Jianshi and Wufeng: the high mountains

• What it is Jianshi (尖石) and Wufeng (五峰), the two mountain townships of Hsinchu County, home mainly to Atayal (泰雅族) communities.
• Getting there car realistically. Buses from Zhudong reach Qingquan (5630) and Naluo in Jianshi (5625); nothing public goes to Smangus.
• Time from Zhubei Our estimates from Zhubei HSR Station: Jianshi village about 1 hour, Qingquan about 1 hour 15 minutes, Yulao about 1 hour 45 minutes, Smangus 3 hours 30 minutes or more.
• Before you go Check road status after any typhoon or heavy rain; fill up with fuel in Zhudong; carry cash.

The mountains start just past Zhudong. Within an hour of Zhubei the road narrows, the Hakka towns give way to Atayal villages, and the ridges climb towards 2,000 m. This is the best scenery in Hsinchu County and one of the reasons to live in Zhubei rather than Taipei. It's also where the most people get caught out: the distances look short on a map, but the roads are narrow, winding and often one lane, and they close after landslides. From Jason's years in Zhubei, the rule we'd give a friend is to halve the ambitions and double the time.

Realistic drive times

These are our estimates from Zhubei HSR Station (高鐵新竹站) in good weather, outside weekend peaks, worked out from distance and road type. Only two are published: Smangus says 2.5 to 3 hours from Neiwan, and the Forestry Agency says about 2 hours from Zhudong to Guanwu.

From Zhubei HSR to	Route	Estimate
Neiwan	Highway 68, Highway 3, County Road 120	about 45 min
Jianshi village (尖石岩)	via Neiwan, County Road 120	about 1 hour
Qingquan, Wufeng	Zhudong, County Road 122	about 1 hour 15 min
Yulao viewpoint	Jianshi, then Zhu 60 (竹60)	about 1 hour 45 min
Smangus	Zhu 60, then the Smangus road	3 hours 30 min or more
Guanwu	Qingquan, Dalu Forest Road	2 hours 30 min or more

Jianshi: the front mountains (前山)

Past Neiwan, County Road 120 follows the river up to the township centre. The township takes its name from Jianshi Rock, a 35 m pinnacle at the meeting of the Naluo and Jiale rivers, about 400 m from the township office. Beyond it, the steel-arch Jinping Bridge, 120 m long with 144 Atayal sculptures on its railings, marks the way into Jinping Village. The Naluo (那羅) valley has a leisure farming area and a market. This is the easy half of Jianshi: two-lane roads most of the way, a reasonable day trip, and where Jianshi's one registered campground is (see camping in Hsinchu County).

Yulao and the back mountains (後山)

From the front mountains, the Zhu 60 road climbs to the Yulao viewpoint, by the Yulao police post, the pass between Jianshi's front and back mountains. Look east over the Yufeng valley and west over Naluo. Beyond it the road drops into the back mountains: Xiuluan (秀巒), Smangus and Cinsbu.

• Xiuluan. A wild hot spring at the meeting of three rivers below the Xiuluan checkpoint (not very hot, and the pools move after floods), and the Warship Rock trail (軍艦岩步道), 2.2 km one way and easy, to the ruins of a Japanese-era gun battery.
• Lidongshan (李崠山). At 1,914 m, one of the "Small 100 Peaks", with about 1.5 km and a 360 m climb to the Lidongshan Fort, built in 1906 by the Japanese against the Atayal and now a county monument. Its Atayal name is TAPUNG.
• Cinsbu (鎮西堡). Above Xinguang village, the Cinsbu giant trees stand in a cypress forest at about 2,000 m. In November 2026 the county tourism site marked Cinsbu as temporarily closed; ask in the village before you go.

Smangus (司馬庫斯)

Smangus is the far end of the road: an Atayal village at about 1,500 m (the county says 1,600 m) that got electricity only in 1975 and is now run collectively by its residents. Most people come for the Giant Tree Trail (巨木群步道), about 5.3 km on the county's figure, starting a 10-minute walk from the village; the oldest tree, the 老爺神木, is put at over 2,000 years. Allow 4 to 5 hours there and back.

• Road Leave Zhu 60 at km 39 (the Taigang junction, 泰崗岔路口) for the Smangus road, which runs under daily one-lane control: cars go up before 12:40 or after 15:00, and down before 14:00 or after 16:20.
• Staying Book through the village (03-5847688, office hours): weekdays up to six months ahead; weekend dates open in batches (on 1 November for January to March, then 1 February, 1 May and 1 August). For January to March 2027 that opening moved to 9 November 2026. Deposit 30% by bank transfer.
• Rules No camping or cooking in the village, no pets, no smoking indoors, no motorcycles or bicycles on the Giant Tree Trail. Set meals must be booked ahead.
• Cherry season 2027 13 February to 10 March, with a vehicle pass required past Zhu 60 km 39 (in 2026 the limit was 50 cars a day). Phone booking opened 1 October 2026.

Road status: in July 2026 Typhoon Bavi closed Smangus from 9 to 17 July. On 23 and 24 October 2026 visitors were barred during Typhoon 薔琵, and on 24 October a landslide closed Zhu 60 at km 22 to 23 in both directions. We found no report of it reopening by 3 November 2026. Check Smangus's notices and call the Jianshi Township Office (03-5841001) before you set off.

