Alishan's cypress forests were "discovered" in 1896 by Japanese army lieutenant Yoshitora Nakano while climbing Yushan. Then after several expeditions sent by the Japanese into the area, Shinpei Goto, head of civilian affairs, drafted the Alishan Forest Development Plan, the first step of which was to build the forest railway.
阿里山檜木林在 1896 年（明治 29 年）被攀登玉山的日軍中尉長野義虎發現，日方幾次派人勘查後，由民政長官後藤新平訂定阿里山森林開發計畫，開發的第一步就是興建森林鐵路。