, posthumously in Japan officially called Emperor Shōwa or , was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to...

) in the southern part. In some old maps, the peak of the hill is called Saracen's Head. Now it is a nature park where biological diversity can be seen.

Shoushan is the one of the mountains where Kaohsiung residents can see natural biological specimens within an hour of drive. There is an extensive system of boardwalk hiking trails that circle the mountain. Hikers can enjoy tea at various tea stations sprinkled throughout the trails. Water is carried to the tea stations by hikers who bring it from a reverse osmosis station at the bottom. From the tea station at the top of the mountain, hikers can see views of the Taiwan Strait through the trees.

The mountain is a reserve for Formosan rock macaque
Formosan Rock Macaque
The Formosan Rock Macaque is a macaque endemic to the island of Taiwan and has been introduced to Japan. Besides humans, Formosan Rock Macaques are the only native primates living in Taiwan.-Physical Characteristics:...

s. Thousands of these monkeys reside on the mountain pestering hikers who have food with them.
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