To provide a friendlier and safer hiking environment for people of different age groups, the Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters (hereinafter referred to as Shei-Pa Headquarters), in collaboration with Shei-Pa National Park volunteers, completed a friendly gentle-slope trail with a total length of approximately 500 meters on Mt. Dongxishui. Using hand-made trail construction methods over 3 batches and 9 days of construction, the volunteer team contributed a cumulative total of 107 volunteer-visits to complete the trail improvement project. This not only reduced the passage difficulty of the original steeper section at the trailhead, but also provided visitors with more diverse hiking route choices, demonstrating concrete results of citizen participation in national park operations and management.
    Shei-Pa Headquarters stated that Mt. Dongxishui in the Xuejian area, with an elevation of 2,248 meters, is one of the popular hiking routes in Shei-Pa National Park. Because the original trailhead had a steeper slope, it posed a greater challenge for older adults, families with young children, and visitors with weaker physical strength. Shei-Pa volunteers have long been involved in trail patrols, interpretation services, and environmental maintenance work. Through first-line observations, they proposed recommendations to improve the passage environment at the hiking entrance. Following professional discussions and cooperation with Shei-Pa Headquarters, they jointly planned a newly created gentle-slope section.

This trail improvement adopted hand-made trail construction methods that conform to the natural environment. The entire process was constructed using manual labor without using large machinery. Following the original topography and landforms, appropriate stones and timber were sourced locally for construction, taking into account drainage, safety, and ecological conservation while reducing construction interference with the natural environment.
    Shei-Pa Headquarters pointed out that hand-made trails focus on coexisting with nature rather than changing nature. During the construction process, careful arrangements were made based on the shape of each stone and topographical conditions, enabling the trail to possess both safety and natural scenery, while allowing participants to deepen their understanding and identification with the mountain forest environment through actual labor. This trail improvement project was conducted across 3 construction batches, lasting 9 days, with a cumulative participation of 107 volunteer-visits. The construction content included trail subgrade preparation, drainage facility improvement, step arrangement, road surface paving, and local material handling. Each process was completed through labor division and cooperation among volunteers.

Shei-Pa Headquarters explained that when participating volunteers shared their construction thoughts, they expressed a full sense of achievement and moving emotion. Senior volunteer Brother Guo-Wen stated: "The first step is usually the hardest to start. As long as you are willing to take the first step, the subsequent work will become smoother and smoother." Young volunteer Xiao-Fu said: "Every stone has a different shape, but each has the most suitable place to be set." Sister Yu-Lian from Hualien, who is over sixty years old, brings "Xiao Ding"—a Taiwan-made small mattock that has accompanied her for many years—every time she participates in trail construction, smiling and saying: "My own tool is still the handiest." Each simple, unpretentious sharing conveys the volunteers' love for the mountain forests, making this new 500-meter trail not just a project to improve the slope, but also a mountain path filled with human warmth and shared memories.
    Lin Wen-He, Director of Shei-Pa Headquarters, stated that this gentle-slope trail, autonomously conceived and built by hand by volunteers, not only demonstrates the concepts of citizen participation, environmental sustainability, and mountain-friendly practices, but also allows more people of different age groups to have the opportunity to get close to nature and enjoy forest healing.

Shei-Pa Headquarters thanks all volunteer partners for jointly investing in trail construction and maintenance work. In the future, it will continue to combine volunteer power to promote trail environments that are friendly, safe, and aligned with ecological conservation concepts. And sincerely invites the public, when visiting Mt. Dongxishui, to slow down their pace and experience this hand-made trail crafted chisel by chisel and axe by axe by volunteers, feeling the beauty of the mountain forest as well as the warm intention of volunteers using their hands to protect nature and serve visitors, allowing every step to become a wonderful footprint of co-prosperity between humans and nature.