Fenqihu (Chinese: 奮起湖) is a settlement in Zhuqi Township (竹崎鄉), Chiayi County (嘉義縣), Taiwan. Fenqihu is a railway town on the Alishan Forest Railway (阿里山森林鐵道) and is known for their old street, natural scenery and railway bento (便當).
The town used to be known as Benjihu (畚箕湖), which literally means "dustpan lake". The name comes from how mountains surround the town on three sides.
The character hú (湖) refers to the basin that the town sits in, there is no lake at the town.
In 1912, the railway tracks were extended to Fenqihu, since Fenqihu was located roughly in the middle of the route, passengers were free to walk into the town, and the town grew rapidly.
After the completion of the Alishan Highway (阿里山公路), the importance of the Alishan Forest Railway has gradually declined, and Fenqihu has also declined.
There are some "Square Bamboo" (方竹) in the bamboo forest opposite the Fenqihu Train Station, as the name suggests, the bamboo stems are square.
Fenqihu Old Street (奮起湖老街) is around 200 meters in length, the buildings along the street were built following the hill slope.
