Taiwan’s 84.1-Metre Heavenly Sword: The Tallest Tree in East Asia

For years, a tree taller than many buildings remained almost unseen among Taiwan’s mountains. In 2023, researchers finally reached it and verified that it stood 84.1 metres high. The Taiwania cryptomerioides specimen, nicknamed the “Heavenly Sword of the Da’an River”, became the tallest known tree in East Asia.

How did a tree this large remain hidden?

Taiwan’s interior is a landscape of steep mountains, thick forests and difficult-to-reach valleys. A study published in the journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change in 2026 found that this terrain helped protect old-growth forest areas, even after decades of timber extraction elsewhere on the island.

The scientific hunt for giant trees gathered pace in 2014. Viewing canopies from a distance, however, was not enough to establish which trees were truly the tallest. Some expeditions involved several days of walking, while the forest itself obscured both trunks and crowns, making standard measurements exceptionally challenging.

How aerial LiDAR identified forest giants

The researchers used airborne LiDAR, a technology that sends laser pulses towards the ground and measures the time taken for them to return. These data can produce three-dimensional models of vegetation, allowing canopy heights to be estimated across vast areas without visiting every individual tree.

Yet the technique faced an unforeseen difficulty: cliffs misled the algorithms. In one example reported by the study, a tree under 25 metres tall initially appeared to be about 90 metres high because it was growing beside a steep slope. The eventual solution brought together technology, specialists and hundreds of volunteers.

• The initial survey identified 57,065 potential locations linked to exceptionally tall trees.
• A team of 372 volunteers helped visually assess the remotely sensed data.
• Filtering produced a map of 941 confirmed trees taller than 65 metres.
• The strongest candidates were checked in the field through climbing and direct measurement.

How scientists verified the 84.1-metre tree

In January 2023, the team set out for the most promising candidate shown on the map. According to an account published by Frontiers, the expedition covered roughly 20 kilometres along a river, followed by two further days climbing steep ground before reaching the tree in the Sheshan mountains.

Confirmation came through a remarkably straightforward approach: a climber reached the crown, then lowered a measuring tape to the ground. It measured 84.1 metres. The study by Rebecca Chia-Chun Hsu and colleagues identified the specimen as the tallest tree ever recorded in Taiwan and East Asia.

Watch the video shared by the YouTube channel Treasure Of World, which shows the magnificent tree concealed within Taiwan’s forest.

Why these trees matter beyond their height

The research uncovered more than isolated record-holders. Near Mount Benya, scientists documented 11 trees exceeding 65 metres within a single hectare. In another location, around 30 large Taiwania specimens were seen growing together, creating concentrations the researchers described as “temples of giants”.

Large trees also have an outsized ecological role. The scientific paper highlights earlier studies connecting ancient trees with carbon storage, biodiversity and microclimate regulation. An analysis in the Tao Tree valley measured carbon density at 1,384.5 Mg per hectare, excluding root systems.

How many other giants may still be concealed?

By early 2026, the project had found and climbed ten Taiwania specimens over 70 metres high, including two above 80 metres. The researchers themselves stress that the survey of 941 giants provides an important foundation for monitoring these forests and directing their conservation in an area with exceptionally complex terrain.

The discovery of the Heavenly Sword shows that even an 84-metre tree can remain unknown when it grows in the right setting. Finding these giants now is about more than pursuing records: it means identifying ancient, vulnerable ecosystems before climate change, droughts, storms and landslides permanently alter forests that have hidden them for centuries.