A travel article says drivers get a mountain entry permit at the Xiuluan checkpoint (秀巒檢查哨) on the way to Smangus. We couldn't confirm from the police that a permit is required; if you're stopped at the checkpoint, carry ID (passport or ARC). For backcountry hiking, apply online through the National Police Agency's mountain permit system.

Wufeng: Qingquan and Guanwu

Qingquan (清泉)

The easiest high-mountain day trip from Zhubei. Qingquan sits in a deep valley on the Shangping River, reached from Zhudong on County Road 122, with four suspension bridges over 100 m long; the first is the oldest and highest, from the Japanese era. Three stops:

• Zhang Xueliang's former residence (張學良故居, 清泉256-6號): the Young Marshal spent 13 years under house arrest here after 1946. The original house was destroyed by Typhoon Gloria (葛樂禮) in 1963; today's Japanese-style cypress house is a rebuild nearby. Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 17:00, closed Monday.
• Sanmao's Dream House (三毛夢屋, 清泉262號), the red-brick house where the writer Sanmao stayed. Daily 09:00 to 17:00.
• The Qingquan hot spring, found in 1913, now an open-air foot bath of about 48°C water. 08:00 to 17:00, closed Monday and Thursday.

Getting there: bus 5630 Zhudong to Qingquan, via Wufeng, run since September 2024 by Jiecheng Bus (捷乘客運), not Hsinchu Bus. Check times in the iBus app. By car, about 1 hour 15 minutes from Zhubei HSR (our estimate). County Road 122 had roadworks with timed passage at km 38.38 until 13 November 2026.

Above Qingquan, Bailan (白蘭部落) is an Atayal village at about 1,000 m with farm homestays and fruit by season: peaches June to August, kiwi in September, persimmons in October.

Guanwu (觀霧), farther

Guanwu National Forest Recreation Area spans the Wufeng and Miaoli border at 1,400 to 2,500 m: cloud forest, giant trees and trails at the edge of Shei-Pa National Park. Free entry, 08:00 to 17:00; the visitor center closes on Tuesdays. It's about 2 hours from Zhudong on the Dalu Forest Road (大鹿林道), with weekday one-way traffic control at km 24 until 31 January 2027. Black bears have been seen nearby. A typhoon notice closed the area from 23 October 2026; check the Forestry Agency page before you go. The Taiwan Tourist Shuttle Guanwu line runs from HSR Hsinchu via Zhudong and Qingquan; we couldn't confirm its current timetable.

The Xiakeluo Historic Trail (霞喀羅古道), about 24 km of old Japanese police roads between Jianshi and Wufeng, is for experienced hikers; we couldn't confirm its current status.

Visiting Atayal communities

Jianshi and Wufeng aren't scenery with villages in it; they are people's homes, farms and hunting grounds. We found no official visitor code, so this is what Smangus's own rules and common courtesy add up to:

• Follow each village's rules, which can be stricter than you expect: Smangus bans camping, cooking and pets in the village.
• Ask before photographing people, homes or churches.
• Stay on the trails, and don't take plants, stones, insects or fireflies.
• Spend locally: book village rooms and meals, buy fruit from farm stalls.
• Drive slowly through villages; children and dogs are on the road.
• Take your rubbish home. There's little collection up here.

Weather and road closures

Mountain roads in both townships close several times a year. In July 2026 Typhoon Bavi blocked County Roads 120 and 122 and several Wufeng roads (reopened 12 and 13 July), and cut the Smangus detour bridge; in October a landslide closed Zhu 60. The county evacuates villages before big storms. The rules we'd follow:

• No mountain trip when the Central Weather Administration has a typhoon or heavy-rain warning out for Hsinchu, and give it a day or two after.
• Call the township office (Jianshi 03-5841001, Wufeng 03-5851001) or your accommodation for the road status; there's no single county road-closure page.
• Leave early and aim to be off the narrow roads before dark.
• Fuel up in Zhudong or Neiwan, and carry water and a layer: it is much colder at Yulao than in Zhubei.
• Expect one-lane sections; give way to trucks and buses and use your horn on blind bends.

→ Neiwan and the Neiwan Line · Camping in Hsinchu County · Hikes near Zhubei · More day trips

Sources: Hsinchu County tourism (travel.hsinchu.gov.tw): Jianshi Township, Jianshi Rock, Jinping Bridge, Yulao viewpoint, Xiuluan hot spring, Warship Rock trail, Lidongshan, Lidongshan Fort, Cinsbu, Smangus, Giant Tree Trail, Zhang Xueliang's former residence, Sanmao's Dream House, Qingquan hot spring, Qingquan scenic area, Bailan, Xiakeluo Historic Trail, Taiwan Tourist Shuttle routes; Smangus: getting there, booking and rules, notices; Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, Guanwu and Hsinchu Branch; National Police Agency mountain permits; Liberty Times on the Zhudong bus routes (2024) and reopened roads after Typhoon Bavi (July 2026); CNA on the Zhu 60 landslide (October 2026). Drive times are our estimates. Checked November 2026.