Fruit Picking x Firefly Watching x Tasty Food The Joy of Hunting in Heping Tribe

Against the backdrop of green trees and bamboo forests, Heping Tribe Leisure Agricultural Area is as if having a big green carpet. Atayal people living here express their talents in dancing, singing, arts and music, hunting and gathering as well as farming. Their daily life is in tune with the nature, in harmony with the earth, so the leisure from this tribal area enamors tourists.

The small-holder farmers grow vegetables and fruits, raise chicken and keep fish on this land left by their ancestors. “Heping Tribe Leisure Agricultural Area” arranges a comprehensive tour for tourists to know these small-holder farmers, understand the means of cultivation, sources of food materials and the environment. Tourists can also dress Atayal people’s traditional costumes, sing the ancient tunes along with these people and learn their history of protesting against Japanese and their belief.

Then it was the highlight of this tour, Atayal people showed the tourists the photos of local produce and food materials in the wild before letting tourists take the traditional bag, hold the knife and plastic bags and walk to the trails and farms nearby to pick the potherbs, vegetables and fruits, catch fish and shrimps to make their own lunch. After lunch, tourists were taken to play by the riverside, and introduced to the Atayal’s ancient cooking and learned to start a fire, grill pork, braise sweet potatoes, and make dishes in bamboo tubes. Sitting under the starry sky, relishing the Atayal dishes, listening to the traditional tunes and dancing the greeting dance, tourists had a glimpse into the tribal life that is rare to them.

Tourists can also go to “Wufeng Hunter School” to experience Atayal culture and learn to grow and harvest mushrooms on logs, shoot an arrow, see the setup of traps, and go visit the hunting pathways. Tourists interested in bamboo handicrafts can try DIY bamboo cups, chopsticks and bowls. The ending of the tour is pounding millet mochi, so that all got exercised and had a big meal.

“Heping Tribe Leisure Agricultural Area” also organizes all kinds of agritours according to seasons, such as sowing millets or planting trees in March, activities featuring bamboo shoots in early April so that tourists can reap a harvest, try archery and relish bamboo shoots stewed with pig feet and rice in bamboo tube, and firefly watching is the most popular activity in late April and early May, tourists are drawn to watch the loveliness of the scene.

Heping Tribe Leisure Agricultural Area
◆Tel: 0939-139071
◆Add: No. 160, Heping 5th Neighborhood, Zhulin Village, Wufeng Township, Xinchu County
◆ Fan Page: http://bit.ly/39lYeBh
Wufeng Hunter School
◆Tel: 03-5851270
◆Add: No. 196, 10th Neighborhood, Daai Village, Wufeng Township, Xinchu County
◆ Fan Page: https://bit.ly/3ySYFQC

To farmers in Heping Tribe, farming not only provides vegetables and fruits to themselves but also is an income source for offering agricultural experiences to tourists. The owner of “Green Leaf and Persimmon Garden”, Jiaxin YANG came to run the orchard as a personal pastime because he likes the environment in Heping tribe. He enjoys studying fruit trees, and the garden is his laboratory where he grows persimmons, Jabotica, passion fruit and citrus, totaled 50 some kinds of fruit trees. He takes care of all these trees and different fruits harvest in 4 seasons that he not only is self sufficient, but also welcomes tourists to make reservation to pick fruits.
◆Tel: 03-5851412, 0916-800724
◆Add: No. 166-4, Heping 5th Neighborhood, Zhulin Village, Wufeng Township, Xinchu County
◆ Fan Page: http://bit.ly/3bvZdkj

The owner of “Yafu Happy Harvest”, Chuanzhi ZHANG, was a career soldier. He returned to the tribe to engage in agriculture after his retirement from the military. He is also a docent in ZHANG, Xueliang’s residence in Qingquan tribe as well as the school principal of Wufeng Hunter School. His eloquence and interesting personality makes Atayal culture and history vivid and intriguing so the tourists were very attentive. Mr. ZHANG grows persimmon, citrus and high altitude vegetables under the instruction of his god mother in the tribe. And tourists are welcome to reap the harvest.
◆Tel: 0939-139071
◆Add: No. 160, Heping 5th Neighborhood, Zhulin Village, Wufeng Township, Xinchu County

“Gebalun”, on the north of Atayal’s altar in Heping tribe, grows thousands of Japanese Cedars. The owner of Gebalun, Xiangxin LIN planted 9,000 nest ferns in the shades and the soul ingredients in Atayal cuisine, Maqaw and Alianthus Prickly Ash on the slopes with sun exposure. Nest ferns are common vegetables in the tribal cuisine. It tastes crispy by frying. Alianthus Prickly Ash is a spice with strong fragrance which enhance the taste and flavor of the broth. Maqaw is another indispensable spice on Atayal’s dining table.
◆Tel: 0975-595131
◆Add: No. 158, Heping 5th Neighborhood, Zhulin Village, Wufeng Township, Xinchu County

Greenery woods in the upstream of Guyan River in Heping tribe is the source of cold and unpolluted water. The owner of “Guyan Trout Farm” is Rucheng GE whose father took advantage of this clean water to farm trouts and sturgeons which grow well in quality water and sold the fish to restaurants. Later, Rucheng GE came home to take over his father’s fish farming business, in addition, he opened an eatery and serves tasty trout dishes that are acclaimed by tourists. Trouts in Guyan takes 2 to 3 years hatching from spawns to adult fish. Mr. GE and his wife catch fish alive every day to make sashimi or steam with mashed garlic, deep fry or season with Maqaw for the tender texture of the fish. They also marinate the fish with Maqaw and salt and pack it in air-tight bags as a souvenir so the tourists can sauté or steam the trouts at home and still get the good taste.
◆Tel: 03-5851243, 0928-890851
◆Add: No. 159-1 , Heping 5th Neighborhood, Zhulin Village, Wufeng Township, Xinchu County

“Heping Tribe Leisure Agricultural Area” is your best choice to experience Atayal’s culture, taste the dishes in the tribe, pick seasonal vegetables and fruits and get body and mind healed in the forest! Quickly arrange yourself a relaxing trip!