A few years ago updated hiking markers started popping up on trails in and around Taipei. As you can see they are quite informative, with the destination in both chinese and english, the distance to that destination, and most conveniently, an estimated amount of time it will take to hike there.
The time prediction is by far the best new addition. Many times when hiking I would have no idea how a new trail would take. With sunset coming steadily between 5pm and 6pm year round, there was always a bit of worry on late afternoons when choosing a new route. Thankfully I've never been up on a trail when the sun was down, but I also can't help but think how many interesting paths I didn't discover because of not knowing how long they would take.
As added information on the left of the sign are the geographic coordinates. I guess these are pretty useful if you have an emergency, however in addition to providing new signs, it seems like cell phone service in the mountains is also much improved. Although I have restricted my cell phone usage to just taking pictures. It ruins the adventure if i use it to look up trail information online. However always good to know it's there if I need it.
If you are really clever, you may notice that the year this sign was put in was "98." This actually means 2009. The Minguo calender was started in China in 1912 thus 1912 is year "1." This calender was used to signify the beginning of the Republic of China. In Chinese culture the year is always told by the dynasty, for example "Qing 23" would be the 23rd year of the Qing dynasty. Since 1912 marked the birth of a free china with no emperor, the Minguo (meaning "people's country") calendar started.
This calender numbering system ended in china in 1949 with the founding of the People's Republic of China, however here in Taiwan the Minguo calendar is still used. This calender system can actually lead to some big misunderstandings and mistakes in international business, and has even caused a mix up for me a time or two. But it's all worth it thanks to the juvenile jokes I can make regarding my year of birth in the Minguo calender.
